Big Data Engineer Roadmap
A Practical, Step-by-Step Guide to Becoming a Job-Ready Big Data Engineer
By Akber Shaikh 📺 YouTube 💼 LinkedIn
Important Advice
Many students feel excited when they first see a roadmap. But excitement alone doesn’t bring
results. What matters is consistency—showing up every day, even when you don’t feel
motivated.
1. Start Small, But Daily – Study for at least 1 hour every day. Even small progress
adds up faster than waiting for the “perfect time.”
2. Track Progress – Keep a notebook or use a simple tracker. Ticking off tasks
gives you a sense of achievement and keeps you motivated.
3. Learn by Doing – Don’t just read or watch videos. Practice by coding, building
small projects, and solving problems.
4. Stay Consistent, Not Perfect – Missing one day is okay, but never miss two days
in a row. Getting back on track quickly is the real secret.
5. Find a Learning Buddy or Community – Share your goals with a friend or online
group. Accountability makes it much harder to quit.
Remember: Motivation starts you, but discipline finishes the journey. Follow this roadmap with
consistency, and you’ll be amazed at how much you can achieve in just a few months.
Stage 1 – Basics of Programming and Data
🐍 Python – The Core Language of Data
Why learn: It’s the most widely used language for data processing, cleaning, automation, and analysis.
Learn these basics:
● Syntax & basics → variables, data types, loops, conditionals, functions
● Data structures → lists, dictionaries, sets, tuples
● File handling → read/write CSV, JSON, text files
● Libraries:
○ pandas → data cleaning & manipulation
○ numpy → numerical operations
○ datetime → date/time handling
● Error handling → try/except
● Basic OOP (optional)
● Scripting & automation → run Python scripts automatically
🔗 Best Resources:
● freeCodeCamp Python Course
● W3Schools Python Tutorial
● Kaggle Python Micro-Course
🗃️ SQL – Querying and Managing Data
Why learn: Used to store, retrieve, and manipulate data efficiently in databases.
Learn these basics:
● CRUD: SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE
● Filtering & sorting: WHERE, LIKE, ORDER BY
● Aggregation: GROUP BY, COUNT, SUM, AVG
● Joins: INNER, LEFT, RIGHT
● Subqueries & CTEs
● Indexes for optimization
🔗 Best Resources:
● Kaggle SQL Micro-Course
● Mode SQL Tutorial
● freeCodeCamp SQL Full Course
💻 Linux – Command Line & System Basics
Why learn: Big Data tools primarily run on Linux-based systems.
Learn these basics:
● Navigate folders & files → cd, ls, pwd
● File management → touch, rm, mv, cp
● Permissions → chmod, chown
● Data commands → grep, awk, sed, sort
● Processes → ps, top, kill
● Basic shell scripting
● Edit files → nano, vim
● Software installation & environment variables
🔗 Best Resources:
● Traversy Media Linux Crash Course
● Linux Journey
● OverTheWire Bandit Practice
🔧 Git – Version Control & Collaboration
Why learn: To track, manage, and collaborate on code.
Learn these basics:
● git init, add, commit
● git status, git log
● Branching & merging
● git remote add/push/pull
● Undo mistakes → git reset, git revert
● Collaboration → pull requests, code reviews
🔗 Best Resources:
● freeCodeCamp Git & GitHub Full Course
● Atlassian Git Tutorial
● Git Documentation
🧩 Mini Project – Movie Data Analyzer
Goal: Combine Python, SQL, Linux, and Git.
Dataset: Movies dataset from Kaggle
Steps:
1. Load CSV using Python → clean and analyze data (top genres, ratings).
2. Store cleaned data in SQLite/PostgreSQL and run SQL queries.
3. Use Linux commands to automate runs.
4. Push code to GitHub.
Stage 2 – Real-World Data Flow
🧱 Databases (DBMS)
Concepts: Tables, rows, columns, primary/foreign keys, joins, indexes, constraints.
