Start Here: Your Learning Path
120+ posts organized into 8 learning paths. Pick the one that matches your goal and follow the arrows. Each post builds on the previous one.
Path 1: Microsoft Fabric (+ DP-700 Prep)
The most comprehensive Fabric tutorial online — foundation to certification (32 posts)
Foundation:
What is Fabric? →
Capacity, Workspaces & Items →
OneLake Deep Dive →
OneLake Shortcuts →
Connections & Gateways
Storage:
Lakehouse vs Warehouse →
Lakehouse Practical Guide →
Warehouse Practical Guide →
Warehouse Advanced
Data Movement:
Data Factory & Pipelines →
Triggers & Scheduling →
Dataflow Gen2: Introduction →
Dataflow Gen2: Advanced →
Dataflow Gen2: Production →
M Language Complete Guide
Processing:
Notebooks Deep Dive →
Apache Spark in Fabric →
Spark Structured Streaming →
Delta Table Properties →
Materialized Lake Views
Integration & Reporting:
Mirrored Databases →
Power BI Direct Lake
Real-Time:
Real-Time Intelligence →
RTI Deep Dive →
Data Activator
Operations:
Security & Governance →
Administration & Cost →
Monitoring & Troubleshooting →
Optimization Guide
DevOps & Certification:
Git Integration & CI/CD →
REST APIs →
DP-700 Certification Study Guide
Path 2: Azure Data Engineering
The foundation — ADF, Synapse, ADLS, pipelines, SCD, and production patterns (30+ posts)
What is ADF? →
ADLS Gen2 Guide →
Azure Connections & Auth →
Copy Activity Basics →
ADF Expressions →
Metadata-Driven Pipeline →
Unified Pipeline (Full + Incremental) →
SCD Types (0,1,2,3,6) →
SCD Type 2 Pipeline →
Medallion Architecture →
Data Quality Framework →
How Companies Receive Data →
CI/CD with ARM Templates
Path 3: Databricks
Delta Lake, Unity Catalog, PySpark, ADLS connectivity, Workflows, CI/CD (12 posts)
ADLS Gen2 Connectivity →
Volumes & File Storage →
Managed vs External Tables →
Delta Lake Deep Dive →
PySpark Transformations →
PySpark All Join Types →
PySpark Window Functions →
SCD with Delta MERGE →
Delta Lake Optimization →
Workflows & Jobs →
Git Integration & CI/CD
Path 4: SQL (Complete Course)
From absolute basics to advanced topics and interview prep (15 posts)
Execution Order & WHERE →
GROUP BY, HAVING & CASE WHEN →
Subqueries & Performance →
SQL Functions (50+) →
All Join Types →
Window Functions →
CTEs & Subqueries →
DDL, DML & Constraints →
Indexes & Execution Plans →
Views, Temp Tables & Variables →
Stored Procedures & Triggers →
Normalization & Star Schema →
UNION, PIVOT & Dynamic SQL →
Transactions & ACID →
Interview Practice (20 Qs)
Path 5: AI & Machine Learning
From zero to production ML — intuition first, code second (5 posts)
AI/ML Introduction →
Linear & Logistic Regression →
Decision Trees & Random Forests →
XGBoost & Gradient Boosting →
Fine-Tuning LLMs
Path 6: Python & PySpark
Practical skills for data engineering with Python and Spark (8 posts)
Python for Data Engineers →
PySpark Transformations →
PySpark Join Types →
PySpark Window Functions →
Delta Lake Deep Dive →
SCD with PySpark MERGE →
Delta Lake Optimization →
Data Quality Framework
Path 7: Interview Preparation
The posts that help you land the job
Top 20 DE Interview Questions →
SQL Interview Practice (20 Qs) →
SCD Types (asked in every interview) →
Medallion Architecture →
SQL Joins (most asked topic) →
Window Functions (second most asked) →
Indexes & Execution Plans →
Normalization & Star Schema →
Database vs Data Warehouse →
How Companies Receive Data
Path 8: DP-700 Certification Prep
Pass the Microsoft Fabric Data Engineer Associate exam
DP-700 Study Guide — Every exam objective mapped to DriveDataScience posts, 8-week study plan, key concepts quick reference, exam-day tips, and practice questions. Follow Path 1 (Fabric) first, then use this guide for focused exam prep.
💡 Tip: New to data engineering? Start with Path 4 (SQL) → then Path 2 (Azure) → then Path 3 (Databricks) or Path 1 (Fabric) based on your job market. Preparing for DP-700? Go straight to Path 1 (Fabric) → then Path 8 (Certification). Preparing for interviews? Go straight to Path 7.