From Simulations to Freelance Data Engineering: Orell's Journey Out of Academia and Into Consulting - Orell Garten

In this episode, we talk with Orell about his journey from electrical engineering to freelancing in data engineering. Exploring lessons from startup life, working with messy industrial data, the realities of freelancing, and how to stay up to date with new tools. Topics covered: Why Orel left a PhD and a simulation‑focused start‑up after Covid hitWhat he learned trying (and failing) to commercialise medical‑imaging simulationsThe first freelance project and the long, quiet months that followedHow he now finds clients, keeps projects small and delivers value quicklyTypical work he does for industrial companies: parsing messy machine logs, building simple pipelines, adding structure laterFavorite everyday tools (Python, DuckDB, a bit of C++) and the habit of blocking time for learningAdvice for anyone thinking about freelancing: cash runway, networking, and focusing on problems rather than “perfect” tech choicesA practical conversation for listeners who are curious about moving from research or permanent roles into freelance data engineering.🕒 TIMECODES0:00 Orel’s career and move to freelancing9:04 Startup experience and data engineering lessons16:05 Academia vs. startups and starting freelancing25:33 Early freelancing challenges and networking34:22 Freelance data engineering and messy industrial data43:27 Staying practical, learning tools, and growth50:33 Freelancing challenges and client acquisition58:37 Tools, problem-solving, and manual work🔗 CONNECT WITH ORELLTwitter - https://bsky.app/profile/orgarten.bsk...LinkedIn - / ogarten Github - https://github.com/orgartenWebsite - https://orellgarten.com🔗 CONNECT WITH DataTalksClubJoin the community - https://datatalks.club/slack.htmlSubscribe to our Google calendar to have all our events in your calendar - https://calendar.google.com/calendar/...Check other upcoming events - https://lu.ma/dtc-eventsGitHub: https://github.com/DataTalksClubLinkedIn - / datatalks-club Twitter - / datatalksclub Website - https://datatalks.club/ 🔗 CONNECT WITH ALEXEYConnect with AlexeyTwitter - / al_grigor Linkedin - / agrigorev