Docs first, diffs later: How I learned to think like a data engineer

When I first entered the data world as a technical writer, I worried I didn’t belong. I wasn’t shipping pipelines or building dashboards, but I was rewriting and expanding the docs, putting together technical microsites, and working alongside solutions engineers to clarify how complex systems actually worked.

This talk is for anyone taking a nontraditional path into data or anyone wondering whether they’re “technical enough” to belong in this space. I’ll share how I used writing to build technical fluency, how my training in economic history gave me a systems-thinking lens for understanding complexity in data infra, and what I’ve learned about communicating data concepts without oversimplifying them.

You’ll come away with lessons on why clear thinking often matters more than deep tooling expertise early on, and how to contribute meaningfully to technical teams, even if you never write a line of production code. Because what matters most is showing up with curiosity, and using it to earn trust and credibility in deeply technical spaces.