Interviewing Data Engineering Trainees Sije & Don

What drew Sije and Don to the Data Engineering Traineeship? What are the program’s advantages and challenges and why do both trainees wholeheartedly recommend the Aurai traineeship? Read the double interview with trainees Sije and Don below.

What made you opt for the Aurai Data Engineering Traineeship?

Sije: “I have a background in Data Science and I am experienced in carrying out small-size data assignments. Clearly, big data will only increase in importance in the coming years, and engineering will play an essential role in this. I wanted to extend my knowledge regarding engineering issues, and Aurai’s Data Engineering Traineeship gave me the opportunity to further specialize within the world of data.”

Don adds: “After my Master in Data Science, the Aurai’s Data Science Traineeship seemed the logical next step – until I sat down with Aurai. I realized during this interview that the Data Engineering Traineeship is a much better fit for me and my ambitions. I asked myself: do I want to gain more technical know-how, or would I prefer to search for creative solutions? Finally, I chose both by learning the technical skills that have the power to materialize creative solutions – a decision that has allowed me to expand my Data Science knowledge and experience.”

What would you say are some of the assets of the Data Engineering Traineeship?

Don: “First of all, within two months of your traineeship you will be well-prepared to start as a Data Engineer. Equipped with the basic skillset, you can quickly put your knowledge into practice. Secondly, I find the guidance from the Aurai’s trainers to be excellent. They encourage trainees to self-navigate the work, and whenever necessary they are happy to offer you extra support.”

Don continues: “Moreover, you learn a lot of new things as a Data Engineering trainee. Not just from the trainers, but also from your fellow trainees. Aurai promotes an inclusive and inspiring work atmosphere, encouraging trainees to share knowledge and work closely together. I am very satisfied with my choice for this traineeship – I really feel that the skills I am learning now will prove very useful. Also, this traineeship has made me a lot more confident in my own skillset.”

Sije adds: “What is especially appealing to me are the small groups, the multidisciplinary and collaborative character of the work, and the extensive practice in both hard and soft skills throughout the traineeship.”

What challenges do you experience as Data Engineers?

Sije: “Consistently choosing the right tool and approach to tackle a certain issue and dividing the problem into feasible steps are great challenges. For me personally, it is also challenging maintaining patience, when for instance, trying to locate errors in the code.

Don nods in agreement: “Trainees are constantly learning and performing during the Data Engineering Traineeship. Once the training period finishes, trainees will be tasked to apply concepts to various levels. In addition, communication with clients can be challenging. I believe keeping the end-user involved in the data process and aligning their expectations is an art. So yeah, the traineeship provides plenty of fun and exciting challenges, which is why I am thankful for the outstanding guidance throughout it all.”

Could you describe a project you have been working on during your traineeship?

Sije: “I am currently working at a fast-growing company that deals with the water depth of ships on the Rhine. The rapid expansion of the company causes an exponential increase in the amount of the company’s data, and processing this data is costing them more and more computing power. My project is focused on efficiently storing this data and coming up with solutions that will simplify the company’s data processing,”

Don: “I developed an app, during one of my earlier projects, that makes suggestions for words and sentences – based on the effectiveness of previous advertisements. In doing so I automated the loading, clean-up and storage of the data, and the installation of required programs and modules through the production environment.”

What are your long-term ambitions?

Don says, smiling: “I want to further develop myself as a Data Scientist and Data Engineer in order to improve the quality and effectiveness of my work. Moreover, I would like to gain front-end knowledge, so that I can communicate my solutions to clients clearly. In addition, I want to apply my knowledge towards developing solutions that add direct value for companies. I ultimately aspire to make life in today’s society better and easier.”

Sije adds: “My ambition is to further specialize within this field and, ultimately, become a Senior Data Engineer. I hope to pass my knowledge on and enter into exciting collaborations.”

Would you advise people with a Data Science background to join the Data Engineering Traineeship? If so, why?

Sije: “Are you blessed with a patient nature and do you enjoy working with large amounts of data? In that case, this might be the traineeship for you. As a Data Engineer you will focus on programming and developing new software, and run the research developed by the Data Scientists. You will at times spend hours trying to solve a code error, which requires patience and persistence. You will process the research data in a cluster or cloud environment that you can then automate. As Data Engineer, you will master the skill of efficiently storing and processing data.”

Don: “If you like to make Data Science solutions usable for the end user, then I highly recommended this traineeship. You will acquire all necessary skills within the Aurai Data Engineering Traineeship– and once you start working with clients, you can develop your skillset further. Combining Data Science and Data Engineering skills will allow you to develop your own Data Science solution from start to finish. This is enormously valuable for companies. If you are only interested in the Data Science part, then this traineeship won’t be the right fit for you. But even in that case, I would still advise you to learn engineering basics, so that later on you can work better with a Data Engineer.”

Interested in our Data Engineering traineeship? Sign up here!