Data analysis is of paramount importance to any business. It allows companies to understand various problems and explore information meaningfully. Once data is deconstructed, decision-makers use it to streamline productivity and operations.
Since the role is so valuable, it’s no wonder you want to pursue a career as a data analyst. To help you on your journey, we’ll tell you what data analyst jobs involve and list the skills you need to learn.
Table of Contents
What You Will Do Once You Become a Data Analyst
A data analyst is responsible for gathering and interpreting data to solve specific problems. Besides analyzing data, they also have to communicate it to their audience.
Here’s a list of the daily responsibilities of data analysts:
- Data collection – Analysts generally collect data on their own by conducting surveys, buying datasets, or monitoring visitor characteristics.
- Data cleaning – Raw data often contains outliers, errors, and duplicates – cleaning data improves the quality. This is done using spreadsheets or programming languages to avoid skewed or wrong interpretations.
- Data modeling – This step comprises building and designing database structures. It may involve choosing the type of data to gather and store, establishing the relation of categories, and modifying the appearance.
- Data interpretation – Interpreting data comes down to finding trends or patterns to help you solve the issue at hand.
- Data presentation – Communicating the results of your analysis is a crucial part of the job. It entails putting together graphs, charts, writing reports, and presenting the information to your audience.
Common Data Analyst Tools
Data analysts use a variety of tools. Here are the most common types:
- Business Intelligence Tools. Business intelligence tools enable you to analyze, track and report important findings. Featuring advanced SQL modes and predictive analytics, they adjust the data to all levels of knowledge, eliminating the need for IT involvement. For example, Datapine delivers simple analysis features to expedite problem-solving. It also alerts you to business anomalies so that you don’t miss critical developments.
- Statistical Analysis Tools. Statistical analysis tools incorporate an array of techniques that explore, manipulate, and generate insights. They help any data analyst work more efficiently. One of the most popular statistical analysis platforms is RStudio. Used by Google and other large companies, it helps present and communicate ideas more easily.
- General-Purpose Programming Languages. Programming languages help data analysts resolve numerous issues. They employ symbols, numbers, and letters to create software that solves problems. Some of the most popular platforms are PHP, Java, C$, Python, and Julia.
What Data Analyst Skills to Learn
The most important skills you need to learn to become a data analyst include:
- Critical Thinking. Using data to obtain answers requires you to know what questions to ask in the first place. This can be tricky, but it’s integral to your success as a data analyst. You need to uncover patterns and synthesize numerous connections, which are often vague.
- Data Visualization. You can’t keep your listeners engaged and get your point across if you can’t tell compelling stories. This means your findings must be easily identified and feature eye-catching charts that present your findings clearly. Many data analysts use Tableaue to improve their visualization. It’s an industry-leading and easy-to-use analytic tool.
- Excel. While Excel has been in the game for quite a while, many companies use it to perform quick analytics. For instance, your first database might be in Excel if you’re working on a startup or lean company. It offers versatile functions and several advanced features, such as VBA lookups and macros. Many enterprises demand this skill, so learning Excel is usually a must.
- SQL. SQL is one of the most significant data analyst skills to learn. Often seen as an Excel upgrade, it’s capable of handling larger databases. Nearly any organization needs a data analyst who knows SQL, whether their role is to relate databases, manage data, or build a database from scratch.
- Python and RStudio. Python and R are also similar to Excel, but they’re much more powerful. They are robust statistical programming languages that perform predictive analytics and advanced analysis on large chunks of data. Furthermore, they’re both standards in the industry, meaning you’ll need at least one to improve your chances of working as a data analyst.
Start Learning – The Best Data Analysis Courses
Becoming a data analyst is an excellent option if you want to work in an ever-growing field with numerous job opportunities. However, you’ll first need to acquire the necessary skills, and one of your best options is online learning.
Completing a data analyst course gives you access to essential job-related skills. Best of all, you can learn at your own pace without sacrificing other obligations. Here are some of our top data analyst course recommendations.