Making use of data is what data engineers do. As more software creates more data, more companies will need more data engineers. But, according to a newly released report by Stitch and Galvanize, there are only 6,500 self-reported data engineers but more than 6,600 job openings in the San Francisco Bay area alone.
That’s a massive gap and it’s only going to grow.
This is a subject we’ve covered before when we wrote about the demand for healthcare analytics professionals. That’s still true today and only becoming more and more important and challenging.
What’s interesting about the data above is that the demand for data engineers is growing not only in healthcare, but in almost every industry. There are sensors in cars, planes, houses, and pretty much every aspect of our lives. All of that data is being collected with the hopes of improving the lives we live. That is why demand for data engineers is only going to grow.
The great thing about health data is that it’s so meaningful. If a data engineer can successfully glean insights from health data, they can literally save lives. That’s a powerful motivator and recruitment tool for those of us in healthcare trying to recruit data engineers. More and more millennials want to work for mission-driven organizations. What is more mission driven than improving healthcare?
If you’re not familiar with data science, check out this book Data Science for Dummies, written by Lillian Pierson. It will give you a good starting point for building your data science skills which will be much needed in healthcare going forward.