Data Engineer
Career Path: From zero to job-ready in 4 months
Get all the skills and knowledge you need to become a data engineer. You'll learn how to work with data architecture, distributed data processing, and cloud-native data systems. By the end, you'll be able to build scalable data infrastructure, orchestrate production pipelines with containers, and deploy data systems to the cloud.
- Beginner friendly
- 4 months (5 hrs/week)
- Self paced
- 30 Courses
- 14 projects
Path overview
Python skills you'll learn
- ✓ Programming with Python and building complex data architecture to support organizations' data strategy
- ✓ Managing distributed data processing with PySpark and orchestrating workflows with Apache Airflow
- ✓ Containerizing applications with Docker and deploying them to cloud infrastructure
- ✓ Building production-grade data pipelines that scale automatically and run reliably in cloud environments
Data Engineer path outline
9 steps · 30 courses
Part 1: Introduction to Python [4 courses]
Introduce yourself to the Python programming language.
- Course 1
Introduction to Python for Data Engineering
4hDevelop core Python skills used in data engineering, including working with data, control flow, and notebooks.
Course Objectives ▾
- Define the fundamentals of programming in Python
- Employ Jupyter Notebook
- Build a portfolio project
- Course 2
Dictionaries and Functions in Python
4hBuild reusable Python programs by working with dictionaries, functions, and Jupyter Notebook to support data engineering and analysis workflows.
Course Objectives ▾
- Create and update dictionaries
- Create your own functions
- Employ Jupyter Notebook
- Build a portfolio project
- Course 3
Intermediate Python for Data Engineering
5hExtend your Python skills for data engineering by working with real datasets, text processing, and object-oriented programming.
Course Objectives ▾
- Clean text data
- Define object-oriented programming in Python
- Process dates and times
- Course 4
Programming Concepts in Python
4hDevelop a practical understanding of how Python represents data, encodes text, and works with files to optimize memory and disk usage.
Course Objectives ▾
- Define how Python represents data
- Define encodings
- Process text files
- Optimize data usage
Part 2: Introduction to Algorithms [1 courses]
Learn algorithms and data structures.
- Course 1
Introduction to Algorithms
7hEvaluate algorithm time and space complexity in Python, trade memory for speed, and design efficient solutions for data engineering workflows.
Course Objectives ▾
- Analyze the time complexity of an algorithm
- Analyze the space complexity of an algorithm
- Trade memory for speed
Part 3: The Command Line and Git [4 courses]
Learn how to use the command line and Git.
- Course 1
Command Line for Data Science
4hLearn to navigate the filesystem, manage permissions, and run scripts from the command line to support efficient, repeatable data workflows.
Course Objectives ▾
- Employ the command line for data science
- Define important command line concepts
- Modify the behavior of commands with options
- Navigate the filesystem
- Employ glob patterns and wildcards
- Manage users and permissions
- Course 2
Text Processing for Data Science
4hLearn to inspect files, read documentation, and process text efficiently using streams, redirection, and pipelines in real data workflows.
Course Objectives ▾
- Read and explore documentation
- Inspect files
- Perform basic text processing
- Define different kinds of output
- Redirect and pipe output
- Employ streams and file descriptors
- Course 3
Intermediate Command Line for Data Science
3hStrengthen your data analysis workflow with intermediate command line skills like piping, redirection, and transforming data directly from the shell.
Course Objectives ▾
- Employ Jupyter console
- Process data from the command line
- Course 4
Introduction to Git and Version Control
3hPractice version control with Git to track changes, collaborate via GitHub, and manage real projects using workflows teams rely on every day.
Course Objectives ▾
- Organize your code using version control
- Employ Git and GitHub to collaborate with others
- Resolve conflicts in version control
Part 4: Working with Data Sources Using SQL [5 courses]
Learn about working with data in different locations, including databases and on the web.
- Course 1
Introduction to SQL and Databases
4hDevelop core SQL skills by writing queries to access, explore, and manipulate data stored in relational databases for common data analysis tasks.
Course Objectives ▾
- Define the structure of SQL
- Create basic queries to extract data from tables in a database
- Define databases
- Identify different versions of SQL
- Write good SQL code
- Course 2
Summarizing Data in SQL
2hSummarize large datasets by computing statistics, grouping records, and applying SQL aggregate functions to extract meaningful insights.
Course Objectives ▾
- Employ SQL to compute statistics
- Provide statistics by group
- Filter results over groups
- Course 3
Combining Tables in SQL
3hCombine and analyze data across multiple tables by applying SQL joins and set operators to produce comprehensive, query-ready datasets.
Course Objectives ▾
- Combine tables using inner joins
- Employ different types of joins
- Employ other SQL clauses with joins
- Join on complex conditions
- Employ set operators like UNION and EXCEPT
- Course 4
Querying SQLite from Python
0hQuery SQLite databases from Python by executing SQL statements and working with cursors to retrieve and analyze data.
Course Objectives ▾
- Run SQL queries using sqlite3 in Python
- Employ cursors and tuples
- Course 5
SQL Subqueries
6hWrite scalable, advanced SQL queries by nesting subqueries and using common table expressions to solve complex analysis problems.
