Data warehousing specialists are typically tasked with handling the growing challenge of managing where the data ends up and making data management processes more efficient.
Their tasks include designing, building, and maintaining data warehouses. They may work with various companies, from small businesses to large corporations, to help them organize and store their data efficiently.
They may also analyze the data already stored in these warehouses. It may include determining ways to improve efficiency and performance, determining which data is most valuable to keep, and more.
Keep reading to learn more about the data warehouse specialist job in this post!
Job Description
What Is A Data Warehouse?
Data warehouses are permanent databases designed to use and analyze data to make business decisions.
That is why data warehouses are essential for organizations, as they are used to analyze competition, optimize processes and adjust the organizations’ strategic direction. So, many data, events, and information that occur continuously in organizations are recorded in this database.
When the data is gathered in some way, a database is formed. When new business decisions must be made, that data is essential to decision-making.
Data warehouses are utilized to make those datasets. Data is gathered from different sources, then compiled into a standard format before being prepared for research. The collection of those data has always complied with data protection standards. It applies, in particular, to personal data.
Who Is a Data Warehouse Specialist?
Data warehouse specialists are technology experts who organize and store data.
Their typical job duties may include creating information available to customers and clients and preventing access from hackers and other potential hazards.
Given the prevalence of data in the business world today, data can be related to anything, from financial information and shipping records to medical records. Therefore, these experts have an essential role in almost every field.
Roles and Responsibilities
- Testing software applications and systems to improve the software or new products.
- Reviewing codes, designs, test plans, documentation, and more, to ensure quality.
- Providing or coordinating troubleshooting support for data warehouses.
- Preparing technical or functional documentation for data warehouses
- Writing new programs or modifying existing programs to meet customer requirements utilizing current technologies and programming languages.
- Verifying the structure, quality, and accuracy of warehouse data.
- Selecting techniques, methods, or criteria for data warehousing evaluative procedures.
- Performing data analysis, system analysis, or programming using various computer languages and procedures.
- Developing or maintaining standards, such as structure, organization, or nomenclature, for the design of data warehouse elements.
- Mapping data between data warehouses, source systems, and data marts.
- Implementing business rules via middleware, stored procedures, or other technologies.
- Developing and implementing data extraction procedures from other systems, such as billing, administration, or claims.
- Creating supporting documentation, such as diagrams and metadata of entity relationships, process flow, and business processes.
- Designing and implementing warehouse database structures.
- Creating or implementing metadata processes and frameworks.
- Creating test files, plans, and scripts for data warehouse testing.
- Creating or implementing metadata processes and frameworks.
- Developing data warehouse process models, including loading, transformation, sourcing, and extraction.
- Designing, implementing, or operating comprehensive data warehouse systems to balance data access optimization with batch loading & resource utilization aspects according to customer requirements.
Work Environment
You may work in various settings as a data warehouse specialist, including corporate IT (information technology) departments, government agencies, consulting firms, and more.
They work full-time, and several positions may require shift work or overtime.
These specialists typically work in office settings but may travel to customer sites. They sometimes work long hours, especially when they must prepare or implement data warehouse projects.
As a data warehouse specialist, you may also experience stress from working with large amounts of data and meeting the demands of managers or clients.
Education Requirements
Data warehouse specialists typically need to have the following qualifications:
Education
Data warehouse specialists hold a bachelor’s degree in a field such as a computer science, business administration, information technology, or a related field.
Training and Experience
These specialists usually gain on-the-job training to learn their role’s specific processes and systems.
The training typically lasts for several months and includes learning from senior-level data analysts or shadowing existing data warehouse specialists.
Certifications and Licenses
Certifications are not usually required to work as a data warehouse specialist. But they will help you get employment and improve your earning potential.
Essential Skills
As a data warehouse specialist, you will need the following skills to be successful:
Business Intelligence
This skill is the ability to interpret and present data in a way that is useful to your business. You use this skill to make reports and visualizations that will help your business understand its data.
Database Management
This skill allows you to manage the data warehouse database hardware and software. It includes installing & maintaining the database software, monitoring the performance of the database, and ensuring the database is secure.
You may also be responsible for making and maintaining the schema of the database, which is the structure that will allow the database to function.
Project Management
Data warehouse specialists must have experience with project management practices and tools to manage data warehouse projects successfully. It includes planning, monitoring, reporting, and organizing project milestones and progress.
