The State Of Data Engineers

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Data engineer is a newly popular job title that marries the skills of a software engineer with those of someone who works closely with data. This combination of skills within IT and technology organizations is what is driving a new breed of company to success.

Data engineers are behind turning a company's data into a leading-edge product at companies such as Uber, Airbnb, and Spotify. InformationWeek has spoken with many organizations looking to transform themselves into companies that create value out of their own data as these digital-native leaders have done.

A recent report from data startup Stitch has taken a census view from data on LinkedIn to paint a fuller picture of data engineers today.

[Looking for a little more job security? Read 11 Tech Skills In Short Supply Now.]

Stitch, formerly part of RJ Metrics, based its report on this self-reported information on LinkedIn, including all publicly visible personal and company profiles, skills, and professional experience. The data is current as of March 2016, the company said in its report titled "The State of Data Engineering."

Stitch's report says the total number of data engineers on LinkedIn -- 6,500 -- is small compared to other data-related job titles such as data scientist. But people who possess data engineer skills are in high demand. Stitch noted in its report, released this month, that there are 6,600 data engineering jobs in the San Francisco Bay Area alone listed on job search site Indeed.

And Stitch notes that Indeed data shows that salaries for these data engineering pros are well into the six figures.

Who are these pros? We put together this handy infographic based on the Stitch report to provide a high-level overview.

(Cover image: DragonImages/iStockphoto)