“Data that Sit Unused are no Different from Data that were Never collected in the First Place”-Doug Fisher
The modern economy is the data economy where data is the new currency. The technological advancements which have been responsible for pushing business organizations towards a data-driven outlook, have rightly been responsible for the hype around data. Consequently, data related professions have emerged as one of the most lucrative career choices in current times.
However, this career landscape can be confusing as it covers multiple designations with overlapping roles and responsibilities. One such area which is a point of significant vagueness is that of Data Engineer vs. Data Architect.
Given the proximity of the two professions with the overall process of Data Management, the distinguishing line between a Data Architect and Data Engineer is often overlooked. However, the issue of Data Architect vs. Engineer is very much a real one and worthy of consideration.
In this blog, we shall look at the issue of Data Architect vs. Data Engineer in terms of their respective roles and responsibilities as well as career pathway. Subsequently, we shall also take up the issue of Data Architect vs. Data Engineer Salary.
Data Engineer vs. Data Architect
What is a Data Architect?
The word architect connotes a sense of building or creating something. On much the same note, a Data Architect is someone who is responsible for utilizing their skills and competencies for building databases.
They engineer the infrastructure which supports and stores data. Data Architects are the ones who help formulate the data strategy of the organization as well as concretize the data management standards and principles of the organization.
In other words, they help in outlining the data blueprint which other consumers of data within the organization have to inevitably abide by.

Roles and Responsibilities of a Data Architect
In this section, we shall look at some of the most important duties which Data Architects have to execute in their professional capacity. An elaboration of roles and responsibilities is also an important point of comparison under the topic of Data Architect vs. Data Engineer.
- Developing, designing, translating and executing the data strategy of the organization as well as business requirements.
- Overlooking policies with regard to data sources, data flow, data pipelines, data systems and overall data security.
- Defining the organizational data architecture pattern.
- Selecting data stores as per the type of data being stored, along with transforming and loading data.
- A Data Architect is responsible for the verification of data consistency as well as data access optimization.
- They actively collaborate with Data Scientists, Data Analysts, as well as Data Engineers for the efficient execution of the data strategy.
- They often spearhead teams which are responsible for developing reliable and high performance analytics software.
How to become a Data Architect?
Let us look at a rough roadmap which you can follow if you wish to be a Data Architect.
Earning an Undergraduate Degree
In the first step, you begin by acquiring an Undergraduate Degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Computer Engineering or other related field. Additionally, as an occupational requirement, you will be required to have some kind of an academic background in application design, systems development and information management.
Acquire Relevant Skills
As a Data Architect, you are expected to nurture appropriate competencies. This would include skills related to:
- Data Visualization
- Data Mining
- Predictive Modeling
- Machine Learning
- Application Server Software
Additionally, as an aspiring Data Architect, you will be required to nurture certain soft skills like:
- Excellent Communication Skills
- Industry Knowledge
- Problem Solving Skills
- Management Skills

Aim for Professional Certifications
Aspiring Data Architects can aim for relevant certifications like:
- Certified Data Management Professional (CDMP)
- TOGAF Certification Program
- Salesforce Certified Data Architecture and Management Designer
- IBM Certified Data Architect
- Earning a Master’s Degree
Since the position of a Data Architect is a senior level position, it will be important for you to keep sharpening your skills and upgrading your qualifications. Accordingly, you can dedicate yourself to a master’s degree in Data Science, Big Data Analytics or Computer Science.