What does a Data Engineer do?

I'm considering studying data engineering in college. Could someone break down what a data engineer does on a daily basis? I'm especially interested in knowing what skills or programming languages I should focus on learning while still in high school.

Sure, happy to provide some insights! A data engineer is essentially a "construction worker" in the data world - they design, construct, install, test, and maintain highly scalable data management systems. They're vital in ensuring the systems are designed in a way that's useful for data scientists and analysts who rely on accessible, well-organized, and quality-assured data to do their work.

On a daily basis, they might be tasked with ensuring system architectures support new data and information requirements, developing and testing data processing systems, and optimizing these systems to provide clean, usable data to colleagues. They could also be responsible for establishing rules and procedures for data sharing, or in some cases, integrating new data management technologies and software engineering tools into existing structures.

As for skills, SQL is usually at the top of the list - many consider it an essential language for data engineering. Other useful languages might include Python and Java. Understanding of database systems like MySQL, NoSQL, or MongoDB is also beneficial. Further down the line, learning to work with big data tools, such as Hadoop or Spark, can definitely benefit you.

Remember, though, that programming languages are one aspect, and understanding data structures, algorithms, and being able to problem-solve are just as important. And beyond hard skills, a passion for solving problems, attention to detail, and good communication skills will always come in handy in this profession, especially when working with teams or explaining complicated systems to non-technical colleagues.