Database Design
The database’s design must be well-thought-out for a data warehouse to be effective. Data warehouse specialists must have experience designing databases to optimize performance and make sure that the data is effortless to access and analyze.
Data Warehouse Design
It refers to the process of making a data warehouse. It includes determining what data is needed and how it should be stored and accessed.
As a data warehouse specialist, you may also work with other IT experts to design a data warehouse.
Innovative Thinking
Data Warehouse Specialists should be innovative in their ideas to improve their company’s database.
Communication Skills
Data warehouse specialists need to have good communication skills to excel in this field.
Essential Tools
Here is our pick of some best data warehouse tools you may need to work as a data warehouse specialist:
- Amazon Redshift.
- Microsoft Azure.
- Google BigQuery.
- Snowflake.
- Micro Focus Vertica.
- Teradata.
- Amazon DynamoDB.
- PostgreSQL.
- Amazon RDS.
- Amazon S3.
- SAP HANA.
- MarkLogic.
- MariaDB.
- Db2 Warehouse.
- Exadata.
- BI360 Data Warehouse.
- Cloudera.
Job Outlook
Experts who work with computer systems and design systems to support them, including data warehousing specialists, are in high demand.
According to the U.S. BLS, statistical analysis and software development roles are among the professions expected to grow fastest in the U.S. from 2021 to 2031. This prediction aligns with existing trends as most businesses are using advanced digital technology to achieve their goals.
More data is being made and collected in the day-to-day practices of many businesses. When organized correctly by experts like data warehousing specialists, it will be easier to learn from and use that data.
Salary
The average annual salary for a data warehouse specialist in the US is $102,146 per year, equivalent to approximately $49.11 per hour, $1,964 per week, and $8,512 per month.
Most data warehouse specialists’ salaries range from $87,000 to $120,000, with top earners making $133,000 annually across the United States.
The average salary range for data warehouse specialists differs significantly (by as much as $33,000), suggesting there are many opportunities for advancement and increased pay based on skill level, years of experience, location, and more.
Advantages and Disadvantages
Pros
- Suitable for those who prefer to solve problems mentally.
- Suitable for people who value achievements and are results-oriented.
- It is not difficult to get into this career.
- High salary (top 25% highest paid careers).
Cons
- Not suitable for impatient people.
FAQs
How Many Types of Data Warehouses Are There?
There are three main types of data warehouses:
Data Mart
It is a part of data warehouses utilized for specific verticals like accounting, sales, finance, inventory, procurement, and more. Plus, this type of warehouse will allow you to retrieve data directly from the source.
Operational Data Store
This system is typically utilized when a data warehouse doesn’t meet the reporting needs of a business. A data warehouse may be refreshed in real-time, making it ideal for storing employee records.
Enterprise Data Warehouse
This centralized data warehouse will help many departments across the enterprise with decision-making. It’ll unify data storage and organization across the business. It will also allow the classification of data based on subject and let the administration grant separate access to various departments.
How to Become a Data Warehousing Specialist?
These specialists must be comfortable with industry-standard applications and the details of database management and design to perform their job tasks.
Most positions in the field require at least a bachelor’s degree in computer science or a related field in IT.
Many candidates who apply to become these specialists also pursue a master’s degree, typically in business analytics or similar programs.
With this education level and some previous experience, these specialists tend to be well-versed in software for metadata management, database management, application development, and more. Common database management software is Oracle SQL or Apache Hadoop.
Experience with component- or object-oriented programming languages like Python and Objective C is also useful in some cases.
Data warehousing specialists must be comfortable in a work environment similar to this of most computer engineers. Those jobs involve analyzing problems, developing solutions, and more within the framework of the IT field.
These professionals require a strict process of designing, revising, and testing the systems to facilitate continuous improvement and make sure operations progress smoothly.
How Long Does It Take To Become a Data Warehouse Specialist?
Becoming a Data Warehouse Specialist usually requires four to seven years of related experience.
What Are the Best Colleges and Universities for Data Warehouse Specialists?
- Cooper Union.
- Carroll College.
- Butler University.
- Providence College.
- Princeton University.
- High Point University.
- And more…
Career Advice
A data warehouse specialist career will be an excellent way to advance your IT career. You will be able to work with big data and gain new business intelligence and analytics skills. You will also contribute to the growth of an organization by supporting it to make better decisions based on its data.
To become this specialist, you must have robust knowledge and technical skills in data warehousing processes and concepts. You will also need to communicate effectively with technical or non-technical people.