Education & Career Trends: June 2, 2024
Curated by the Knowledge Team of ICS Career GPS
- Excerpts are taken from an article published on simplilearn.com.
In today’s digital age, the demand for skilled data analysts is higher than ever before. From multinational corporations to innovative startups, organisations across industries are harnessing the power of data to drive strategic decision-making and gain a competitive edge.
But what exactly does a career as a Data Analyst entail?
A Data Analyst is a professional who collects, processes and analyses data to extract valuable insights that can inform decision-making and drive business strategy. They are skilled at interpreting complex datasets using various statistical and analytical techniques to identify trends, patterns, and correlations. Data analysts work with multiple data sources and utilise statistical software, programming languages, and data visualisation tools to analyse and present their findings effectively.
They play a crucial role in helping organisations optimise their operations, improve performance, and achieve their goals by leveraging data-driven insights.
If you’re passionate about numbers, algebraic functions, and enjoy sharing your work with others, then you will excel as a data analyst. Here’s an overview of the role to help lay a roadmap for becoming a Data Analyst.
Skills Required to Become a Successful Data Analyst
- Microsoft Excel: The data is useless if it is not structured correctly. Excel provides a suite of functionalities that make data management convenient and hassle-free.
- Basic SQL skills
- Basic web development skills.
- Ability to find patterns in large data sets.
- Data mapping skills.
- Ability to derive actionable insights from processed data.
At one end of the spectrum, data analysis overlaps with statistics and higher mathematics, while at the other, it merges seamlessly with programming and software development
Data Analyst Career Paths
Below is a list of the many different roles you may take on
- Business Analyst: Analyses business-specific data.
- Management Reporting: Reports data analytics to management on business functions.
- Corporate Strategy Analyst: Analyses company-wide data and advises management on strategic direction. This role may also be focused on mergers and acquisitions.
- Budget Analyst: Focuses on the analysis and reporting of a specified budget.
- Actuary: Analyses mortality, accident, sickness, disability, and retirement rates to create probability tables, risk forecasting, and liability planning for insurance companies.
- Sales Analytics: Focuses on sales data that helps to support, improve, or optimise the sales process.
- Web Analytics: Analyses a dashboard of analytics around a specific page, topic focus, or website comprehensively.
- Business Product Analyst: Analyses the attributes and characteristics of a product as well as responsible for advising management on the optimal pricing of a product based on market factors.
- Social Media Data Analyst: Social media and growing tech companies rely on data to build, monitor, and advance the technology and offerings that social media platforms rely on.
- Machine Learning Analyst: May work on various aspects, including data preparation, data feeds, analysis of results, and more.
Data Analyst Workplace Skills
- Problem-Solving: A data analyst needs to understand the question and the problem that needs to be solved. They also should be able to find patterns or trends that might reveal a story. Having critical-thinking skills will allow you to focus on the types of data, recognise the most revealing methods of analysis, and catch gaps in your work.
- Communication: Getting your ideas across to others will be crucial to your work as a data analyst. Strong written and speaking skills to communicate with colleagues and other stakeholders are good assets for data analysts.
- Industry Knowledge: Knowing about the industry you work in—health care, business, finance, or otherwise—can give you an advantage in your work and job applications. If you’re trying to break into a specific industry, pay attention to the news in your industry, or read a book on the subject. This can familiarise you with the industry’s main issues and trends.
Data Analyst Career Advancement
Being a Data Analyst can create opportunities to move into other careers, as many who start as Data Analysts go on to work as Data Scientists. Data Scientists use statistics, maths, and computer science to analyse data like analysts. A scientist, however, might use advanced techniques to build models and other tools to provide insights into future trends.
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(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in the article mentioned above are those of the author(s). They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of ICS Career GPS or its staff.)
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