The Accidental ETL Engineer with Tim Costello

Sponsored by Redgate

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Title: The Accidental ETL Engineer: How I Built an AI-Powered Pipeline After Getting Laid Off

Abstract:
This is the story of how a laid-off SQL guy used ChatGPT to build an enterprise-grade data pipeline in Python. I needed a fresh start, so I leaned into what I knew and let AI help me figure out the rest. Together we went from back-of-the-napkin ideas to a full working system that preps, cleans, deduplicates, enriches, validates, and delivers analytics. It’s not a Python talk, and it’s not an AI talk either, but both play a big role. This is really a story about problem solving, creativity, and how we can use our existing skills in new ways. It’s also a talk about fear — and why I’m not afraid of AI anymore, and you don’t need to be either.

This talk is for anyone who's ever written a gnarly merge statement and thought, "There’s got to be a better way." After getting laid off, I dusted off my old business and teamed up with ChatGPT to build a full-blown ETL pipeline in Python, something that could prep, clean, dedupe, enrich, validate, and deliver real analytics. I’ll walk through how I approached the problem like a SQL dev, leaned on AI to get unstuck, and slowly leveled up from quick prototype to enterprise-grade tool. This isn’t a Python demo, and it’s not about AI hype either. It’s about how we can use the skills we already have to solve new problems — and why I’m no longer worried about AI taking our jobs.

6:00 pm - get to MS Las Colinas & get some food
6:30 - 6:45ish - Announcements & Ask the Experts
6:45-7pm - Start Presentation
8:30pm - End Presentation; Wrap Up
When: Thursday, July 17, 2025
Food - Pizza