BI Architect Career direction advice discussion

New / Consultant
azurespec

New Consultant

azurespec
Mar 31, 2021 3 Comments

#career #advice #softwareengineersalary #dataanalytics #transition #SWE

Good afternoon All,
I've been more of a reader than a writer. But going through the boards made me think about different things as it applies to my career - including monetary - as I am not sure if I should continue with independent path or choose another one. I have been independent BI architect consultant for over 5 years (15 YOE, BI consulting background, including big banks and F50 companies). Primary skillset right now are Power BI , Azure data factory, Snowflake, Oracle, datwarehouse modelling, various integrations. I have multiple azure and oracle certifications. Most of current projects involve transition from older DWH / datamarts to modern systems.

I think I underbill (about 100 per hour), but i get paid for a lot of hours - last year TC was 200k, this year might be 300k+ , but I have long-term running projects. I've not been able to charge more. Unforutnately, I've not received much interest from FAANG - in space of BI / data analytics / etc. - I am not sure if I tried hard enough - I dont have much experience with interviews -since I usually landed contracts I interviewed for right away.

I was thinking about transitioning to being SWE - primarily due to compensation and long-term security - i wasn't ready to relocate to CA before due to COL - now with remote situation I feel that it could be worth pursuiing opportunities - I already have BS in IT and MBA, however, I feel I would need to obtain MSC in CS to have a good shot (there're some programs that could take about a year) - this study time would also enable me to prepare for interviews (LC, systems design) and create a portfolio of my projects / dev portfolio. I'm thinking that in 1 - 1.5 years time I should be able to apply for mid-level.

I dont have intention to misrepresent my experience (hell, I worked with an international airline pilot once who transitioned into BI space) - but I hope that my BI background would count for something.

I would like to get some advice on my plan as well as constructive criticism. I've done short search and it seems as that even for experienced bi / data architects, the salaries seem to hit celiing at around 180k - and then bonuses, depending on a company.

Thank you

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TOP 3 Comments
  • WWE
    absurdium

    WWE

    absurdium
    You are right about topping out in BI/DE. There's not much from a technical perspective unless you go the management route and go to Director/VP (non banking VP where it just means manager).

    I do think you are under billing. As an architect or lead you should be getting at least $125-$150. Larger firms would bill you out at $200-$250.

    I can't speak to transitioning to SWE. It's possible (I've seen a teacher become a VP of Engineering).

    Another thing to consider is getting into more MLOps or at least pivot to "hot" DE technologies (Redshift, Snowflake, Fivetran, Matillion, Dremio, etc). That might attract attention at start-ups where you have an opportunity for equity or internal promotions. I have never seen a startup jobs ask for Azure/PowerBI or Oracle.

    I don't think you have a bad plan but its a risk you need to go all in for 2-3 years. You can always fall back in contract work.

    What's your end game?
    Mar 31, 2021 2
    • New / Consultant
      azurespec

      New Consultant

      azurespec
      OP
      Thank you so much for your response!
      Thank you for your response! My primary concern that I've become too dilluted (jack of all trades, and master of concepts) and even though things are going well now, I'm not sure about long-term outlook. I'm doing self-reflection and thinking that in order to achieve more comp, I need to either dedicate to conversion to SWE, or perhaps consider how to get to Director/Associate director levels and own programs, rather than focus on solution/deliveries.

      Part of it could be impostor's syndrome, and part could be how quickly things are changing - several years ago, I could bill for several months setting up correct infrastructure, tools, etc. - now with cloud and software-as-a-code - I could use some templates and have complete DEV/QA/PRD data environments in matter of hours. ETL things that took weeks, can now be done in hours from a browser window.

      I've been thinking about several end-game options:
      A) long-term federal contract(s) as a sub-prime -- lots of stability, relatively low-stress. Perhaps helping a vendor to build analytics/BI practice. Pursuing side projects on the side - consulting/training.
      B) Management position in a corporation - my concern is that I don't enjoy the "stick" elements of job - firing, performance reviews, and having to deflect insane demands. I've worked in a position where I served as IC and BI manager - and I didn't like the fact that team members doing same work had different compensation levels essentially doing the same thing. Expectations were also high to quality of my work - but I didn't have enough resources - and request for additional resources was met with resistance. I also noticed that competition for director level positions is very intense.
      C) Stay course of BI self-employed contractor - continue growing network - work on sharing knoweldge / books / blog content - learn how to bill by Project and not by hour (this is tough, since many times clients dont know what they need and billing by project wouldn't work , since they want to understand what they need) - get more AWS/Google Cloud certs and experience - try to get into advisory roles (more difficult, but doable).

      I'd love to upgrade my TC to 400-500k in next 2-3 years - I've had a huge health issue in family, I've been dealing with for 2 years, that luckily has been resolved, so I'm actually blessed to have been able to carry on.

      Thank you for honest review of my situation - I realize I'm in a forunate position, just trying to understand what it takes to make another leap. My biggest fear is that I'm overestimating my ability to learn how to code efficiently.
      Apr 1, 2021
    • WWE
      absurdium

      WWE

      absurdium
      @azurespec
      If TC is the end game you are probably going to need to put multiple irons in the fire and jump on the best available opportunity. You are dealing with some scarcity and diminishing returns here.

      A) This is set and forget but not a ton of upside, side projects might take more time than you realize.

      B) This might be the only way you get into industry and potentially to a top tier or unicorn for the TC you are looking for. The longer you stay an consultant/contractor firms will only see you as such. Companies want to see how you have built or maintained an org over time. It might take you more than one jump to get to where you want to be. On the other side people management can be really rewarding in the right environment. Being in F50 and government is kind of brain death for me (was a consultant) the world of tech and start-ups is way different but not without it's own challenges.

      C) Here you want to get your rates up and focus on leading edge tech. You could also consider larger projects where you can sub out or have your own staff. That is it's own challenge but you can't scale your own hours but you can scale others. Or if perhaps you can blend with B) and become a principal or director at a consultancy (mid-market or boutique).

      Some other options - create and sell a product (subscription), go all-in on SWE but you will be competing with lots of other more seasoned SWE, pivot to MLOps which has higher potential, hyper-focus on top tier DE stacks (Hive, Kafka, GraphQL) and get referrals from folks here on Blind.

      I looked at the SWE engineering route and that ship has sailed for me. The concepts and disciplines are very different from DE but not insurmountable. And it appears you have to grind Leetcode for a long time to get to parity.

      Or, in breaking with Blind tradition, forget TC and GTFO. Life's too short, live the best life you can.
      Apr 1, 2021