In this episode of Stories from the Hackery, we talk with Nashville tech leader and hiring manager Jason Turan about one of tech's most in-demand fields: data engineering.

Jason, a long-time friend of NSS, was one of the first people to tell us that Nashville needed more data engineers. He shares his perspective on what a data engineer does, describing the role as the "connective tissue between data producers and data consumers".

Listen in to hear us discuss:
- Why data engineers are essential for flipping the 80/20 rule, allowing data scientists and analysts to spend less time cleaning data and more time finding insights.
- How the rise of generative AI has acted as an "accelerant," increasing the need for high-quality data and the professionals who can provide it.
- Actionable advice for getting started in the field, including the importance of focusing on a "T-shaped skillset" with SQL at its core.
- Why Jason's number one piece of advice is to be curious, experiment, and "go out and do the thing".

01:20 Meet Jason Turan: His Tech Origin Story
03:04 Jason's History with NSS and Hiring Grads
07:28 Defining Data Engineering: The "Connective Tissue" of Tech
11:15 Why Nashville is a Hub for Data Engineers
13:56 Healthcare's Impact on Nashville's Data Jobs
20:35 How GenAI Accelerates the Need for Data Engineers
31:33 Getting Started: Lower Barriers to Entry
39:03 A Top Use Case for AI: Understanding Your Codebase
52:21 Misconceptions & the "T-Shaped Skillset"
55:29 The Value of Hands-On Learning: "Go Do the Thing"
58:52 Lightning Round: Favorite Tech Tools
01:00:32 Lightning Round: Top Reads & Resources

Links
Metabase: https://www.metabase.com/
DuckDB: https://duckdb.org/
MotherDuck: https://motherduck.com/
Ralph Kimball: The Data Warehouse Toolkit: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1118530802
Bill Inmon: Building the Data Warehouse: https://www.amazon.com/Building-Data-Warehouse-W-Inmon/dp/0764599445
Edward Tufte: The Visual Display of Quantitative Information: https://www.amazon.com/Visual-Display-Quantitative-Information/dp/0961392142
Brendan Keeler: The Health API Guy: https://healthapiguy.substack.com/
TLDR Newsletter: https://tldr.tech/
Nashville Technology Council (NTC): https://technologycouncil.com/