Course Objectives ▾
- Nest a query inside another query
- Employ different types of subqueries
- Employ common table expressions
- Scale your project with complex queries
Part 5: Production Databases [3 courses]
Learn how to work with production database systems at scale. Explore PostgreSQL optimization, cloud data warehouses like Snowflake, and NoSQL databases including MongoDB.
- Course 1
PostgreSQL for Data Engineering
7hBuild hands-on PostgreSQL skills for data engineering by designing tables, loading CSV data, and managing databases beyond SQLite.
Course Objectives ▾
- Identify how Postgres improves data sharing
- Create tables using Postgres from a CSV file
- Implement a database
- Course 2
Optimizing PostgreSQL Databases
4hOptimize PostgreSQL performance by diagnosing slow queries, using EXPLAIN, indexing tables, and applying core database internals in practice.
Course Objectives ▾
- Debug Postgres queries
- Apply the fundamentals of Postgres's internal tooling
- Speed up Postgres querying using indexes
- Course 3
Production Database Tools
6hMove beyond traditional SQL by working with Snowflake and NoSQL databases to design scalable, production-ready data systems.
Course Objectives ▾
- Set up and query data in Snowflake's cloud data warehouse platform
- Navigate Snowflake's interface, load data, and monitor credit usage for cost-effective operations
- Identify the four main NoSQL database types and understand when to use each versus traditional SQL
- Build flexible document-based systems in MongoDB that handle schema evolution without migrations
- Write MongoDB queries and aggregation pipelines to process semi-structured data
- Connect MongoDB to Python analytics workflows for broader data pipeline integration
Part 6: Python for Large Datasets [5 courses]
Learn how to work with large datasets in Python. Explore NumPy for efficient array operations, Pandas for processing large DataFrames, parallel processing techniques, and essential data structures.
- Course 1
NumPy for Data Engineering
4hApply NumPy array operations to process large datasets efficiently, perform fast numerical computations, and optimize Python workflows for data engineering.
Course Objectives ▾
- Manipulate n-dimensional arrays
- Perform numeric calculations with n-dimensional arrays
- Identify the differences between NumPy and pure Python
- Course 2
Processing Large Datasets In Pandas
5hOptimize pandas workflows to handle larger datasets by reducing memory usage, processing data in chunks, and combining pandas with SQLite.
Course Objectives ▾
- Reduce the memory footprint of a pandas DataFrame
- Process large DataFrames in chunks using SQLite
- Course 3
Parallel Processing for Data Engineering
5hScale data processing workflows by applying parallel processing and MapReduce techniques to efficiently analyze large datasets.
Course Objectives ▾
- Process data in parallel
- Implement MapReduce
- Solve problems using MapReduce
- Course 4
Introduction to Data Structures
4hBuild core data structures such as linked lists, stacks, queues, and dictionaries to write more efficient and scalable programs.
Course Objectives ▾
- Implement linked lists, queues, stacks, and dictionaries
- Employ inheritance
- Apply data structures to solve problems
- Course 5
Recursion and Trees for Data Engineering
5hExplore recursion, binary trees, binary heaps, and more with ready-to-use tactics for real projects.
Course Objectives ▾
- Traverse tree data structures using recursion
- Identify the different types of tree data structures
- Implement different types of tree data structures
Part 7: Distributed Data Processing [2 courses]
Learn distributed data processing with Apache Spark and PySpark. Master RDDs, DataFrames, and Spark SQL, then build production ETL pipelines with performance optimization and cloud integration.
- Course 1
Analyzing Large Datasets in Spark
3hWork with Apache Spark to process massive datasets using RDDs, DataFrames, and Spark SQL across distributed environments.
Course Objectives ▾
- Set up and configure Spark applications using SparkSession
- Transform and analyze distributed datasets using RDDs and DataFrames
- Write SQL queries on large datasets using Spark SQL
- Understand Spark's architecture including Drivers, Executors, and lazy evaluation
- Course 2
PySpark for Data Engineering
6hMove beyond notebooks to build production-grade PySpark ETL pipelines that handle messy data, scale efficiently, and run reliably in the cloud.
Course Objectives ▾
- Build complete ETL pipelines with proper project structure including extract, transform, and load functions
- Handle real-world data quality issues including inconsistent formats, test data, and missing values
- Implement production-standard error handling, logging, and data quality validation
- Deploy PySpark jobs that run on schedules using spark-submit
- Diagnose performance bottlenecks using the Spark UI to identify slow operations and inefficient partitioning
- Apply systematic optimization techniques including caching, partition tuning, and reducing shuffles
- Understand different managed Spark platforms including Databricks, EMR, and Dataproc
- Integrate PySpark with cloud storage services like AWS S3 and data catalogs like AWS Glue
Part 8: Containerization and Infrastructure [2 courses]
Learn containerization with Docker and container orchestration with Kubernetes. Build reproducible environments, orchestrate multi-service applications, and prepare for cloud deployment.
