Data engineering is a constantly growing and evolving discipline. There are always new tools, systems, and design patterns to learn, which leads to a great deal of confusion for newcomers. Daniel Molnar has dedicated his time to helping data professionals get back to basics through presentations at conferences and meetups, and with his most recent endeavor of building the Pipeline Data Engineering Academy. In this episode he shares advice on how to cut through the noise, which principles are foundational to building a successful career as a data engineer, and his approach to educating the next generation of data practitioners. This was a useful conversation for anyone working with data who has found themselves spending too much time chasing the latest trends and wishes to develop a more focused approach to their work.