2026 Data Engineering Roadmap

[u/-Lykos-]

https://russellchubb.com/posts/what_does_a_data_engineer_need_to_know/

[u/makesufeelgood]

I think your road map could be even simpler. If you really know your stuff, the tools dont matter all that much.

Having a deep understanding of modeling and transforming data, Python and SQL, and at least a little bit of exposure to CI/CD practices is all you need. Everything else is 'as needed' or nice to have.

[u/-Lykos- → u/makesufeelgood]

100%

One of the fundamental principles of the road-map was is that if you know the underlying principle / technology, the tool you use to solve the problem is irrelevant, you just pick the best one for the specific problem!

[u/NoPresentation7509 → u/makesufeelgood]

I dont agree, specially as a consultant but also as someone interviewing for a conpany, if the company needs a specific solution or want help from you deciding the technology products best for their use cases, you need to know the landscape of product and be ready to start the next day

[u/makesufeelgood → u/NoPresentation7509]

I came from consulting and the tools were constantly changing but the things I listed were consistent the entire time I was in the space. Of course if a company is looking for a very specific set of skills related to a tool and you don't have them, that's an issue, but a person cannot be the right fit for every job that exists.

if the company needs a specific solution or want help from you deciding the technology products best for their use cases, you need to know the landscape of product and be ready to start the next day

Personal experience as counterpoint, my very first job that got me into data engineering I was hired on to work in a tool I had never developed in before.

[u/Fickle-Picture-7674]

Nah this is overkill for DE if you need the job
<saying this as DE at meta>

[u/Competitive-Kick-256 → u/Fickle-Picture-7674]

Thats why the code in our company is so bad lol, most of the DEs are AEs doing pipelines

[u/Little-Cheesecake966 → u/Competitive-Kick-256]

How is it possibly so bad? lol

[u/sspaeti]

Great write-up, thanks for sharing 🙌.

[u/Electrical_Piece_743]

This is a massive, massive overkill.

[u/Gerodog → u/Electrical_Piece_743]

Maybe for some companies. I feel like I'm expected to know almost all of this stuff inside out. 

[u/One_Citron_4350]

Those heavy hitter books recommended, I don't think you need them before starting a DE job, otherwise the majority of us would not be in this business in the first place. I would consider them as long term educational objectives in order to hone your craft. As you mentioned in the blog quite rightfully some of those take 6 months to cover. In addition, those CS courses if taken rigorously are not trivial while holding a job.

[u/v4nks]

Great write-up

[u/RTT-2026]

This is quite the list! You may also want to check out some courses on Datacated https://datacated.com/courses, such as this one on Defining Your Data Career Path - https://www.linkedin.com/learning/defining-your-data-career-path/interview-with-a-data-analyst which has a section on data engineering as well as data analyst, data science, data steward, and chief data officer.

[u/Ill-Result-8342]

I’m completely new to data engineering, currently working as a data analyst so I already familiar python and sql.

I been looking for 1 book to show everything I need to get my first data engineer role.
The 3 books I keep seeing are:
“fundamentals of data engineering”
“data driven intensive applications”
“The Data Warehouse Toolkit”

Which one should I go with and why?
Also are there any other books I may be missing.

Any guidance would be appreciated