Click here to read this blog post from Jenna Jordan, a former Data Engineer for the City of Boston’s Analytics Team. In her blog, she walks through the full arc of her role, from how she got started to what she learned along the way. Check out some quick takeaways below, or follow the link at the top of this article to read the full post.
- It’s helpful to be able to see how your data work connects to what the rest of the team is doing. That kind of big-picture thinking can be tough at first, especially if you haven’t had much experience working on a full data pipeline or in a larger org.
- While you’re learning on the job, it can help to use online courses or other community-made resources to fill in gaps. Also, try connecting with people in similar roles—Jenna, for example, built a small network of other data engineers working in civic tech, and they share ideas and help each other out.
- When individual contributors (not just managers) get to suggest and try out new ideas, teams can end up with more creative and practical solutions. Having different voices in the mix can really change how problems get solved.
