Mwenda Harun Mbaabu

Posted on Jan 21

Comprehensive LuxDevHQ Data Engineering Course Guide

#dataengineering #python #sql #airflow

This comprehensive course spans 4 months (16 weeks) and equips learners with expertise in Python, SQL, Azure, AWS, Apache Airflow, Kafka, Spark, and more.

Learning Days: Monday to Thursday (theory and practice).
Friday: Job shadowing or peer projects.
Saturday: Hands-on lab sessions and project-based learning.

Month 1: Foundations of Data Engineering

Week 1: Onboarding and Environment Setup

Monday:
- Onboarding, course overview, career pathways, tools introduction.
Tuesday:
- Introduction to cloud computing (Azure and AWS).
Wednesday:
- Data governance, security, compliance, and access control.
Thursday:
- Introduction to SQL for data engineering and PostgreSQL setup.
Friday:
- Peer Project: Environment setup challenges.
Saturday (Lab):
- Mini Project: Build a basic pipeline with PostgreSQL and Azure Blob Storage.

Week 2: SQL Essentials for Data Engineering

Monday:
- Core SQL concepts (SELECT, WHERE, JOIN, GROUP BY).
Tuesday:
- Advanced SQL techniques: recursive queries, window functions, and CTEs.
Wednesday:
- Query optimization and execution plans.
Thursday:
- Data modeling: normalization, denormalization, and star schemas.
Friday:
- Job Shadowing: Observe senior engineers writing and optimizing SQL queries.
Saturday (Lab):
- Mini Project: Create a star schema and analyze data using SQL.

Week 3: Introduction to Data Pipelines

Monday:
- Theory: Introduction to ETL/ELT workflows.
Tuesday:
- Lab: Create a simple Python-based ETL pipeline for CSV data.
Wednesday:
- Theory: Extract, transform, load (ETL) concepts and best practices.
Thursday:
- Lab: Build a Python ETL pipeline for batch data processing.
Friday:
- Peer Project: Collaborate to design a basic ETL workflow.
Saturday (Lab):
- Mini Project: Develop a simple ETL pipeline to process sales data.

Week 4: Introduction to Apache Airflow

Monday:
- Theory: Introduction to Apache Airflow, DAGs, and scheduling.
Tuesday:
- Lab: Set up Apache Airflow and create a basic DAG.
Wednesday:
- Theory: DAG best practices and scheduling in Airflow.
Thursday:
- Lab: Integrate Airflow with PostgreSQL and Azure Blob Storage.
Friday:
- Job Shadowing: Observe real-world Airflow pipelines.
Saturday (Lab):
- Mini Project: Automate an ETL pipeline with Airflow for batch data processing.

Month 2: Intermediate Tools and Concepts

Week 5: Data Warehousing and Data Lakes

Monday:
- Theory: Introduction to data warehousing (OLAP vs. OLTP, partitioning, clustering).
Tuesday:
- Lab: Work with Amazon Redshift and Snowflake for data warehousing.
Wednesday:
- Theory: Data lakes and Lakehouse architecture.
Thursday:
- Lab: Set up Delta Lake for raw and curated data.
Friday:
- Peer Project: Implement a data warehouse model and data lake for sales data.
Saturday (Lab):
- Mini Project: Design and implement a basic Lakehouse architecture.

Week 6: Data Governance and Security

Monday:
- Theory: Data governance frameworks and data security principles.
Tuesday:
- Lab: Use AWS Lake Formation for access control and security enforcement.
Wednesday:
- Theory: Managing sensitive data and compliance (GDPR, HIPAA).
Thursday:
- Lab: Implement security policies in S3 and Azure Blob Storage.
Friday:
- Job Shadowing: Observe senior engineers applying governance policies.
Saturday (Lab):
- Mini Project: Secure data in the cloud using AWS and Azure.

Week 7: Real-Time Data Processing with Kafka

Monday:
- Theory: Introduction to Apache Kafka for real-time data streaming.
Tuesday:
- Lab: Set up a Kafka producer and consumer.
Wednesday:
- Theory: Kafka topics, partitions, and message brokers.
Thursday:
- Lab: Integrate Kafka with PostgreSQL for real-time updates.
Friday:
- Peer Project: Build a real-time Kafka pipeline for transactional data.
Saturday (Lab):
- Mini Project: Create a pipeline to stream e-commerce data with Kafka.

