From Measuring Glaciers to London’s Tech Scene06:47 Hadoop vs. AI: Lessons from the Original Big Data Hype11:54 The Data Identity Crisis: Platform vs. Product Engineering17:29 Tech-Native vs. Tech-by-Necessity Company Cultures25:33 The Competitive Advantage of Cost-Aware Engineering30:56 Avoiding Over-Engineered Platforms and Modern Data Stacks38:01 The Real-Time Myth: When to Use Kafka and Spark42:08 Breaking into Data Engineering: 2026 Market Reality51:04 AI Automation: Why Strategic Builders Outlast "DBT Monkeys"57:35 Portfolio Strategy: Framing Side Projects for Maximum Impact1:04:42 The Ultimate Portfolio Project: Building End-to-End Platforms1:07:49 Networking Advice and Local Gdansk CultureThis talk is designed for ambitious data professionals including engineers, analysts, and career-switchers who want a pragmatic, "fluff-free" roadmap for surviving and thriving in the 2026 data landscape. It is particularly valuable for hiring managers and senior leaders looking to audit their recruitment processes, as well as those in traditional corporate environments seeking to implement the agile, high-impact engineering cultures found in Big Tech giants like Meta.Connect with Slawomir:Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/slawomir-tulski-091611116/- Form for DE role Ebook - https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdSCLaBdTtuRlgV_nukKckumR60VOovECtlRIRI5DMUIk36EQ/viewform?usp=dialogConnect with DataTalks.Club:- Join the community - https://datatalks.club/slack.html- Subscribe to our Google calendar to have all our events in your calendar - https://calendar.google.com/calendar/r?cid=ZjhxaWRqbnEwamhzY3A4ODA5azFlZ2hzNjBAZ3JvdXAuY2FsZW5kYXIuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbQ- Check other upcoming events - https://lu.ma/dtc-events- GitHub: https://github.com/DataTalksClub- LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/datatalks-club/ - Twitter - https://twitter.com/DataTalksClub - Website - https://datatalks.club/