I think the idea of a data engineering roadmap is flawed because there isn't a single cookie cutter "data engineer" role to aim for, just like if wouldn't make sense to talk about a single route into becoming a "software engineer".
I'm a data engineer but spend most of my time writing code in dask, and use fairly little of SQL. I've been in roles before though where long and complex SQL routines was the main focus.
My advice that nobody asked for: focus on 1) general programming skills which are transferable anywhere and 2) do what you personally find interesting. Like SQL? Sweet plenty if people will pay to do that. Obsessed with using scala and spark in combo? Someone'll probably pay you to do that too.
Don't focus on being a "data engineer" or any other label- just enjoy programming and find roles that have more of what makes you happy.
I'm a data engineer but spend most of my time writing code in dask, and use fairly little of SQL. I've been in roles before though where long and complex SQL routines was the main focus.
My advice that nobody asked for: focus on 1) general programming skills which are transferable anywhere and 2) do what you personally find interesting. Like SQL? Sweet plenty if people will pay to do that. Obsessed with using scala and spark in combo? Someone'll probably pay you to do that too.
Don't focus on being a "data engineer" or any other label- just enjoy programming and find roles that have more of what makes you happy.