Become a Data Engineer: Career Roadmap

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ No fluff. No outdated tutorials. No overpriced bootcamp. This Data Engineer Career Path is your step-by-step roadmap to go from beginner (at any age!) to getting hired as a Data Engineer. You’ll be guided through our curated curriculum of courses, workshops, challenges, and action items to build your skills, portfolio and experience to become a Data Engineer.

Become a top Data Engineer who gets hired this year Focus on building and maintaining the infrastructure and architecture for data generation, storage, and processing Learn about Data Engineering and how tools like Hadoop, Apache Spark, Apache Flink, Airflow, Kafka, and Spark ML are used in the industry Design data pipelines that facilitate the flow of data from various sources to storage systems and learn to build Data Lakes with AWS How to ace all of your interviews, get more job offers and a higher salary This Career Path includes: Exact steps to go from an absolute beginner to a confident Data Engineer Access to our supportive Discord community of 1,000s of students, alumni, TAs and instructors Projects that will challenge you and make your portfolio and resume stand out Unlimited access to all courses, workshops, career paths and resources 168 hours of video 8 courses 16 projects 2 workshops 4 actions

How to Become a Data Engineer & Get Hired

Your career path

What You'll Learn

Become a top Data Engineer that gets hired this year
Focus on building and maintaining the infrastructure and architecture for data generation, storage, and processing
Learn about Data Engineering and how tools like Hadoop, Apache Spark, Apache Flink, Airflow, Kafka, and Spark ML are used in the industry
Design data pipelines that facilitate the flow of data from various sources to storage systems and learn to build Data Lakes with AWS
How to ace all of your interviews, get more job offers and a higher salary

Course

Intermediate

14 Hours ·165 Lessons The Data Engineering Bootcamp: Zero to Mastery

Master modern data engineering with Spark, Kafka, Airflow, AWS, and LLMs. Build real-time pipelines, data lakes, and production-grade ML workflows from scratch.

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Course

Beginner

26 Hours ·293 Lessons Complete SQL + Databases Bootcamp

This SQL Bootcamp will teach you SQL, database management, and database design using real-world exercises working with all database types. No experience needed.

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Course

Beginner

32 Hours ·346 Lessons Complete Python Developer in 2025: Zero to Mastery

Learn Python from scratch, get hired, and have fun along the way with the most modern, up-to-date Python course on the web.

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Course

Beginner

22.5 Hours ·150 Lessons The Python Automation Bootcamp (Work Smarter!): Zero to Mastery

Go from absolute beginner to a master at automation. Build fun projects that teach you how to automate your work and life so you can work smarter, not harder! Using tools like Python, GPTs, and more!

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Action

Apply To 5 Jobs

Believe it or not, you now have enough skills to start applying to jobs and even get hired! This process usually takes a while and it's good to start even if you don't feel "ready". Apply to 5 jobs online right now and see what happens. You don't even need to "want" these jobs. The goal is to practice applying and practice going through the interview process. Once you finish applying to 5 jobs (you don't need to hear back), move on to the next step in this Career Path.

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Course

Intermediate

5 Hours ·80 Lessons Career Guide to Your Dream Job: Resumes, Interviews & Promotions

Learn how to take the next step in your career. Whether you’re job hunting or aiming for a promotion, this course gives you the ultimate career advantage no matter your industry or experience level.

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Action

Apply To 5 Jobs You Really Want

This time around, you have more knowledge and more practice. It's now time to take your job hunt seriously. Find 5 companies/jobs that you REALLY want to work for and make a serious effort applying to these jobs based on the tips you learned in the previous lessons. Don't take no for an answer and see if you can land an interview at one of these companies you chose. Once you have an interview lined up, move to the next section.

Course

Advanced

8 Hours ·77 Lessons Advanced Excel Bootcamp: Data Analytics and Business Intelligence

Become a Data Professional. You'll learn to master Excel's built-in power tools, including Power Query, Power Pivot Tables, Data Modeling, the DAX formula language, and so much more.

