What does an ETL Developer do?

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ETL developers are in charge of extracting, transforming and loading data in an efficient way and their work helps data teams greatly. So, what does it take to become an ETL developer? Read through to learn more about the skills, background, and duties for ETL developers.

What is ETL?

ETL Developer Job overview responsibilities, background, skills, salary

Extract, Transform, Load, or ETL for short, is the process of loading a range of business data into a data warehousing environment. This data then undergoes testing for performance and troubleshooting before it goes live. 

An ETL developer is responsible for that process and designs and develops data storage systems for firms. At the same time, it makes sure that those systems are filled up with relevant business data that needs to be stored.

Often ETL Developers are also called Informatica developers and are compared to Data Engineers.

What does an ETL Developer Do? Responsibilities and Tasks

ETL developer role and responsibilities

While designing data storage solutions for organizations and overseeing the loading of data into the systems, ETL developers have a wide range of duties and tasks that they are responsible for.

Below is a list of the primary duties of an ETL Developer:

  • Determining Data Storage Needs: ETL Developers are primarily tasked with figuring out the exact storage needs of the company or business they are working for. They will need to have a clear picture of the current data situation and be able to analyze different options to figure out the best fit.
     
  • Designing and Creating a Data Warehouse: Based on the determined needs, the ETL Developer then designs a data warehousing system that meets the specific business needs and works with a development team to build the warehouse.
     
  • Extracting, Transformation, and Loading of data: Once the warehousing system is developed, the ETL Developer extracts the necessary data and transfers it to the new system.
     
  • Testing and Troubleshooting: After the system is up and running, the ETL Developer must test their designs to ensure the system runs smoothly. They fix any problems that may pop up.

Detailed Informatica developer responsibilities and tasks:

  • Define business requirements and develop ETL mappings
  • Perform Unit testing
  • Develop and enhance existing ETL processes
  • Create data warehousing systems using Informatica software tools (Powercenter)
  • Create scripts to load a large amount of data – MLOAD, FLOAD, BTEQ scripts
  • Populate and refresh Teradata tables using TPT
  • Develop Process flow diagrams
  • Create and maintain up-to-date documentation of ETL processes related to Informatica systems

Looking for an ETL Developer?

So what does it take to become an ETL Developer? Let’s take a look: 

What skills does an ETL developer need?

ETL Developer Skills

The ETL developers should have the ability to read, analyze, and transform the data in accordance with what the business wants to do with it. They then need to design the best possible ETL designs to process it through the goal.

The ETL job role requires someone with more in-depth knowledge of the different programming languages. With excellent communication skills combined with the best analytical mind.

An ETL developer is responsible for leading an IT team to build the data warehouse. So communicating, instructing, leading efficiently is a crucial role.

Based on ETL Developer job listings we looked at, employers are looking for candidates with knowledge of ETL tools and core skills such as the ones listed below.

Technical skills required by ETL developers

  • ETL Tools such as Informatica or Pentaho
  • PL/SQL Oracle development experience
  • Hands-on experience with NoSQL databases
  • Experience pulling data from a variety of data source types
  • Dimensional modeling experience and parameterization
  • Experience interfacing with business users and understanding their requirements
  • Scripting skills – popular languages such as Python, Ruby, Perl, Bash
  • Strong Project Management and organization skills
  • Experience with Hadoop Components – HDFS, Spark, HBase, Hive, Sqoop
  • Experience with OLAP, SSAS, and MDX
  • Java and/or .NET experience

Apart from technical skills, which soft skills are also crucial to ETL Developers?

  • Organizational Skills
  • Time Management
  • Creativity
  • Problem Solving
     

Background and Education

The qualifications you need to become an ETL developer include a degree in a computer-related field and/or a certification in the ETL programming language.

Some of these certifications or training sessions to improve ETL knowledge and skills are listed below:

ETL Developer Salary

The median annual wage for Database Administrators is $81,700, but the lowest 10 percent and entry-level positions offer less than $45,400, while the highest 10 percent and senior roles earn more than $127,000.

How much does an ETL developer make?

Junior $ 45,400,
Average $ 81,700
Senior $ 127,000

How much do ETL freelancers earn?

Average rate ETL Developers (2022) $86/hr

On average, freelance ETL Developers charge $86/hour (freelancermap’s price and rate index in September 2022).

Freelance rates in ETL Development range between $66 and $101 for the majority of freelancers.

Considering a freelance rate of $86/hour, a freelancer would charge $688/day for an 8-hour working day.


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Natalia Campana

Natalia is part of the international team at freelancermap. She loves the digital world, social media and meeting different cultures. Before she moved to Germany and joined the freelancermap team she worked in the US, UK and her home country Spain. Now she focuses on helping freelancers and IT professionals to find jobs and clients worldwide at www.freelancermap.com

By Natalia Campana

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