What Data Engineers Honestly Want To Tell Data Analysts

Brutally honest truths data engineers want data analysts to know.

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Since beginning in my data engineering role 4 years ago (at the time of this writing), my department has undergone 1 reorg, 2 name changes and the expected amount of attrition in an industry that all-but shames you if you’re not job hopping every 2–3 years.

One constant in those years of change was the fact that I’ve always had a close working relationship with perhaps the only team that knows the content and shape of the data warehouse source data better than me: Our data analysts.

With more stakeholders to support and a seemingly infinite amount of reports, both properly requested and ad hoc, to generate, the data analysis team is twice the size of my team.

Depending on the scope and visibility of a project, I may work directly with a stakeholder. More often, however, I’m collaborating with analysts to create deliverables they then present to an end data customer.

Like any relationship, it takes time, effort and empathy to create a collaboration that endures in the face of deadline pressure and stress (whether imagined or real).

To that end, I’ve presented during more than one internal session “bridging the gap” between data…