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Data engineers — not to be confused with data scientists — are engineers that work on building and maintaining pipelines that collect data for analysis.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics is forecasting a 22% increase in job growth from 2020-2030 within the field of data, with much higher than the average growth of other occupations.

Indeed.com reports that working as a data engineer could bring in around $135,000 a year. To get a full understanding, let’s look at company size, location and experience level.

Data Engineer Salary Based on Company Size

The amount of money you can make might vary based on company size. Here are the average salaries you can expect based on company size:

• 0-50 employees: $99,903
• 51-500 employees: $107,283
• 501-1k employees: $109,170
• 5000+ employees: $117,939

These salaries do not include compensation like cash bonuses or equity, so keep that in mind.

Data Engineer Salary Based on Location

Just like real estate, salary can really depend on location, location, location! Salaries in tech hubs like San Francisco and Austin, TX will be higher than in locations where there aren’t a lot of tech companies. That being said, COVID-19 has opened up many tech companies to the possibilities of remote work, causing salaries based on location to (potentially) even out a little more.

Here are the average salaries you can expect based on location according to Glassdoor:

• Washington, DC: $167,039
• San Francisco: $152,457
• New York: $139,100
• Boston: $110,684

Many companies are now changing how they determine pay, with some altering salaries to match the cost of living where their employees are located. Others keep salaries standard. Now that remote work is here to stay, it will probably even out over the next five to ten years.

Data Engineer Salary Based on Experience

Entry-level data engineers are some of the best-paid engineers out there. This might be because data engineering is a popular field to transition into from another engineering profession. Or, it could just be that the skillset is in high demand.

Here are the average salaries you can expect based on years of experience:

• Entry-level: $77,381
• Mid-level: $103,708
• Senior-level: $156,625

It’s also important to keep in mind that there are always opportunities for advancement and increased pay as you grow your data engineering skill set.

Your Journey to Data Engineering

Do the six-figure salaries earned by data engineers look tempting to you? There’s never been a better time to start learning about data engineering and make a career switch. Before you know it, you could be one of those entry-level data engineers taking home a healthy paycheck. 

Check out Udacity’s Data Engineering Nanodegree program to get started today.

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