Starting a career in data analytics can open up many exciting opportunities in a variety of industries.

With the increasing demand for data-driven decision-making, there is a growing need for professionals
who can collect, analyze, and interpret large sets of data. In this post, I will discuss the skills and
experience you'll need to start a career in data analytics, as well as tips on learning, certifications, and
how to stand out to potential employers.

Starting out, if you have questions beyond what you see in this post, I suggest doing a search in this sub.
Questions on how to break into the industry get asked multiple times every day, and chances are the
answer you seek will have already come up. Part of being an analyst is searching out the answers you or
someone else is seeking.

I will update this post as time goes by and I think of more things to add, or feedback is provided to me.

Originally Posted 1/29/2023

Last Updated 2/25/2023

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Commonly Asked Questions –

Q) Do I need a degree?

A) Its helpful. Many job postings for DA ask for a bachelor’s degree.

Q) Will the Google Data Analyst certificate from Coursera be enough to get me a DA job?

A) No. Not even close. The course teaches you some of the basic technical concepts of the industry and
that’s about it. My feeling on the course is this – If you took the entire thing from start to finish and it
didn’t scare you away, you may have a chance at this.

More on this certification -- It is marketed really well as being a potential game changer. This cert gets
asked about 10x more than any other. Again, it is not a magical key to the industry. It lets you peek in
the door to see what you are getting yourself into.

Q) How do I transition from X field I am in today to become a Data Analyst?

A) See the list below for the tips on how to do it.

Q) I already have a degree in X, will that help me?

A) Depends on the position, the recruiter, and the company. Most job postings show that they are
looking for a degree in a related field -- Business, Statistics, etc. The more relevant, the better your
chances are that it will help. Remember, a degree is just one part of an entire package you should have
to help you transition into the field.

Q) What do I need to learn?

A) Excel, SQL, Python, and Power BI or Tableau is a good place to start. I would also learn them in that
order. From those, you can start branching out to learn more, such as SSRS, Azure, SAS, Looker, Alteryx,
etc.
Q) Do certifications matter?

A) Depends on the person doing the hiring. To some recruiters, it means you have at the minimum a
basic knowledge set on the topic. To others, they may see them as useless throwaways that anyone
spending 30 minutes on the Internet could get.

Q) Can I get a job right away?

A) Depends on your experience level. If you are trying to break in from another career, its going to be
difficult and like any job hunt, you will probably be passed up for those that are experience already. Its
going to come down to your knowledge of the field and how well you market yourself. See #11 below.

Q) Is having a degree in X enough to get me a DA role?

A) Probably not. Again, depends on the company and the hiring manager. You are going to improve your
chances by adding a great resume and experience to your degree.

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Roadmap to break in to analytics:

Build a Strong Foundation in Data Analysis and Visualization: The first step in starting a career in data
analytics is to familiarize yourself with the basics of data analysis and visualization. This includes learning
SQL for data manipulation and retrieval, Excel for data analysis and visualization, and data visualization
tools like Power BI and Tableau. There are many online resources, tutorials, and courses that can help
you to learn these skills. Look at Udemy, YouTube, DataCamp to start out with.

Get Hands-on Experience: The best way to gain experience in data analytics is to work on data analysis
projects. You can do this through internships, volunteer work, or personal projects. This will help you to
build a portfolio of work that you can showcase to potential employers. If you can find out how to
become more involved with this type of work in your current career, do it.

Network with people in the field: Attend data analytics meetups, conferences, and other events to meet
people in the field and learn about the latest trends and technologies. LinkedIn and Meetup are
excellent places to start. Have a strong LinkedIn page, and build a network of people.

Education: Consider pursuing a degree or certification in data analytics or a related field, such as
statistics or computer science. This can help to give you a deeper understanding of the field and make
you a more attractive candidate to potential employers. There is a debate on whether certifications
make any difference. The thing to remember is that they wont negatively impact a resume by putting
them on.

Learn Machine Learning: Machine learning is becoming an essential skill for data analysts, it helps to
extract insights and make predictions from complex data sets, so consider learning the basics of machine
learning. Expect to see this become a larger part of the industry over the next few years.

Build a Portfolio: Creating a portfolio of your work is a great way to showcase your skills and experience
to potential employers. Your portfolio should include examples of data analysis projects you've worked
on, as well as any relevant certifications or awards you've earned. Include projects working with SQL,
Excel, Python, and a visualization tool such as Power BI or Tableau. There are many YouTube videos out
there to help get you started. Hot tip – Once you have created the same projects every other aspiring DA
has done, search for new data sets, create new portfolio projects, and get rid of the same COVID,
AdventureWorks projects for your own.

Create a Resume: Tailor your resume to highlight your skills and experience that are relevant to a data
analytics role. Be sure to use numbers to quantify your accomplishments, such as how much time or cost
was saved or what percentage of errors were identified and corrected. Emphasize your transferable
skills such as problem solving, attention to detail, and communication skills in your resume and cover
letter, along with your experience with data analysis and visualization tools. If you struggle at this, hire
someone to do it for you. You can find may resume writers on Upwork.

Practice: The more you practice, the better you will become. Try to practice as much as possible, and
don't be afraid to experiment with different tools and techniques. Practice every day. Don’t forget the
skills that you learn.

Have the right attitude: Self-doubt, questioning if you are doing the right thing, being unsure, and
thinking about staying where you are at will not get you to the goal. Having a positive attitude that you
WILL do this is the only way to get there.

Applying: LinkedIn is probably the best place to start. Indeed, Monster, and Dice are also good websites
to try. Be prepared to not hear back from the majority of companies you apply at. Don’t search for “Data
Analyst”. You will limit your results too much. Search for the skills that you have, “SQL Power BI” will
return many more results. It just depends on what the company calls the position. Data Scientist, Data
Analyst, Data Visualization Specialist, Business Intelligence Manager could all be the same thing. How
you sell yourself is going to make all of the difference in the world here.

Patience: This is not an overnight change. Its going to take weeks or months at a minimum to get into
DA.

Be prepared for an application process like this

100 – Jobs applied to

65 – Ghosted

25 – Rejected

10 – Initial contact with after rejects & ghosting

6 – Ghosted after initial contact

3 – 2nd interview or technical quiz

3 – Low ball offer

1 – Maybe you found something decent after all of that

YouTube:

Alex The Analyst

Luke Barousse

Ken Jee

Tina Huang

Thu Vu

Sundas Khalid

Kenji Explains

Guy in a Cube

Data Tutorials

Tech with Sofia

Shashank Kalanithi

Ali Ahmad

CareerFoundry

Excel is fun

Data Set Websites:

Kaggle

Data.gov

Our World in Data

Google Datasets
Opendatasoft

Tableau

Maven Analytics

UCI Machine Learning Repository

Learning Websites:

YouTube

Udemy

Coursera

Data Camp

Code Academy

Leet Code

Stratascratch

Reddit Notes

https://www.reddit.com/r/dataanalysis/comments/10onhl2/want_to_become_an_analyst_start_here/

I found the Excel for Business course on Courcera to be extremely useful. I was knowledgeable in Excel
before the course and I learned so much. It’s perfect for data analysts.

I’m trying to learn data analysis on my own and as cheap as possible. Mainly looking into free resources
like Khan Academy, YouTube, W3, and SQLZoo (first free chapter). I’ve found sources through Break Into
Tech which is a guide to help learn Data Analysis on your own.
Here's one way to find jobs in this field: https://ai-jobs.net/visualization-jobs/