Welcome back. Or welcome for the first time. Either way, I'm so glad you're here!

Life happened and I wanted to recalibrate.

During that pause, so many people reached out. To check in. To say they missed the podcast. To ask if it was coming back.

Guess what? It is!

Thank you, truly, to all of the folks who reached out. 🙏

I am so grateful! 🥹

This version exists because of those messages and care. I want to keep learning together!

One of the biggest changes is actually behind the scenes. Though you may notice it if you look at the site! The site and podcast have moved to fully-managed hosting. This gives me more control, flexibility, and sustainability long-term. Home base is still the same: wip-podcast.com.

I also added a new light! 💡Which is technically a hardware upgrade, but I wanted to listen to audience feedback!

Per more audience feedback, you might notice a spoken intro instead of the pre-recording. The goal is to make the entry point a little cleaner. Think of it as a minor version bump, not a rewrite.

Another new feature per audience feedback I’m excited about is to end interview episodes with a short recap from me: a reflection. What I learned. What stuck. What I’m still thinking about after the conversation ended.

This season is yet another experiment iteration. Let's try something new!

I’ll be testing new episode styles/different formats, and potentially new ways of having conversations. There may be a familiar face joining soon in a collaborative capacity or repeat guest(s). TBD - leaning into curiosity and iteration!

I’ve also added a way to support the show if you’d like. You can drop something in the "tip jar" to help keep the mics on and cover the costs of software and tools that make the podcast possible. Visit ko-fi.com/wippodcast to support the show.

Totally optional. Very appreciated.

Some things are intentionally the same. This podcast is still a work in progress. We’re still figuring things out in public. Curiosity still beats certainty. And humans are still more interesting than hot takes.

• I’m still learning in real time.
• This show will continue to evolve.
• Perfection is not on the roadmap.
• No fix scheduled.

Though these may be more features than bugs for this podcast. 😅

Thank you for being here, whether you’re new or a returning human. I very much appreciate you coming along for the journey!

Release notes updated.

I dubbed Joram Mutenge as a “trifecta” when it comes to the data profession. He is a data engineer, data analyst, and data scientist! As with many people, the route wasn’t a straight one, but suits him well once he learned to love the parts few enjoy and how to be safely creative within data.

To become as valuable as possible, Joram has spent time learning SQL, Python, and JavaScript. We discussed multiple tools and libraries along with how to approach a web-based visualization as opposed to a print visualization. He’s now also learning Rust!

One of his biggest recommendations for anyone trying to learn something new? It’s not random tutorials! Instead, consider a “curated” path of learning. When you invest some level of money into a course or something similar, you’re more likely to finish it because you’re also financially invested and you won’t waste as much time jumping around and trying to put the pieces together on your own.

In this episode, we’ll talk about Joram’s journey into data engineering, the differences between data engineering/analytics/science, various languages and tools he works with, data cleanliness, how to learn and using a curated learning path, and where we can focus energy to spend our time wisely.

Your call to action? → Useless things take just as much effort as useful things. Ask yourself: Is what I’m doing right now useful to what I’m trying to accomplish?

Chapters

00:00 Journey into Data Engineering

05:27 The Importance of Data Cleaning

10:14 The Trifecta of Data Roles

11:55 Thinking in Tables

15:53 Learning Paths and Curated Education

25:52 Embracing Rust in Data Engineering

32:27 Final Thoughts on Effort and Utility

All the Good Stuff - Links & More

LinkedIn

Joram’s blog

So Good They Can’t Ignore You by Cal Newport

Data-focused libraries & tools discussed:

D3

Apache ECharts

Matplotlib

Plotly

hvPlot

Pandas

Polars

Thanks & Gratitude 🙏

🎵 The background music in this episode was created by the amazing Sarah Garlock. You can also find Sarah @sarg_makes_beats on Instagram and TikTok!

Let’s Connect!

🎧 You can find this podcast episode and more at wip-podcast.com or wherever you enjoy your favorite podcasts.

👩‍💻 I also write a Substack newsletter about things I’m learning at codeOutLoud. You can find me on LinkedIn, YouTube, or take a peek at what I’m up to at mindi.omg.lol.

Want to be - or recommend - a guest for the show?

Fill out or send this short Notion form to a friend to be considered for an upcoming episode! I’m looking for interesting people working ALL across the tech world! 😁