Resources:
● Gate Smashers DBMS Playlist
● GeeksforGeeks DBMS Notes
🏗️ Data Warehouses
Learn:
● Difference between DBMS & Data Warehouse
● Fact & Dimension tables
● Partitioning, clustering
● Tools: BigQuery, Redshift, Snowflake
Resources:
● BigQuery Basics – Google Cloud Skills Boost
● Snowflake Free Training
● AWS Redshift Tutorials
⚙️ ETL Pipelines (Extract, Transform, Load)
Learn:
● Extract: CSV, APIs, databases
● Transform: clean, normalize, standardize
● Load: store in databases or data warehouses
● Automation with Python scripts
Resources:
● Simplilearn ETL Basics
● YouTube – ETL Pipeline Project
⚡ Batch vs Real-Time Processing
● Batch = daily/weekly jobs
● Real-Time = dashboards, live notifications
Resources:
● Stream vs Batch Processing – DataCamp
● Google Cloud Pub/Sub Intro
🌐 Distributed Systems Basics
Learn: Consistency, Partitioning, Replication, CAP Theorem
Resources:
● System Design Basics – Tech Dummies
● ByteByteGo YouTube Channel
Stage 3 – Big Data Tools
🔥 Apache Spark
Learn:
● RDDs & DataFrames
● Transformations & Actions (map, filter, groupBy)
● Reading/writing CSV, Parquet
● Spark SQL, Spark Streaming
Resources:
● Databricks Free Spark Course
● freeCodeCamp Spark Crash Course
📡 Apache Kafka
Learn: Topics, partitions, producers/consumers, streaming data ingestion
Resources:
● Confluent Kafka Tutorials
● Kafka in 1 Hour – freeCodeCamp
🐘 Hadoop & Hive
Learn: HDFS basics, MapReduce, Hive queries, file formats (Parquet, Avro, ORC)
Resources:
● Simplilearn Hadoop Tutorial
● Hive Tutorial – TutorialsPoint
Stage 4 – Automate & Optimize Pipelines
🪶 Apache Airflow
Learn: DAGs, task scheduling, monitoring, error handling
Resources:
● [Link] Airflow Docs
● YouTube: Airflow Crash Course
🧱 Databricks
Learn: Workspaces, notebooks, cluster setup, job scheduling
Resource: Databricks Academy
🐳 Docker
Learn: Containers, Dockerfiles, local testing
Resources:
● freeCodeCamp Docker Full Course
● Docker Docs
🔁 CI/CD Basics
Learn: GitHub Actions / Jenkins / GitLab CI
Resource: GitHub Actions Docs
✅ Data Quality Tools
● Great Expectations → Data validation framework
● Soda → Optional, scalable data testing
Resources:
● Great Expectations Docs
● Soda Academy
Stage 5 – Cloud & Deployment
☁️ Cloud Platforms
Pick one: AWS / GCP / Azure
Recommended: AWS (the most in-demand)
Learn:
● Data storage → S3, Redshift, BigQuery
● Compute → EC2, Dataproc
● IAM roles, monitoring, and alerts
Resources:
● AWS Skill Builder
● Google Cloud Skills Boost
● Azure Fundamentals by Microsoft Learn
Stage 6 – Projects & Portfolio
💼 Project 1 – End-to-End E-Commerce ETL Pipeline
Build a pipeline for e-commerce data:
● Collect → Clean → Store → Automate → Report
● Tools: Python, SQL, Airflow, Docker, Databricks
⚙️ Project 2 – Real-Time Analytics System
Process streaming data for dashboards or recommendations
● Tools: Kafka, Spark Streaming, Python
📊 Project 3 – Big Data Warehouse with Dashboard
● Combine datasets, create a warehouse, and visualize KPIs
● Tools: Snowflake/BigQuery + Tableau/Power BI
✅ Tip: Document every project with a short blog or GitHub README — it increases your credibility for
interviews.
Make the most of the Roadmap
To fully understand how to use this roadmap effectively, you MUST watch my video:
👉 [Link]
In the video, I explain:
● Why I chose these specific skills
● What common mistakes do beginners make?
● How to actually succeed as a beginner
Share the Knowledge
If this guide helps, share it with friends who want to break into cybersecurity. One shared roadmap could
change someone’s career.