- Course 1
Docker Fundamentals
6hCreate reproducible data engineering environments with Docker, ensuring pipelines run the same across machines and teams.
Course Objectives ▾
- Install Docker Desktop and run containers using both CLI and GUI tools
- Pull images from Docker Hub and manage container lifecycles
- Run PostgreSQL databases in containers and connect to them for data workflows
- Use Docker volumes to persist data across container restarts
- Define multi-service applications using Docker Compose with environment variables and service connections
- Build custom Docker images for Python data processing scripts
- Implement health checks to prevent race conditions in multi-container applications
- Apply multi-stage builds to reduce image size and separate build from runtime concerns
- Harden containers by running as non-root users and externalizing secrets with environment files
- Course 2
Introduction to Kubernetes
6hOrchestrate containerized applications with Kubernetes, automating deployment, scaling, networking, and resilience for production systems.
Course Objectives ▾
- Deploy applications to Kubernetes clusters and understand core components including pods, deployments, and services
- Configure Services for stable networking that survives pod restarts and IP address changes
- Implement rolling updates for zero-downtime deployments and use namespaces for environment separation
- Add health checks and resource limits to build production-ready applications for shared clusters
- Manage configuration and secrets externally using ConfigMaps and Secrets
Part 9: Pipeline Orchestration and Cloud Deployment [4 courses]
Learn how to build and orchestrate data pipelines. Start by building pipelines in Python, then orchestrate them with Apache Airflow, and deploy complete systems to cloud platforms like AWS and GCP.
- Course 1
Building a Data Pipeline
4hBuild a practical Python data pipeline using imperative and functional patterns, including scheduling, decorators, and real-world workflows.
Course Objectives ▾
- Define functional programming
- Define advanced Python concepts such as closures and decorators
- Write a robust data pipeline with a scheduler in Python
- Course 2
Building Data Pipelines with Apache Airflow
8hOutgrow fragile scripts and cron jobs by orchestrating reliable, production-ready data pipelines with Apache Airflow.
Course Objectives ▾
- Understand workflow orchestration concepts and how Airflow coordinates complex data pipelines
- Deploy Apache Airflow using Docker Compose with all core services including scheduler, web UI, and workers
- Build DAGs using the TaskFlow API for clean, Pythonic workflow definitions
- Implement Dynamic Task Mapping to process multiple datasets in parallel
- Connect Airflow to databases and manage credentials securely through Connections and environment variables
- Integrate Git and git-sync to enable version-controlled DAG deployment
- Implement CI/CD pipelines using GitHub Actions to validate and deploy DAGs automatically
- Build production-ready ETL pipelines that extract data from APIs, transform it with Python, and load it into databases
- Course 3
Introduction to Cloud Computing
8hUnderstand cloud computing fundamentals including service models, deployment strategies, and how major cloud providers compare.
Course Objectives ▾
- Understand cloud service models including IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS and choose the right model based on project requirements
- Compare deployment strategies across public, private, and hybrid clouds for different business needs
- Evaluate major cloud providers including AWS, Azure, and GCP based on their core services and strengths
- Course 4
Deploying to the Cloud
10hDeploy production Apache Airflow pipelines to both AWS and GCP using Docker, managed container services, and cloud storage.
Course Objectives ▾
- Deploy production Airflow infrastructure to AWS including S3 storage, RDS databases, and container orchestration with ECS and Fargate
- Build and push custom Docker images to Amazon ECR for cloud deployment
- Configure cloud-native orchestration systems with load balancers, security groups, and managed container services
- Adapt an existing AWS project for GCP deployment by removing platform-specific dependencies
- Provision and configure a GCP Compute Engine VM with Docker for single-machine Airflow deployment
- Set up GCP service accounts, firewall rules, and Cloud Storage buckets for secure pipeline operation
- Deploy a complete three-task ETL pipeline that uploads data to Google Cloud Storage automatically
Python projects you'll build
14 hands-on projects across the path
Practice Optimizing DataFrames and Processing in Chunks
For this project, we'll step into the role of data engineers to optimize a DataFrame's memory footprint and process a large dataset of loan data in chunks using Python and pandas.
Analyzing Startup Fundraising Deals from Crunchbase
For this project, we'll step into the role of data analysts to explore a dataset of startup investments from Crunchbase. We'll practice techniques to work with larger datasets and gain insights into fundraising trends.
Analyzing Stock Prices
For this project, you'll step into the role of a financial analyst to examine historical stock price data from the NASDAQ exchange. You'll apply your Python skills to analyze trends and find the most profitable stocks.
Building a database for crime reports
For this project, we'll step into the role of database administrators to build a PostgreSQL database for storing and managing data on crime reports in Boston.
Hacker News Pipeline
For this project, we'll step into the role of data engineers to process Hacker News posts using Python. We'll apply skills in JSON parsing, string cleaning, and building data pipelines.
+ 9 more projects throughout the path
Earn your Data Engineer Certificate
Add this Python certificate to your resume or LinkedIn to showcase your skills and stand out in job applications.
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