From Simulations To Freelance Data Engineering: Orell's Journey Out Of Academia And Into Consulting

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

6d ago 58:22

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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 hit
What he learned trying (and failing) to commercialise medical‑imaging simulations
The first freelance project and the long, quiet months that followed
How he now finds clients, keeps projects small and delivers value quickly
Typical work he does for industrial companies: parsing messy machine logs, building simple pipelines, adding structure later
Favorite everyday tools (Python, DuckDB, a bit of C++) and the habit of blocking time for learning
Advice for anyone thinking about freelancing: cash runway, networking, and focusing on problems rather than “perfect” tech choices

A practical conversation for listeners who are curious about moving from research or permanent roles into freelance data engineering.

🕒 TIMECODES

0:00 Orel’s career and move to freelancing

9:04 Startup experience and data engineering lessons

16:05 Academia vs. startups and starting freelancing

25:33 Early freelancing challenges and networking

34:22 Freelance data engineering and messy industrial data

43:27 Staying practical, learning tools, and growth

50:33 Freelancing challenges and client acquisition

58:37 Tools, problem-solving, and manual work

🔗 CONNECT WITH ORELL

Twitter - https://bsky.app/profile/orgarten.bsk...

LinkedIn - / ogarten

Github - https://github.com/orgarten

Website - https://orellgarten.com

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🔗 CONNECT WITH ALEXEY

Connect with Alexey

Twitter - / al_grigor

Linkedin - / agrigorev

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