Transitioning into the Data Analytics field can get you a high-paying stable employment. One of the best roles to get into this field is Data Analyst. The core of all the data analytics roles is data. As the data is increasing, there is more demand for data analysts and data scientists. These roles require skills that help understand the data well, get insights from it, and use it to make good business decisions.
What Does a Data Analyst Do?
Given a business problem statement, a data analyst collects the relevant data, organizes it, extracts important information, and uses it to reach meaningful conclusions. Data analyst knows how to use data to solve business problems.
Knowing the right set of skills required to become a data analyst can help you advance your data analytics career. I have categorized them into different levels, you can always start from the basics and move to advance.
Data Analyst Skills You Need to Get Hired
The core skills required for the Data Analyst role are Database skills to extract data, Programming skills to analyze that data, and Communication skills to report their findings.
Data Analysts are more close to the data when compared to Data Scientists.
Basic Data Analyst Skills
Below are the basic skills required for data analysis:
1. SQL and NoSQL Databases
Databases are tools to store, access, and manipulate data easily. Having a good understanding of databases like MySQL or NoSQL databases such as MongoDB, and Cassandra is required. If you are good with basic SQL queries, it is easy to switch to NoSQL Databases.
2. Excel
This is surprising to many outsiders but Excel is the most widely used tool by Data Analysts. It is quick and easy with basic computations. It also provides a wide range of functions and features and simplifies data manipulation.
3. Data Collection
Having correct data is the basic requirement for data analysis and will impact the rest process. The Data Collection can involve collecting data from various sources using processes such as Web Scraping, API Integration, Database queries, etc. It may be publicly available data or private data which can be accessed with permission.
4. Data Cleaning
In most cases, data is not present in the required format. Data Cleaning is the process of removing unwanted details and converting data into a format required for Data Analysis or Data Modeling. It includes removing duplicates, handling missing values, and other steps based on the problem statement.
5. Data Visualization Tools
A good Data Analyst is capable of both finding insights from data and presenting it visually. Tools like Tableau and Power BI are good Data Visualization tools you must learn.
Advanced Skills
Below are the advanced skills required for data analysis:
1. Python
Python is a multipurpose programming language that can make your life so easy as a data analyst and also helps you grow more in the data analytics field. Libraries like Pandas, NumPy, and Matplotlib are your best friends.
2. Statistics and Probability
Statistics is a branch of applied mathematics that involves collecting, organizing, analyzing, and drawing conclusions from data. You should clear your concepts of Statistics and Probability to understand data better.
You can learn important topics in Statistics from here.
Soft Skills
Below are the soft skills required by data analysts:
1. Problem Solving and Critical Thinking
All the data analytics roles require solving a business problem. You may need to think analytically about the data, identify the patterns and get insights from it. All these steps need critical thinking and good problem-solving skills.
2. Presentation Skills
Presenting the insights drawn from data to the clients and other team members is a crucial part of this role. Creating a good presentation including important points, graphs, and clear communication can support your presentation skills. Dashboards created on Excel, Power BI, or other visualization tools can be used.
3. Communication
Good and clear communication is required to explain your findings to others. Some clients may not understand the technical language hence you should be capable of communicating your findings in both technical and non-technical language.
4. Domain Knowledge
The problem you are trying to solve must belong to some domain like healthcare, finance, retail, etc. Having knowledge of the domain or the business whose problem you are working on can help you understand the context behind the details provided. It can improve the overall performance of data analytics projects.
Optional Skills
1. Machine Learning
Machine Learning is an advanced topic that is good to learn yet not compulsory for the Data Analyst role. Machine learning includes various algorithms like supervised and unsupervised machine learning algorithms which are used to make predictions, do classification, or clustering.
Tips To Become A Data Analyst With No Experience
- Learn basic skills and try to get a job or internship.
- Mastering the tools like Excel, Power BI, and Tableau can increase your chances to get the role sooner.
- Try to make an internal switch (within the same company) to this role.
- Focus more on the skills required by the role you are applying for.
- Attending boot camps or enrolling in related courses can help you learn.
Data Analyst FAQs
1. Is it necessary to Learn Coding to be a Data Analyst?
Not every Data Analyst role asks for programming. But having basic programming skills can help you grow in this field. Python and R are good programming languages to learn.
2. Can I switch to the Data Analyst role easily?
The skills required to become a data analyst are not difficult to learn. If you practice the basic skills mentioned above, you can try to get a job or internship and upgrade your skills to more advanced ones.
3. What education do you need to be a Data Analyst?
Bachelor’s degrees in Finance, Economics, Mathematics, Statistics, Computer Science, and Information Management are all relevant fields yet not compulsory.
Conclusion
You can choose to become Data Analyst at any point of your career by following the step-by-step process. Start practicing the basic skills and move to more advanced skills. The skills required for Data Analyst roles may vary from company to company, you can focus more on the skills required by the role you are interested in. To make the process easy, you can enroll in any relatable course.
Feel free to give your feedback or ask for any query in the comment box below.
Happy Learning!!
