Data Skills Transitions are like Sunsets and Sunrises

Check out this past post from the Microsoft Data Architecture Blog in January 2020

I was inspired by Buck Woody’s post on Monday but it was not until I was walking the dog (Hudson) this morning that I got the hook I was looking for. My Mom always said, when it came to sunrises and sunsets “Orange sky in morning sailors take warning; Orange sky at night sailors delight”.

We can argue over the color of this sunrise (it is winter in Seattle so any sun is good), but when it comes to Data Skills transitions as Data professionals (Data Architects, DBAs, Data Engineers, Data Scientists) we need to heed the warnings. Cloud Data, AI and BI offerings like Azure Synapse Analytics, Azure Machine Learning, Azure Data Factory, Azure Databricks, Azure Data Lake Storage, and Power BI have changed the game.

I started my data warehousing and decision support career back in 1993 and have seen many a product sunset: Metaphor Computer Systems, Sagent (great ETL tool the is somewhere in Pitney Bowes data integration), and Brio Technology

I moved to Seattle 23 years ago and used SQL Server 6.5, Sagent, and Brio to enable data analysts at University of Washington Physicians. I quickly migrated my data mart to SQL Server 7 in 1998. SQL Server had a major impact on the BI/DW industry (OLAP services changed the market) and on my career. It was important for my career when I joined Business Objects as an OLAP champion back in 2000 and at WaMu where a team I managed deployed SQL Server and Bobj like crazy. I joined Microsoft in 2005 just before SQL Server 2005 launched. In 2005 I also attended my first TechReady (Microsoft Tech internal event) at the Washington State Convention Center. It was an awesome readiness event all the way to TechReady 24 (that is 12 years because these happen twice a year). We are at the sunrise of Winter Ready in Seattle this Monday Feb 3rd. I can’t wait to learn about and skillup because I can see the new data skills needed on the horizon.

So why this history lesson? If you are seasoned like me and nearing the sunset of your career, I implore you to batten down the hatches and get ready for the storm by upskilling. Businesses need your energy and experience. Many of you are well on your way. Don’t let all the newbies get all the opportunities for the new projects that are out there, the the new generation of Data Pros need us. For people early in your data careers IMO you have an awesome future. I think SQL Server 2019 Big Data Clusters and the things it “Spawned” like Azure Arc and Azure Synapse Analytics will provide you with decades of learning, challenges, and employment.

I have had a love/hate relationship with certifications but would recommend Microsoft Certified: Azure Data Engineer Associate.

IMO, it will make us all better and the more people that take it the better the certification will be.

But get your hours in using the Azure Portal and Power BI Portal. Lets be Ready and Certified.

May there be many sunrises and sunsets in your work and personal lives.

Thanks for joining the Data Architecture Community!

Darwin Schweitzer	Cloud Solution Architect
darsch@microsoft.com	GitHub DataSnowman