Week 8: Batch vs. Stream Processing

Monday:
- Theory: Introduction to batch vs. stream processing.
Tuesday:
- Lab: Batch processing with PySpark.
Wednesday:
- Theory: Combining batch and stream processing workflows.
Thursday:
- Lab: Real-time processing with Apache Flink and Spark Streaming.
Friday:
- Job Shadowing: Observe a real-time processing pipeline.
Saturday (Lab):
- Mini Project: Build a hybrid pipeline combining batch and real-time processing.

Month 3: Advanced Data Engineering

Week 9: Machine Learning Integration in Data Pipelines

Monday:
- Theory: Overview of ML workflows in data engineering.
Tuesday:
- Lab: Preprocess data for machine learning using Pandas and PySpark.
Wednesday:
- Theory: Feature engineering and automated feature extraction.
Thursday:
- Lab: Automate feature extraction using Apache Airflow.
Friday:
- Peer Project: Build a simple pipeline that integrates ML models.
Saturday (Lab):
- Mini Project: Build an ML-powered recommendation system in a pipeline.

Week 10: Spark and PySpark for Big Data

Monday:
- Theory: Introduction to Apache Spark for big data processing.
Tuesday:
- Lab: Set up Spark and PySpark for data analysis.
Wednesday:
- Theory: Spark RDDs, DataFrames, and SQL.
Thursday:
- Lab: Analyze large datasets using Spark SQL.
Friday:
- Peer Project: Build a PySpark pipeline for large-scale data processing.
Saturday (Lab):
- Mini Project: Analyze big data sets with Spark and PySpark.

Week 11: Advanced Apache Airflow Techniques

Monday:
- Theory: Advanced Airflow features (XCom, task dependencies).
Tuesday:
- Lab: Implement dynamic DAGs and task dependencies in Airflow.
Wednesday:
- Theory: Airflow scheduling, monitoring, and error handling.
Thursday:
- Lab: Create complex DAGs for multi-step ETL pipelines.
Friday:
- Job Shadowing: Observe advanced Airflow pipeline implementations.
Saturday (Lab):
- Mini Project: Design an advanced Airflow DAG for complex data workflows.

Week 12: Data Lakes and Delta Lake

Monday:
- Theory: Data lakes, Lakehouses, and Delta Lake architecture.
Tuesday:
- Lab: Set up Delta Lake on AWS for data storage and management.
Wednesday:
- Theory: Managing schema evolution in Delta Lake.
Thursday:
- Lab: Implement batch and real-time data loading to Delta Lake.
Friday:
- Peer Project: Design a Lakehouse architecture for an e-commerce platform.
Saturday (Lab):
- Mini Project: Implement a scalable Delta Lake architecture.

Month 4: Capstone Projects

Week 13: Batch Data Pipeline Development

Monday to Thursday:
- Design and Implementation:
- Build an end-to-end batch data pipeline for e-commerce sales analytics.
- Tools: PySpark, SQL, PostgreSQL, Airflow, S3.
Friday:
- Peer Review: Present progress and receive feedback.
Saturday (Lab):
- Project Milestone: Finalize and present batch pipeline results.

Week 14: Real-Time Data Pipeline Development

Monday to Thursday:
- Design and Implementation:
- Build an end-to-end real-time data pipeline for IoT sensor monitoring.
- Tools: Kafka, Spark Streaming, Flink, S3.
Friday:
- Peer Review: Present progress and receive feedback.
Saturday (Lab):
- Project Milestone: Finalize and present real-time pipeline results.

Week 15: Final Project Integration

Monday to Thursday:
- Design and Implementation:
- Integrate both batch and real-time pipelines for a comprehensive end-to-end solution.
- Tools: Kafka, PySpark, Airflow, Delta Lake, PostgreSQL, and S3.
Friday:
- Job Shadowing: Observe senior engineers integrating complex pipelines.
Saturday (Lab):
- Project Milestone: Showcase integrated solution for review.

Week 16: Capstone Project Presentation

Monday to Thursday:
- Final Presentation Preparation:
- Polish, test, and document the final project.
Friday:
- Peer Review: Present final projects to peers and receive feedback.
Saturday (Lab):
- Capstone Presentation: Showcase completed capstone projects to industry professionals and instructors.

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