For the past couple weeks, I've been buried in an intensive research project. I've realized the researcher plays a similar role for his/her organization as the earthworms do for my garden.

My job is to digest information and present it in a form that others can easily absorb. The art lies in that handoff — transforming raw data into something the organization can use.

This realization helped me see how programming and data engineering fit within my role as a researcher. The goal is to provide actionable information.

Data engineering is a tool. Programming is a tool. Comfort with opacity is a tool. So are curiosity, pattern-recognition, asking the right questions, building strong and flexible mental maps, understanding my audience, and presenting information in a clean and effective way that conveys trust.

These are all tools I use to turn opacity into clarity for the team I am part of.