The Computer Science Education Department through the Data Mining course taught by Dr. Yudi Wibisono, M.T. held a Guest Lecture which was conducted online using the Zoom Meeting platform on Saturday, October 8, 2022. This guest lecture discusses comprehensively about one field of work that has considerable prospects in the current technological era, namely Data Engineer.

In order for the discussion on Data Engineering to be more complete and comprehensive, Wibi Putra Perdana Suhendra, a 2017 Computer Science Alumni who is currently working as a Data Engineer at Xeratic was brought in to be a speaker at this guest lecture.

Figure 1. Brief introduction of the presenter

Xeratic is a company engaged in data since 2006. Xeratic provides services to assist offices or companies in organizing their data in a more organized manner so that they enter the “Data-Driven Company” stage. Wibi is one of three alumni of the Computer Science Education Department that working at Xeratic. In the future, Xeratic will collaborate with the Computer Science Education Department in the form of vacancies for internships.

Figure 2. Xeratic

Source: (https://www.linkedin.com/company/xeratic/)

Guest lectures are divided into 2 sessions. In the first session, Wibi explained about Data engineers and their field of work. In addition, according to Wibi, Data Engineers have an important role in processing data, because when the data obtained is not processed properly (cleaning), the results will not be correct. This is where the role of the Data Engineer is needed.

Figure 3. Discussion of Data Engineering

To become a Data Engineer, there are several skill sets that need to be learned and explored. According to Wibi, the skill set that is really needed is the skill regarding databases, especially SQL queries. In addition, the basics of programming, as well as understanding about Linux which is often used for deployment is also needed.

Wibi advised the participants who are actually still students to prepare as early as possible to face the world of work. The preparations can be in the form of taking concentration courses that match the student’s interests while studying, participating in the Merdeka Belajar Kampus Merdeka (MBKM) activities offered by the government, participating in trainings in their preferred fields, and small things such as completing large course assignments serious and earnest. These preparations are useful for training in technical aspects and adding to a portfolio which of course will be useful later to apply for a job to a company or agency.

Figure 4. Data Engineer Roadmap

Furthermore, in the second session there was a question and answer session conducted with the participants who took part in the guest lecture. Participants in this activity consisted of students from the class of 2019 to class of 2021.

There were interesting things that were discussed in the question and answer session, namely the test flow to enter the company as well as the salary as a data engineer. Wibi explained about the flow of test stages that will be experienced when applying for a job as a data engineer or other positions. The stages are

1. Apply for the position by sending a cover letter accompanied by a CV and personal portfolio.
2. Contacted by an HR company to conduct an interview.
3. Technical Test. Conducted to test the applicant’s programming skills. Tests carried out usually use HackerRank.
4. User Interviews. Interview with the Technical Team, usually you will be asked about your experience, personal portfolio, or even do a test in the form of live coding.
5. Finally, the Offering Letter. It contains information about the regulations while working, the salary earned, as well as information about the company’s inventory items that will be loaned to employees.

Figure 5. Importance of Data Engineer

After all the stages of the test have been successfully passed, the employee will enter a probation & onboarding period for 3 months. During this time, employees will learn and show their abilities improvement before being awarded a contract. This contract usually lasts for 1 year. If the employee’s performance and abilities are considered good, the employee will later be appointed to become a permanent employee. The salary range as a data engineer at a start-up company in Indonesia is 8-15 million rupiah per month, this nominal salary also applies to other positions.

In this endemic period, work can be done anywhere (work from anywhere). Wibi himself, said that he currently works remotely or work from home (wfh) with a work duration of 8 hours starting from 09.00 WIB to 17.00 WIB and rarely gets overtime.

With this guest lecture activity, it is hoped that students of the Computer Science Education Department can get to know more about Data Engineers and can understand more about the world of work. Wibi emphasized the importance of determining the field that you want to explore as early as possible, so that you can focus more on exploring that field to become an important provision when you want to enter the world of work later.

Writers: Muhammad Cahya