Is Data Engineering actually the most underrated tech career of the 2020s?

All answers to this question.

You’ve hit on a major industry shift. By mid-2024, the "Data Scientist" market became heavily saturated at the junior level, while the "Data Engineer" talent gap only widened. I’ve seen senior DEs commanding $180k+ because they can manage complex Medallion Architectures and Snowflake cost-optimizations that directly impact the bottom line. Data Science is like the architect of a skyscraper, but Data Engineering is the structural engineer, the plumber, and the electrician combined. Without us, the building literally doesn't function. The stability comes from being "mission-critical" rather than just "insight-driven."

   Answered 2025-05-22 by Heather Miller

Heather, I love that analogy! But if the role is so critical, why do you think the "sexy" branding still stays with the Data Scientists? Do we need to do a better job of marketing the "Engineering" side to new grads?

   Answered 2025-06-10 by Gregory Vance

• It’s because "Insights" are easier to sell to stakeholders than "Latency Reduction." However, Gregory, that’s changing. As companies move to real-time AI, the speed and reliability of the data flow ARE the product. We don't need to market it anymore; the paychecks and the job security are doing the talking. I've switched from DS to DE last year and haven't looked back once.

     Commented 2025-06-18 by Kimberly Hudson

Stability is the key word here. In every layoff cycle I’ve seen recently, the "Research" teams go first, but the "Platform" teams—the engineers—are almost always kept on.

   Answered 2025-07-01 by Justin Reed

• Exactly, Justin. You can stop doing new research for six months, but you can't stop the data from flowing for even six minutes without losing revenue. That's true job security.

     Commented 2025-07-10 by Heather Miller