Handling extract-transform-load (ETL) job mismatches as “exceptions.” Exception handling may include the following steps: (i) determining a mismatch while running an extract-transform-load job with the mismatch being a mismatch of at least one of the following types: design time information mismatch, and/or operational metadata mismatch; and (ii) responsive to determining the mismatch, handling the mismatch as an exception.