The Ultimate AWS Glue Interview Question List: Get Hired in 2023

Abhay SinghAbhay Singh
4 min read

I can provide you with a list of top 10 AWS Glue interview questions and answers:

  1. What is AWS Glue and how does it fit into the AWS ecosystem?
    AWS Glue is a fully managed extract, transform, and load (ETL) service that makes it easy to prepare and load data for analytics. It provides serverless and auto-scaling capabilities, allowing you to catalog, transform, and move data between various data stores in a reliable and efficient manner. It integrates well with other AWS services like Amazon S3, Amazon Redshift, and Amazon Athena.

  2. How does AWS Glue handle schema evolution?
    AWS Glue supports schema evolution by automatically detecting and resolving schema changes in your data. It tracks changes in the underlying data and updates the data catalog accordingly. This allows you to handle data format changes seamlessly without impacting your ETL jobs or data analysis.

  3. What is a crawler in AWS Glue?
    A crawler is a component of AWS Glue that automatically scans and catalogs data in various data sources. It identifies the schema of the data and creates tables in the AWS Glue Data Catalog. Crawlers can run on a schedule or on-demand, and they support various data sources such as Amazon S3, relational databases, and Amazon DynamoDB.

  4. How does AWS Glue handle data transformation?
    AWS Glue provides a visual interface called the AWS Glue Studio, which allows you to create ETL workflows using a drag-and-drop approach. You can define transformations, apply filters, join datasets, and perform other data manipulations using the built-in transformations provided by AWS Glue. You can also write custom transformations using PySpark or Scala.

  5. Can AWS Glue work with streaming data?
    AWS Glue primarily focuses on batch data processing rather than real-time streaming. However, you can still use AWS Glue to process streaming data by integrating it with other services like Amazon Kinesis Data Firehose or AWS Lambda. You can configure these services to deliver streaming data to AWS Glue for further processing.

  6. How does AWS Glue handle data cataloging and metadata management?
    AWS Glue automatically crawls and catalogs the metadata of your data sources, such as tables, partitions, and schema. It creates a centralized metadata repository called the AWS Glue Data Catalog, which can be used by other AWS services like Amazon Athena, Amazon Redshift Spectrum, and Amazon EMR. The Data Catalog provides a unified view of your data assets and simplifies data discovery and analysis.

  7. What is the difference between AWS Glue DataBrew and AWS Glue ETL?
    AWS Glue DataBrew is a separate service from AWS Glue ETL. While AWS Glue ETL focuses on ETL workflows and data transformation, AWS Glue DataBrew is designed specifically for data preparation and data cleaning tasks. It provides a visual interface for data profiling, data cleansing, and data normalization, making it easier to prepare data for analysis.

  8. How can you monitor and troubleshoot AWS Glue jobs?
    AWS Glue integrates with AWS CloudWatch, which allows you to monitor the health and performance of your Glue jobs. You can set up CloudWatch alarms to get notified about job failures or performance issues. AWS Glue also provides detailed logs for job runs, which can be useful for troubleshooting issues.

  9. What are Glue connections in AWS Glue?
    Glue connections are used to store connection information for data sources and targets that your ETL jobs interact with. It allows you to securely store credentials, connection properties, and other configuration details. Glue connections can be reused across multiple ETL jobs, making it easier to manage and update connection settings.

  10. How can you schedule and orchestrate AWS Glue jobs?
    AWS Glue provides a scheduling feature that allows you to define recurring jobs or trigger jobs based on specific events. You can use the AWS Glue console or the AWS Glue API to create and manage schedules for your jobs. Additionally, you can leverage AWS Step Functions, which is a serverless workflow service, to orchestrate complex data workflows involving multiple AWS Glue jobs and other services.

Remember, these are just sample questions and answers. It's always recommended to thoroughly prepare and expand your knowledge beyond these questions to perform well in an AWS Glue interview. Good luck!

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Written by

Abhay Singh
Abhay Singh

I have 9+ years of in AWS domain, I have extensive experience in designing and implementing complex cloud solutions using Amazon Web Services. I am well-versed in AWS services such as EC2, S3, RDS, VPC, IAM, EKS, ECS, Lambda etc. and have a deep understanding of the AWS architecture. I am a proven track record of delivering secure, scalable, and high-performing cloud solutions that meet the needs of various businesses and organizations. I have the ability to guide organizations in their cloud adoption journey, defining and architecting cloud solutions that meet their specific requirements. I am a strong communicator, able to articulate technical concepts to both technical and non-technical stakeholders and able to provide thought leadership on cloud strategy and best practices.