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Course · optional for you

Beginner

1 Hours ·3 Lessons Future Proof Yourself: Goal Setting for Your Career

Learn how to set strategic, actionable goals, adapt to changing trends, and create a career roadmap that keeps you on track for success.

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Course · optional for you

Beginner

5.5 Hours ·110 Lessons Learning to Learn [Efficient Learning]

Become an efficient learner and best version of yourself. You'll learn scientifically proven strategies, techniques & skills used by the world's top performers!

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Course · optional for you

Advanced

20 Hours ·136 Lessons Power BI Bootcamp: Zero to Mastery

Go from absolute beginner in Power BI to getting hired as a confident and effective Analyst. Learn Power BI (+ much more) by analyzing real-world datasets and building enterprise-level projects.

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Action

Take Your Next Step

Now that you have completed this path, it's time for you to specialize and upgrade your skills into a specific market. You are now at the point where you need to decide what you want to do in your career. Take the career path quiz again and update your answers based on your newfound knowledge from this path. We will generate a new personal career path for you to take based on your new interests and skills.

Take Career Path Quiz

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Still have questions?

Who is this Data Engineer Career Path for?

Anyone who wants a clear step-by-step guide to become a Data Engineer from scratch and actually get hired. Oh ya, and you don't want to waste your money on overpriced bootcamps and degrees.

Also, let's be honest. Some of the topics can be a little dry. So, we're even going to have a bit of fun along the way. No way! Crazy right?!

This Data Engineer Career Path is perfect for you if:

You're a complete beginner (of any age!) and want a full bootcamp curriculum and experience without having to pay $1,000s
You don't want to waste your valuable time. You want to learn everything needed to become a Data Engineer in one place
You want to build real-world, full-scale projects that will push you, challenge you and make your portfolio and resume stand out
You don't want to learn and take this journey alone. You will learn alongside 100s of other students at your same level and 1,000s more that are just a few steps ahead of you
You can handle our amazing sense of humour (it's not spelled wrong, we're Canadian... see what we mean... you've been warned)

And it's definitely for you if you're sick of:

Outdated tutorials
Free courses and tutorials that don't go beyond the basics
Learning topics and concepts that are mostly irrelevant in the real-world and don't even get asked in interviews
Courses with no community or support system
Tutorial hell
Feeling like you're going in circles with no clear path or end in sight

Let's be 100% clear. You aren't going to do 100 coding challenges or 50 projects or learn topics that aren't going to get you hired or even be used in the real-world. That's a waste of your time.

The sooner you get hired, the sooner you'll be learning more than you can from any course. That's our goal.

Why become a Data Engineer?

Everyone has their own reason(s) as to why they want to become a Data Engineer. But here are a few of the best reasons:

Lots of jobs available. Data Engineering is one of the hottest, most in-demand tech roles right now. In fact, over 20,000 new Data Engineering jobs were created last year alone, pushing total job openings in North America to approximately 150,000 - a clear sign of an industry that's gaining serious momentum.
High demand = High salary. The earning potential for Data Engineers is huge. U.S. professionals in this field enjoy average base salaries that start at $80,000–$110,000 for entry-level roles and can scale up to $190,000–$200,000+ for senior-level positions.
No degree required. It's very possible to get hired as a Data Engineer without having any college degree.
Work remotely. You can find Data Engineering jobs that are remote. Work from the comfort of your own home, a coffee shop or even while travelling the world. Some roles even allow you to work on your own schedule.
It's fun. And rewarding. You get to have a real-world impact. The work you're doing on a daily basis can have a huge impact on hundreds, thousands, or even millions of people.

What makes Data Engineering even more attractive is the strategic role it plays in modern tech. Data Engineers are the backbone behind AI systems, machine learning models, and analytics platforms, making them absolutely vital to development of modern products and continuous innovation.

That means as the AI industry continues to explode, Data Engineering will explode alongside it.

