Blog

Writing from our team. The latest news, insights, and resources.

How to earn rewards by sharing the knowledge!

How to earn rewards by sharing the knowledge!

Referring a friend to something you genuinely believe in is one of the simplest yet most powerful ways to create opportunities. With that in mind, we’re excited to introduce the Data Engineer Academy Referral Program—a way to reward you for sharing the benefits of industry-leading data engineering training with the people you know. We designed...

By: Chris Garzon | November 25, 2024 | 8 mins read
Learn More
How to Host a Website on AWS EC2

How to host a website on AWS EC2

In today’s digital world, both individuals and businesses require a powerful website. However, finding a trustworthy hosting company is an important step in creating a website. Amazon Web Services (AWS) EC2 provides a strong and scalable infrastructure for hosting websites, making it a great alternative for your hosting requirements. Step-by-step instructions for how to host...

By: ninad magdum | June 17, 2023 | 13 mins read
Learn More

How to Choose a Data Engineering Course

To answer “How to Choose a Data Engineering Course,” compare job-relevant skills, hands-on work, instructor credibility, learning format, cost, and support. The right program should fit your starting point and target role. Your skill gaps matter more than a long list of technologies. Before comparing providers, define what you need the course to help you...

By: Chris Garzon | November 11, 2026 | 8 mins read
Learn More
Job-Ready Data Engineering Skills

How to Build Job-Ready Data Engineering Skills

To build job-ready data engineering skills, learn SQL and Python, practice data modeling, and build pipelines that collect, transform, and deliver usable data. Then add cloud storage, scheduling, and testing to a project you can explain. Your goal is independent problem-solving, including recovering when something breaks. Start with the foundations, then use complete projects to...

By: Chris Garzon | November 4, 2026 | 8 mins read
Learn More
Snowflake vs BigQuery for Data Engineers

Snowflake vs. BigQuery: Key Differences for Data Engineers

Snowflake runs on AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud, with storage separate from compute. BigQuery is Google Cloud’s serverless data warehouse, with usage-based query processing or capacity pricing. The Snowflake vs. BigQuery decision depends on your cloud strategy, workload patterns, cost controls, and team skills. Both support large-scale analytics, but their operating models change how you...

By: Chris Garzon | November 3, 2026 | 8 mins read
Learn More
The Most Underrated Career in Tech: Data Engineering

The Most Underrated Career in Tech: Data Engineering

Data engineering is an underrated tech career because organizations depend on clean, trusted data, while the people building its foundations receive less attention than analysts or AI specialists. Their work makes reports dependable and gives machine learning usable inputs. For you, the career offers practical problem-solving and skills that travel across industries, alongside real responsibility...

By: Chris Garzon | October 28, 2026 | 8 mins read
Learn More
Python Data Analysis Workspace

How Data Analysts Use Python to Work With Data

Data analysts use Python to collect, clean, explore, analyze, and visualize data, then share findings. The practical answer to “How Data Analysts Use Python to Work With Data” starts with a clear question and a workflow you can check and repeat. Key Takeaways Quick summary:  Python connects data preparation, calculations, and charts in reusable steps,...

By: Chris Garzon | October 27, 2026 | 8 mins read
Learn More
Data Engineering Across Amazon and Lyft

Lessons From a Data Engineer at Amazon and Lyft

The most lasting lessons from a data engineer at Amazon and Lyft are straightforward: build reliable pipelines, understand the business need, and communicate clearly. Our founder, Christopher Garzon, brings that perspective through his data engineering experience at both companies. For you, the useful question is how to turn those principles into daily habits. Start with...

By: Chris Garzon | October 26, 2026 | 8 mins read
Learn More
Data Analyst Interview Questions and Sample Answers

Data Analyst Interview Questions and Sample Answers

Data analyst interviews commonly test SQL, analytical thinking, communication, and your ability to explain past work. Use these Data Analyst Interview Questions and Sample Answers to practice connecting your technical choices to business decisions. Key Takeaways Quick summary: Interviewers want to understand how you solve problems, handle imperfect data, and explain your reasoning. Key takeaway:...

By: Chris Garzon | October 23, 2026 | 8 mins read
Learn More
dbt Snapshots for Historical Data

How to Use dbt Snapshots for Historical Data

dbt snapshots preserve historical data by comparing source rows with their previously stored versions and recording detected changes. Each version gets validity dates, so you can query what a record looked like in the past. Unlike a source table that overwrites customer details, a snapshot keeps earlier versions alongside the current one. To use snapshots...

By: Chris Garzon | October 20, 2026 | 9 mins read
Learn More
Real-World Data Engineering Case Study: Fraud Detection Pipelines

Real-World Data Engineering Case Study: Fraud Detection Pipelines

A fraud detection pipeline turns payment events and supporting data into fast, trustworthy signals that help a business approve, review, or decline transactions. Effective fraud detection pipelines connect reliable data, fresh features, scoring, and feedback. We’ll use a clearly labeled illustrative case study, not a real company’s results, to show how those pieces work together....

By: Chris Garzon | October 19, 2026 | 8 mins read
Learn More
How Snowflake Tasks and Streams Support ETL

How Snowflake Tasks and Streams Support ETL

Snowflake Streams track changed rows, while Tasks run SQL or stored procedures on a schedule or when data changes. Together, Snowflake Tasks and Streams let data engineers automate incremental processing inside Snowflake. For beginners and working engineers, this means processing changes without rebuilding entire tables. Start with change capture, apply transformations, and monitor execution so...

By: Chris Garzon | October 16, 2026 | 7 mins read
Learn More
Referrals for Data Engineering Jobs: How to Get Them

Referrals for Data Engineering Jobs: How to Get Them

You can earn referrals for data engineering jobs by building genuine connections, choosing relevant employees, and making your fit easy to assess. Start with people who know your work, then expand through technical communities and thoughtful outreach. A referral can help your application get noticed, but your evidence of fit still matters. Here’s how to...

By: Chris Garzon | October 15, 2026 | 9 mins read
Learn More
How to Become a Data Analyst With No Experience

How to Become a Data Analyst With No Experience

You can move toward a data analyst role by learning core tools, completing practical projects, and showing clear evidence of your skills. If you’re figuring out how to become a data analyst with no experience, start with SQL, spreadsheets, and basic statistics. Your goal is demonstrated ability, not a collection of course badges. No learning...

By: Chris Garzon | October 12, 2026 | 8 mins read
Learn More
dbt Core vs. dbt Cloud: Features, Costs, and Trade-Offs

dbt Core vs. dbt Cloud: Features, Costs, and Trade-Offs

dbt Core is the free, open-source command-line tool, while dbt Cloud is a hosted service with managed development and execution workflows. The dbt Core vs. dbt Cloud decision depends on your team size, engineering capacity, workflow needs, and budget. Core gives you more control over infrastructure. Cloud reduces setup work, but you need to check...

By: Chris Garzon | October 9, 2026 | 9 mins read
Learn More
From BI Analyst to Data Engineer

From BI Analyst to Data Engineer: Skills You Need to Upgrade

You can move from BI analyst to data engineer by building skills in Python, data pipelines, cloud platforms, testing, and software engineering practices. Your SQL, data modeling, and business knowledge provide a useful foundation. The main upgrade is learning to build and maintain reliable systems that other teams can trust. Start by expanding the skills...

By: Chris Garzon | October 8, 2026 | 9 mins read
Learn More
Load More