Data With Direction
Real Stories. Real Strategy. No Fluff. Data With Direction is the show where Chris Gambill, data engineering consultant and educator, cuts through the noise to help you build resilient data systems, tackle real-world challenges, and future-proof your analytics career. Each episode delivers practical guidance, industry insights, and the war stories you won’t find in textbooks, whether you’re tuning in live or catching up on the go.
Episodes
Level up from “pipeline builder” to “senior engineer.” In this video I share the 7 books that actually changed how I design systems, ship stable data products, and interview with confidence. Each pick comes with one takeaway, one field exercise, and one interview line you can use tomorrow.
Want the Reading Tracker and Governance Card template? Check the pinned comment.
What you’ll learn
Syst...
Unlock the power of Databricks with this in-depth guide to Liquid Clustering! If your Databricks jobs are slow, expensive, or hard to explain, this video is for you. Learn how Liquid Clustering can transform your data pipelines, cut costs, and make you stand out in job interviews. We’ll break down the differences between partitioning, Z-ordering, and Liquid Clustering, show you how to implement it, and share expert ti...
If you ship AI-generated code you do not understand, you will not be replaced by AI. You will be replaced by an engineer who knows how to use it well.
We were live with two sharp data pros for a straight talk session on collaborating with AI in real pipelines.
🗓 Friday, August 15, 2025
🕙 10:00 PM ET
🔴 YouTube Live
What we covered
AI as a Pair programmer - How to write code wit...
Unlock your data engineering career in 2025 with this step-by-step blueprint! Whether you’re just starting out or looking to level up, this guide covers the essential skills, tools, and strategies you need to land high-paying, future-proof data jobs. Learn why Databricks, SQL, Delta Lake, and Spark are must-haves, and discover the real-world playbook for mastering the modern data stack. Includes interview questions, s...
From Neuroscience to Startups: A Data Pro’s Journey | Kyle Stratis Interview
Join host Chris as he interviews Kyle Stratus, founder of Stratus Data Labs and O’Reilly author, about his unique journey from neuroscience PhD to startup founder and data innovator. Discover how Kyle transitioned into tech, built a viral meme stock market, and what he learned from startup successes and failures—including a legendary...
Negotiate Like a Pro or Stay Underpaid in 2025
Unlock the secrets to salary negotiation as a data engineer in 2025! In this video, you'll learn exactly what to say, when to say it, and how to anchor your value so you never leave money on the table again. Whether you're entry-level or a seasoned pro, these strategies will help you maximize your compensation, avoid common mistakes, and confidently nav...
What’s it really like building data solutions from the ground up in a startup?
Join Chris Gambill (Founder, Gambill Data) for a candid live conversation with Kyle Stratis, founder of Stratis Data Labs, O’Reilly author, and hands-on data leader in the trenches of startup growth.
Kyle’s not only shaping the future of AI automation with his upcoming book, AI Agents with MCP (O’Reilly), he’s got the scars, wi...
Think AI is only for machine learning experts and prompt engineering pros? Think again. In this episode of Data With Direction, Chris Gambill joined by AI Architect Ramona Truta breaks down 10 essential AI skills that you probably already have—and shows you how to level them up to stay relevant in the rapidly shifting world of data and AI.
From writing clear Google searches to debugging messy SQL queries, these everyda...
Are you a data engineer stuck in a mid-level role, wondering why your career isn’t advancing as fast as your skills? In this video, Chris Gambill breaks down the three invisible mistakes that hold back 80% of data engineers from landing senior positions and big salary jumps. Learn how to avoid the technology trap, visibility gap, and impact illusion—and discover actionable strategies to boost your career, increase you...
Join Ramona and me on Data With Direction as we discuss architecture patterns that set you on a career trajectory beyond your greatest imagination.
You want to earn more? Show you have the skills to move the needle!
I remember a time when I created manual triggers that I had to babysit and watch for an hour, only to walk away at a critical moment. With the tools and knowledge I have today, I do it ...
Are you making these common mistakes in Databricks? In this video, we break down the top 10 pitfalls that data engineers, both new and experienced, fall into when working with Databricks and Spark. From treating Databricks like a simple Jupyter Notebook to neglecting the power of Delta Lake and proper version control, we cover the essential best practices that will elevate your data engineering skills.
If you...
Join us for a special live interview with a Navy Corpsman-turned-software engineer!
We'll dive into his journey from military life to the world of tech.
We'll explore how his time in the Navy prepared him for a career in software engineering,
the challenges he faced,
and the resources that helped him succeed!
Whether you're a veteran looking to enter tech or simply inter...
Mid-Career Changes to data with CJ Watkins.
We will be talking about work/study/home life balance, what it looks like moving from a career in education to a career in data, as well as CJ's unique take on data-guided decisions vs data-driven decisions.
Links from CJ from our video:
Measure what Matters:
https://amzn.to/40pNxLZ
Stats Book
https://learningstatisti...
We have Data Analysts out there and Analytics Engineers claiming to be doing ETL in Power BI and Tableau. Find out why it isn't true, and why it will stall your career if you continue to do it!
Chris Gambill is a data engineering consultant and educator with 25+ years of experience helping organizations modernize their data stacks. As founder of Gambill Data, he specializes in data strategy, cloud...
What happens when you mix a love for flying with a knack for data?
In this episode, I’m joined by Ridah, one of my mentees and the founder of Aviadata, a company using analytics to revolutionize how flight schools operate. We’ll dive into Ridah’s learning journey, how he developed his skills in data engineering, and how he’s applying those skills to solve real problems in the aviation industry.
✅ His...
Today I'll be jumping on for about 60 minutes to do a short AMA and talk about how to ensure you are securing your secrets in your pipelines
Join Codecademy while supporting the channel!
If you are a high school or college student you get 35% off with this link:
https://www.pntrs.com/t/2-591852-361892-213588
Not a student, but want a special discount, get 15% off the normal prices with this ...
Are you new to data engineering and worried about common pitfalls derailing your projects? Join me LIVE tonight as we dive into the top 5 rookie mistakes every fresher makes and—more importantly—how you can avoid them!
✅ Learn from real-world examples and save hours of headaches.
✅ Engage in interactive Q&A to solve your specific challenges.
✅ Walk away with immediate, actionable tips to boost you...
Join me live as we dive into “Ethical AI and Data Governance” ... why your data quality isn’t just a technical checkbox but an ethical imperative. We’ll unpack real‐world failures (from biased hiring tools to misconfigured AI inspections), explore the three pillars of governance (Transparency, Accountability, Fairness), and walk through a sample KPI dashboard you can implement today. Tune in for practical tips, intera...
Is your team spending time repairing broken data pipelines?
In this live session, I’ll walk you through 5 of the most common—and costly—mistakes I’ve seen in 25+ years of data engineering. From schema drift disasters to overengineered tech stacks, I’ll break down real-world examples and teach you how to build smarter, cleaner, and more reliable data systems.
✅ What you’ll learn:
How to futur...
Tonight I'm going to talk about the last couple videos we did which were the 5 skill every data engineer has to have and then 6 Skills that Separate you from your Competition!
I'll also discuss data consulting and how I got into it and how you can too!
As always we will be answering questions about data engineering and cover anything data related on your mind tonight!
Want ...
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