252: What the Heck is Happening in Data Right Now with the Cynical Data Guy

The Data Stack Show

This week on The Data Stack Show, Eric and John welcome back Matt Kelliher-Gibson for another edition of the Cynical Data Guy. The group explores the current state of data engineering and team dynamics while critically examining the evolving landscape of analytics engineering, dissecting the hype around the modern data stack and its tools. The conversation also explores the challenges of data team management, including headcount reductions, rising technology costs, and the struggle to maintain efficiency. Key discussions revolve around the need for open standards, the impact of AI on data roles, the complex hiring practices in tech startups, and so much more.

Highlights from this week’s conversation include:

• The Evolution of Analytics Engineer Roles (1:53)
• Job Titles and Role Consolidation in Data (3:20)
• Standardization and Open Data Standards (7:51)
• SQL as a Universal Standard & Vendor Lock-In (11:58)
• Modern Data Stack: Hype vs. Reality (13:29)
• The State of Data Teams in 2025 (18:12)
• Morale and Job Market Realities for Data Professionals (25:17)
• Bonus Round: Extreme Work Culture Satire (28:41)
• Honesty in Hiring and Team Building (33:18)
• Challenges of Building and Leading Data Teams (37:31)
• Final Thoughts and Takeaways (41:15)

The Data Stack Show is a weekly podcast powered by RudderStack, customer data infrastructure that enables you to deliver real-time customer event data everywhere it’s needed to power smarter decisions and better customer experiences. Each week, we’ll talk to data engineers, analysts, and data scientists about their experience around building and maintaining data infrastructure, delivering data and data products, and driving better outcomes across their businesses with data.

RudderStack helps businesses make the most out of their customer data while ensuring data privacy and security. To learn more about RudderStack visit rudderstack.com.