What Is a Big Data Engineer? A 2026 Career Guide

Key takeaways

If you're interested in data, math, analytics, problem-solving, or information technology, working as a big data engineer could be an excellent career choice. At a glance, here's what you need to know about big data engineers:

• They're well paid. Zippia notes big data engineers earn an average salary of $131,001 [1].

• As technology makes it possible to collect more data than ever, companies need big data engineers to help them capture, store, and transport it so they can make sense of it.

• Obtaining a related degree, gaining relevant work experience, and obtaining job-relevant certifications can all help toward becoming a big data engineer.

Below, you'll explore big data engineering and how big data engineers work with organizations to improve their data pipelines. You'll also learn about your potential earnings, skills, job outlook, and how you can start your career. Afterward, if you want to build your data engineering skills, you might consider enrolling in the IBM Data Engineering Professional Certificate.

What is a big data engineer?

A big data engineer is a professional who is responsible for developing, maintaining, testing, analyzing, and evaluating a company's data. Big data refers to extremely large data sets. In the modern economy, it is common for companies to collect large volumes of data throughout the course of conducting their business operations.

When used correctly, big data can be highly beneficial for organizations to help them improve efficiency, profitability, and scalability. However, companies' big data is not helpful unless a big data engineer builds the systems to collect, maintain, and extract data. So, big data engineers ultimately have the responsibility of helping companies manage their big data.

Big data engineer vs. data scientist

The most significant difference between big data engineers and data scientists is that big data engineers are primarily responsible for building and maintaining the systems and processes that collect and extract data. Data scientists analyze the cleaned data to generate insights, using various predictive models to create meaningful insights.

What does a data engineer do?

All of the following are typical job responsibilities for big data engineers:

• Designing and implementing software systems

• Creating systems for collecting data and for processing that data

• Using extract, transform, and load operations (the ETL process)

• Creating data architectures that meet the requirements of the business

• Researching new methods of obtaining valuable data and improving its quality

• Creating structured data solutions using various programming languages and tools

• Mining data from multiple areas to construct efficient business models

• Collaborating with data analysts, data scientists, and other teams

Big data engineer salary and job outlook

According to ZipRecruiter, the average salary of a big data engineer is $131,001 [1]. Highly experienced big data engineers in the latter stages of their careers can make significantly more than that. However, those just entering the field who do not have a high level of experience can expect to make less.

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), doesn't specifically track the job outlook for big data engineers but they do track related roles like statisticians, computer and information research scientists, and data scientists. Here's the demand these related professions are expected to experience in the coming decade:

• Statistician: Projected job growth of 8 percent between 2024 to 2034 [2]

• Computer and information research scientist: Projected job growth of 20 percent between 2024 and 2034 [3]

• Data scientists: Projected job growth of 34 percent between 2024 and 2034 [4]

According to the BLS projections, the job of a big data engineer is likely to increase in demand significantly in the next few years, making this career a good career path to pursue.

In-demand skills for big data engineer jobs

Big data engineers commonly possess all of the following skills:

• Computer programming with languages like C++, Java, and Python

• Databases and SQL

• ETL and data warehousing

• Talend, IBM DataStage, Pentaho, and Informatica

• Operating system knowledge for Unix, Linux, Windows, and Oracle Solaris

• Hadoop

• Apache Spark

• Data mining and modeling

If you know Python and you're looking to gain the skills and experience you need to become a big data engineer, consider enrolling in the DeepLearning.AI Data Engineering Professional Certificate program:

How to become a big data engineer

Most people complete these several steps on their journey to becoming a big data engineer.

1. Earn a degree.

If you want to become a big data engineer, you will have to master all the technical skills mentioned above, which translates into a lot of education. Many people who become big data engineers have bachelor’s and master’s degrees in a related field, such as computer science, statistics, or business data analytics.

Big data engineers need to be masters of coding, statistics, and data. Most companies require a bachelor’s degree for big data engineer positions.

Big data career path

If you want to work in big data, you will likely start in an entry-level position to gain experience in the industry. Over time, as you gain experience working in big data, you may decide to earn more credentials, such as a master’s degree or certifications that demonstrate your mastery of data science skills. As you gain both new skills and experience in the field, you may be able to move into roles requiring more responsibility or leadership.

2. Gain work experience.

Experience is a valuable asset for obtaining a job as a big data engineer. You can gain experience by freelancing, interning, practicing independently, or working in related positions. The more experience you get, the better your chances of obtaining a big data engineer position. 

Some early positions that you might consider pursuing to build the skills needed to become a big data professional include:

• Data analyst

• Junior data engineer

• Statistical assistant

• Data manager

• Junior business analyst

After earning your bachelor’s degree or gaining experience in an entry-level big data job, you may be ready to move forward in your career.

3. Consider a certification.

Obtaining Professional Certificates can also be highly beneficial for securing employment as a big data engineer. Each of the following certificates can be helpful for people who are trying to become big data engineers:

• Cloudera Certified Professional (CCP) Data Engineer

• Associate Big Data Analyst (ABDA)

• Google Cloud Certified Professional Data Engineer

• IBM Data Science Professional Certificate

• IBM Data Engineering Professional Certificate

Build toward a big data engineer career with Coursera

Big data engineering combines an understanding of engineering and data science to design solutions for collecting and processing massive amounts of data. Build the skills you need to thrive in this impactful data-focused profession with these resources from Coursera:

• Watch on YouTube: Data Warehouse vs. Database: Which One Do You Need?

• Take the Quiz: Data Science Career Quiz: Is It Right for You? Find Your Role

• Subscribe on LinkedIn: Coursera's Career Chat Newsletter

Whether you want to develop a new skill, get comfortable with an in-demand technology, or advance your abilities, keep growing with a Coursera Plus subscription. You’ll get access to over 10,000 flexible courses. 

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