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Key Takeaways
- Businesses hire data engineering consultants for specialized expertise and short-term solutions, allowing them to tackle specific projects without the need for long-term commitment.
- While consultants offer high-level guidance, their high costs, short-term involvement, and limited hands-on execution can leave gaps in long-term strategy and implementation.
- Hiring full-time LatAm data engineers offers cost-efficiency, continuous support, real-time collaboration, and a team-oriented approach, giving businesses access to expertise without the higher costs of both consulting and US-based hires.
If you’re looking for data engineering consulting services, you likely need specialized help building or improving your data infrastructure.
Many businesses pay high fees for professional services like this. But before committing to a consultant, consider a possibly more viable option: leveraging Latin American (LatAm) expertise.
With a full-time LatAm data engineer, you get the same level of expertise as a consultant would provide, but with the additional benefit of having someone completely dedicated to your team.
In this article, we’ll discuss why businesses turn to data engineering consulting, understand its downsides, and why hiring a full-time role from LatAm might be the better move.
Why Do Businesses Pay for Data Engineering Consulting?
With the global data engineering services market expected to grow from $88 billion in 2025 to $325 billion by 2033, the demand for expertise to facilitate becoming a data-driven business is clearly rising.
Data engineering consulting services help companies design, build, and optimize their systems for managing data.
But why this type of service? Here are the top reasons why companies pay for data engineering consulting:
- Lack of in-house expertise: Many companies lack skilled data engineers on staff. A consulting firm provides access to experienced professionals without the need to build an internal team.
- Specialized knowledge: A consulting firm typically handles a wide range of data engineering roles—cloud architecture, ETL processes, big data management, and more—ensuring a comprehensive approach to your project.
- Faster implementation: Experienced consultants can set up or refine data systems quickly, reducing downtime and accelerating data-driven decision-making. This speed and efficiency empower teams to make more informed decisions based on reliable, up-to-date data.
- Compliance and security: Data protection laws in the US alone are complex. Consultants guarantee compliance with industry regulations, reducing the risk of fines or breaches.
- Objective insights and best practices: An external consultant brings a fresh perspective to identifying inefficiencies and recommending the best solutions to transform raw data into actionable insights that drive business growth.
Hiring a consultant makes sense for businesses that require project-based data work, as consulting is more of an on-and-off service. It’s also ideal when internal teams lack the necessary expertise but need immediate solutions.
What Are the Downsides of Hiring a Data Engineering Consultant or Consulting Firm?
Hiring a data engineering consultant or consulting firm may seem like a quick fix for businesses in need of expert help, but it’s not always the most seamless solution.
Let’s break down a few of the drawbacks that businesses should keep in mind before moving forward:
- High hourly/daily rates: Consultants come at a high cost. For example, rates for big data consulting range from $200 to $350 per hour. These high rates reflect specialized expertise, but they can really strain your budget, especially for ongoing projects.
- Short-term involvement: A data engineer consultant typically works on a short-term basis, which can create challenges for continued growth. At a time when capturing and retaining expertise matters more than ever to stay competitive, this brief engagement can result in missed opportunities for learning and can hurt the internal culture you’re trying to build.
- Limited hands-on execution: While not always the case, data engineering consultancy tends to focus on advice and strategy, but when it comes to execution, their role is often more hands-off. Without the day-to-day involvement, they may miss the small yet important details that can make or break a project.
In the long run, the high costs, limited execution, and short-term nature of consulting engagements can hold businesses back from building the sustainable, scalable data infrastructure they truly need.
The Alternative: Hiring Full-Time Data Engineers in LatAm
If you’re looking for a smarter, more cost-effective alternative to consulting, hiring full-time remote data engineers in Latin America (LatAm) might be your best move.
Thanks to today’s remote collaboration tools and overlapping working hours between LatAm and the US, LatAm professionals can integrate seamlessly into US teams—offering real-time communication and long-term commitment.
You get hands-on support and deep technical expertise without the overhead costs associated with consulting or US-based hires.
Hiring from LatAm also means tapping into a rich pool of highly skilled engineers at significantly more affordable rates.
Here’s how the numbers stack up:
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Check out our salary guide for a full look at how other LatAm data roles compare.
While consultants are suitable for short-term help, with hourly rates in the hundreds, long-term engagement will rack up high bills. If you want ongoing support, remote in-house engineers are a better fit.
And while US-based full-time hiring rates are going to be lower than consulting fees, LatAm data engineers offer a better balance of cost-efficiency and expertise.
Compared to consultants, full-time LatAm engineers deliver long-term value. They become embedded in your team, understand your infrastructure deeply, and provide consistent execution over time.
They don’t just show up for one-off projects—they help you scale systems, automate workflows, and unlock actionable insights from your data. That kind of continuity and ownership is hard to achieve with consulting alone.
And because of the cost savings, businesses can often afford to hire multiple LatAm engineers for the price of one consultant, amplifying output and accelerating innovation.
What Full-Time Data Engineering Position Should You Hire Instead of a Consultant?
Consultants typically offer high-level advice but leave the execution to your team, while an in-house senior data expert can bring both the strategy and the hands-on expertise needed.
So, when considering full-time hiring options, businesses can confidently look to LatAm to find expert data engineers who bring the key skills needed to drive results.
Here are some full-time data roles to consider as alternatives to consulting.
Senior data engineer
With a senior data engineer on your team, you get someone who can handle both the complexity and scale of your data needs, designing, implementing, and maintaining systems that grow with your business.
Their expertise ensures that your infrastructure can deliver accurate, data-driven insights that support strategic planning and performance optimization.
Responsibilities include:
- Design and build scalable, robust data pipelines
- Implement cloud-based data storage and processing solutions
- Ensure data integrity, security, and governance
- Optimize database and query performance
- Work in collaboration with the analytics and product teams
Data engineering manager
A data engineering manager brings both technical expertise and leadership skills. This role is a great match if you need someone who can balance high-level strategy with hands-on execution.
Responsibilities include:
- Lead a team of data engineers
- Define data infrastructure strategy and roadmap
- Enhance the scalability and efficiency of data pipelines
- Balance high-level strategy with hands-on implementation
Data architect
A data architect focuses on designing the overall structure of your data systems, setting the standards for integration, security, and technology choices. They ensure that your data architecture is not only efficient but also scalable for future growth.
Responsibilities include:
- Develop the overall data architecture for the company
- Set the standards for data modeling, integration, and security
- Select and implement best-fit data technologies
- Guide engineering teams on system design
Each of these roles can replace what a consultant would do—but with the added benefit of full-time ownership and execution. By understanding your specific requirements, you can hire the right talent to take your data initiatives from strategy to real-world application.
Final Thoughts
Data engineering consulting services bring expert advice but typically don’t get involved in the day-to-day execution, making them only suitable for fixed-term, specialized tasks.
If you need ongoing support and hands-on involvement, hiring full-time engineers is a smarter choice. With full-time data engineers, you get not only strategic input but also consistent execution and long-term support.
At Near, we connect businesses with top LatAm professionals. We find you remote LatAm senior data engineers who bring strong expertise and experience in a wide range of industries to the table. And through our comprehensive, tailored hiring process, we can ensure we find the right candidate for you.
Check out our article Why You Should Hire Nearshore Data Engineers and How to Do It to dive deeper into the benefits of hiring LatAm data experts.
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