Finding Purpose in Data Analytics, Data Science, and Data Engineering
The question no one asks enough
In data work, we tend to measure everything except possibly the one thing that drives long-term performance and reduces the risk of burnout: purpose.
Many of us have asked some version of these questions:
- Is my work only about helping the business make more money?
- Is purpose only valid when work is directly helping people?
- What do I do when I am successful but still feel disconnected?
- If I am fulfilled, do I stay and deepen my impact or chase the next opportunity?
- If I am not fulfilled, do I quiet-quit or do I make my own purpose?
This post isn’t meant for me to pretend that I have all the answers. It isn’t meant to be a rah rah post or a pity party. It is a post by someone just like you, someone that also struggles with these questions.
Purpose is not one thing
Purpose is commonly treated as a single sentence, four pillars, or a handful of KPIs. It often trickles down from the board to the C-suite and eventually makes its way to you.
For data professionals, purpose often emerges from the overlap of:
- the value we create
- the people we serve
- the quality of our work
- the sustainability of how we work
In reality, purpose tends to shift with your responsibilities and what you value most in a season of your life. And those are influenced by both internal and external factors:
- self-doubt
- family obligations
- work demands
- time constraints
The more those pressures stack up, the easier it is to lose sight of what purpose even means for us in the first place.
The part we rarely say out loud
A lot of us in analytics, data science, and data engineering have moments where we wonder:
- Is this all just shipping tickets and meeting deadlines?
- Am I helping people, or only helping metrics move?
- If my compensation is good, why do I still feel disconnected sometimes?
- If I care deeply, why do I still get exhausted?
These questions don’t make us ungrateful. They make us honest.
Money, impact, and meaning can all matter
Sometimes discussions around purpose become extreme:
- One side says purpose is only about mission. If you aren’t helping others then you aren’t doing it right.
- Another side says work is just a transaction. Just a little more money will make everything better.
Most people I know live somewhere in the middle. Money matters. Stability matters. Family responsibilities matter. And impact, growth, and integrity matter too. I do not believe we need to pretend one of these is the only “correct” answer. The real challenge is finding a version of work where those things are not constantly at war with each other.
If you are not fulfilled right now
Sometimes we need a new role. Sometimes we need a new team. Sometimes we need better boundaries. Sometimes we need to reconnect with why we started in the first place.
There is no one answer here, but I do think there is value in asking:
- What exactly feels off right now?
- What parts of my work still give me a spark? Marie Kondo??
- What would “better” look like in the next 6 months, not the next 6 years?
If you are fulfilled right now
Sometimes growth is not about leaving. Sometimes it is about going deeper, mentoring someone, improving a process, or protecting the environment you already have.
If you are fulfilled right now, there is still more to do:
- How do I build on this fulfillment?
- What habits help me maintain it?
- How can I help others find their way too?
Fulfillment is not just something we enjoy. It is something we foster.
How I foster my purpose
A few years ago, during a leadership training at a previous company, I had three scenarios to work through:
- Handling a performance review and providing feedback
- Conflict resolution
- Giving difficult news about a position
The first situation I bombed. I was nervous. I tried to come up with the best way possible to tell a person they weren’t getting the raise they thought they’d get every year. I left the room being told I didn’t have that person’s back. Even if it was just a part being played for the scenario, it hurt.
The second scenario was a decent recovery. The pair of employees arguing with one another closed it by asking me if I was a youth pastor. I was flattered but that first scenario still burned in my head.
Then came the third scenario. The plot here was that a guy at the company put himself out there for a new leadership role. He had been with the company for years and years and thought for sure he was getting it. He had an inside man (me). Little did he know, my task was to tell him that we unfortunately were not going to be giving the position to him.
Ouch.
Keep in mind there are roughly 30 minute breaks or so between each of these scenarios until your name is called for the next one. All that ran through my head were the words of the first actor, “You didn’t have my back”.
What did I do? I wrote a detailed letter of recommendation to have prepared. If while delivering the news the person even thought about uttering something similar, I was prepared.
And sure enough, he did. He was mad, he was crying and he didn’t understand why I wasn’t there for him. Right then and there I showed him the letter of recommendation I wrote. In that moment I felt like I had his back.
I’ve always bragged about it. It has made me feel good these last few years. I’m starting to think though, did I write that for him or for me? I mean, it made me look great in front of the actor and the person judging me. But is that what he needed in that moment? Maybe? Or maybe he just needed to be mad because he didn’t get the job he desperately wanted and thought he deserved. I made it more about me and less about him.
As I write this I realize what fostering purpose looks like for me right now: less focus on image, more focus on people.
A conversation, not a conclusion
As you can see, I am still figuring this out. I do not think purpose is something we solve once and move on from forever. I think it is something we revisit as we grow, especially when life and work start pulling us in different directions.
If this post does anything, I hope it helps you have an honest conversation with yourself or others if needed.
Start fostering your purpose.
I’d like to hear from you
If this resonates, I would love to hear how you think about purpose in your own work:
- What gives your work meaning right now?
- What drains it?
- What has helped you reconnect when you felt disconnected?