Transforms raw data into clean, tested, documented tables that analysts and BI tools use directly.
How to get here
Salary (US) as of 2026-11
Median$113K
Typical range$78K–$164K
Sources:
- PayScale, Analytics Engineer, US, Sep 2026base median $113K; 10th-90th $78K-164K; mid-career total $122K (119 profiles)
- Glassdoor, Analytics Engineer, US, 2026total pay median $157K; base $106K-148K; likely range $130K-193K (50 salaries)
- BLS OES, Data Scientists (15-2051), May 2025median $120,230 (nearest BLS bucket)
- dbt Labs, State of Analytics Engineering 2025no salary figures published in the public summary
Small samples. PayScale base and Glassdoor total pay differ by ~$44K. Senior IC/manager figure from Glassdoor Analytics Engineer total-pay median: $157,000.
Experience to get here
Entry level2-3 years in data roles
Typical title3-6 years; senior postings ask 3+ yrs each of SQL, modeling, pipelines and 2+ yrs dbt
Degree in CS, engineering, math 'or equivalent experience'; demonstrated dbt/SQL work and a portfolio carry more weight than credentials.
Typical prior roles
Data AnalystSenior Data AnalystBI DeveloperData EngineerBusiness Analyst
Must have
- Deep SQL and dimensional modeling (star schema, ER design)
- dbt Core or Cloud: models, tests, docs, macros
- Version control, testing, documentation, CI/CD
- A cloud warehouse: Snowflake, BigQuery, Databricks or Redshift
- Stakeholder management; defining metrics and semantic layers
Milestones people hit first
- Refactored a dashboard's one-off SQL into staging/intermediate/mart dbt models with tests
- Defined a metric once in a semantic layer so dashboards stopped disagreeing
- Opened and reviewed pull requests as part of a normal workflow
- Published a dbt project on GitHub with a README and lineage
Certifications
Nice to havein postings: sometimes
| Exam fee | $200 |
| Training | free dbt Learn courses (Fundamentals ~5 hrs plus four short follow-ups) |
| Renewal | renewal exam exists; fee and validity period not published on the page |
| Typical total | $200 |
Time: 2-hour exam, 65 questions; 6+ months of dbt use recommended
Prerequisites: SQL proficiency; 6+ months hands-on dbt recommended
The only role-specific credential; postings require dbt experience itself and treat the cert as a plus.
Nice to havein postings: sometimes
| Exam fee | $175 |
| Training | free Snowflake Hands-On Essentials badges |
| Renewal | validity period not stated on vendor page |
| Typical total | $175 (third-party figure; vendor page does not list fees) |
Time: 115-minute exam, 100 questions; 4-6 weeks of prep
Prerequisites: 6+ months of Snowflake use (candidate profile)
Snowflake is the warehouse most often paired with dbt in AE postings.
Nice to havein postings: sometimes
| Exam fee | $200 |
| Training | free Databricks fundamentals videos; paid Academy courses optional |
| Renewal | $200 retake of current exam every 2 years |
| Typical total | $200-400 |
Time: 90-minute exam, 45 scored questions; ~6 weeks prep
Prerequisites: none required; related training recommended
Preferred warehouse list in the Aimpoint posting starts with Databricks; covers Delta Lake and SQL on the lakehouse.
Nice to havein postings: rarely
| Exam fee | $200 |
| Training | Google Cloud Skills Boost paths (some labs need credits) |
| Renewal | retake every 2 years |
| Typical total | $200-400 |
Time: 2-hour exam; ~8 weeks prep
Prerequisites: 3+ yrs industry incl. 1+ yr designing on Google Cloud recommended
Listed at BigQuery-based companies alongside dbt and Looker.
Nice to havein postings: rarely
| Exam fee | not published |
| Training | free Microsoft Learn modules |
| Renewal | $0; free online renewal every 12 months |
| Typical total | exam fee varies by country (pricing on request) |
Time: 100-minute exam; 6-8 weeks prep
Prerequisites: none listed
Microsoft's analytics-engineer credential for Fabric shops; semantic models rather than dbt.
Training & learning
- dbt Fundamentals FREE
dbt Labs (dbt Learn) · course · free · about 5 hoursVendor's free on-ramp to models, tests and docs; follow with the free Jinja, materializations and refactoring courses.
- SQL Tutorial (foundational to advanced) FREE
ThoughtSpot (formerly Mode) · course · free · 1-2 weeksSQL is in nearly every posting in this family; a free, browser-based path from basics to advanced queries.
- The Data Warehouse Toolkit, 3rd ed.
Kimball Group · book · book purchase (price not shown) · a few weeks, then referenceDimensional modeling (grain, facts, dimensions, SCDs) is the design vocabulary behind most marts and BI models.
- Snowflake Hands-On Essentials badges FREE
Snowflake · learning path · free · 6 workshops (hours per badge not listed)Free hands-on badges (warehousing, data lake, data engineering) that prove Snowflake skills before paying for SnowPro.
- dbt Community (Slack, Discourse, meetups) FREE
dbt Labs · community · free · ongoing100K+ members; where analytics engineers trade modeling patterns and job posts.
- Data Engineering Zoomcamp FREE
DataTalks.Club · bootcamp · free · 9 weeksFree, open-source course covering Docker, Terraform, orchestration, BigQuery, dbt, Spark and Kafka with a project.
Sources & notes
- PayScale, Analytics Engineer salary (updated Sep 30, 2026)
- Glassdoor, Analytics Engineer salaries, US, Pay Trends 2026
- BLS OOH, Data Scientists (15-2051), May 2025 wages
- dbt Labs, State of Analytics Engineering 2025 summary
- Aimpoint Digital, Senior Analytics Engineer 2026 posting (2+ yrs dbt required)
- dbt Labs, dbt certifications overview
- dbt Labs, dbt Analytics Engineering Certification Exam (v1.11): $200, 2 hours, 65 questions
- Snowflake, SnowPro Core Certification
- The Data School, How to pass SnowPro Core ($175, 115 min, 100 questions)
- Databricks Certified Data Engineer Associate
- Google Cloud Professional Data Engineer
- Microsoft Learn, Fabric Analytics Engineer Associate (DP-600)
- dbt Learn, dbt Fundamentals
- dbt Labs blog, new dbt Learn courses (five free courses, durations)
- ThoughtSpot SQL Tutorial (formerly Mode)
- Kimball Group, The Data Warehouse Toolkit, 3rd ed.
- Snowflake Hands-On Essentials track (free badges)
- dbt Community (Slack, Discourse, meetups)
- DataTalks.Club Data Engineering Zoomcamp (GitHub)
dbt certification validity period and renewal fee are not on the exam page. The Aimpoint posting names no specific certification ('credentialize your skills'), so the dbt cert is 'sometimes', not 'often'. dbt Labs' salary survey figures are not public in the public summary.
Figures are US, from the sources listed, and change often; verify before deciding.