How long does it take to become a Data Engineer (and complete this Career Path)?

Everyone is different. So it's hard to give a specific amount of time. The two biggest variables are the number of hours per week you're dedicating to completing the steps in the Career Path and your current experience level.

Don't hold us to it but here's a rough guideline based on feedback we've received from past ZTM students on how long it takes to become a Data Engineer:

20-40 hours a week = 4-6 months. Students who have started from scratch as complete beginners (no matter their age!) and spend a few hours per day.
40-80 hours a week = 2-3 months. Students who are able to learn basically full-time and/or already have some experience (ie: already know Python & SQL).
0-10 hours a week = 7-12+ months. Students from all experience levels but are only able to dedicate a few hours a week.

What’s the ZTM Discord community and how can it help me?

The ZTM Discord is our exclusive online community for ZTM students, alumni, TAs and instructors.

How it helps you, short version: Increase the chances that ZTM students achieve their current goals and help them continue to grow throughout their career.

Longer version: Learning alone is hard. We've all been there. We've all tried to learn new skills and struggled. It can be frustrating, daunting, and just plain challenging, especially if you're trying to change careers.

We feel strongly that the Zero To Mastery Discord community is an essential part of the learning experience and greatly increases the chances for students to achieve their goals.

It's crazy to think that Colleges and Coding Bootcamps charge you tens of thousands of dollars to provide you with this type of experience. It doesn't have to be that way!

In fact, ~20% of ZTM students are also enrolled at a College or in-person Coding Bootcamp but feel like they just aren't getting all of the skills and support they need. But with ZTM, they do.

Within the Zero To Mastery Discord community, you can:

Connect with other Developers, Engineers, Data Scientists, Designers
Form study groups and complete ZTM Career Paths and Courses together
Ask questions and get advice from other people at your same level as well as more experienced professionals
Get feedback on projects
Meet other students around the world (and likely even someone from your hometown!)
Learn how to answer questions and help other students which will accelerate your own learning
Get help from others with questions and exercises
Work on coding challenges and real-world open-source projects with other students

It’s pretty awesome to see many ZTM alumni also active every single day, continuing to engage with the community, give back, and level up their own skills and career.

Are there any prerequisites for this Career Path?

A computer (Windows/Mac/Linux) and access to the internet. That's it! No previous experience is needed.

If you haven't already, take our tech career path quiz. We'll give you our recommendation for which path is the best fit for you.

How is a Career Path different from a course?

Career Paths are like a full College curriculum. Our Career Paths give you the exact courses, workshops, challenges, articles and actions to take to go from absolute beginner to getting hired.

Career Paths start with ensuring you know the foundations from scratch. But they go far beyond by teaching you advanced topics and non-technical skills that are essential for your career but aren't taught in Computer Science Degrees or Coding Bootcamps.

Courses are more focused. Different courses have different goals. Some courses are a great fit for experienced Developers, Engineers and Programmers who want to level-up their skills in a specific topic or framework. Other courses cover a wider range of topics teaching the foundations and fundamentals for beginners.

Can I change my Career Path?

Yes. You can change your Career Path anytime. As a member of Zero To Mastery, you have unlimited access to all ZTM courses, workshops, challenges, articles and other materials needed to complete any of the ZTM Career Paths.

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Become a Data Engineer

Earn on average $124,997 per year

5 Months

Your career path

What You'll Learn

Apply To 5 Jobs You Really Want

See less career path

What ZTM students are saying

Meet your instructors

Ivan Mushketyk

Andrei Neagoie

Daniel Bourke

Diogo Resende

Still have questions?

Who is this Data Engineer Career Path for?

Why become a Data Engineer?

How long does it take to become a Data Engineer (and complete this Career Path)?

What’s the ZTM Discord community and how can it help me?

Are there any prerequisites for this Career Path?

How is a Career Path different from a course?

Can I change my Career Path?

Invest in a better you. For less than a coffee a day.

Only pay once, ever