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 Story03:04 Jason's History with NSS and Hiring Grads07:28 Defining Data Engineering: The "Connective Tissue" of Tech11:15 Why Nashville is a Hub for Data Engineers13:56 Healthcare's Impact on Nashville's Data Jobs20:35 How GenAI Accelerates the Need for Data Engineers31:33 Getting Started: Lower Barriers to Entry39:03 A Top Use Case for AI: Understanding Your Codebase52:21 Misconceptions & the "T-Shaped Skillset"55:29 The Value of Hands-On Learning: "Go Do the Thing"58:52 Lightning Round: Favorite Tech Tools01:00:32 Lightning Round: Top Reads & ResourcesLinksMetabase: https://www.metabase.com/DuckDB: https://duckdb.org/MotherDuck: https://motherduck.com/Ralph Kimball: The Data Warehouse Toolkit: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1118530802Bill Inmon: Building the Data Warehouse: https://www.amazon.com/Building-Data-Warehouse-W-Inmon/dp/0764599445Edward Tufte: The Visual Display of Quantitative Information: https://www.amazon.com/Visual-Display-Quantitative-Information/dp/0961392142Brendan Keeler: The Health API Guy: https://healthapiguy.substack.com/TLDR Newsletter: https://tldr.tech/Nashville Technology Council (NTC): https://technologycouncil.com/