“Data Analytics is the future, and the future is NOW! Every mouse click, keyboard button press, swipe, or tap is used to shape business decisions. Everything is about data these days. Data is information, and information is power.”
- Radi, data analyst at Centogene
So whatever you do on your smart gadgets forms data. You are even creating data by reading this blog. It shows Google that you are interested in becoming a Data Analyst and starts suggesting to you the different ways you can become one, and the benefits of moving into this career.
Let’s do the same thing.
According to a report by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the different positions in Data Analysis are growing much faster than other job positions. This report states that market research analyst positions are projected to grow by 18%, and management analyst positions are projected to grow by 11%.
Isn’t it massive?
Today, data analysts are hired in almost every organization, across every industry including finance, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, eCommerce, media and entertainment, information, professional services, manufacturing and retail, logistics, and many more. With more and more reliance on technology, the job positions of analysts are also growing.
The industry trends also show that by 2026, there is 23% job growth expected in the positions of Data Analysts.
Why Chennai? There is a surge in the number of professionals enrolling in data analyst courses in Chennai. The action becomes obvious when you get 48% more interview calls for the same position as compared to other cities in India.
Let us now look at what a data analyst is and how you can become one.
What is a Data Analyst?
A data analyst is a professional who performs the task of analyzing the data that involves various steps namely collection, cleansing, and interpreting data sets to help businesses in making informed decisions.
There are five steps to be taken to perform data analysis. They are:
- Identification of data to be analyzed
- Collection of data
- Cleansing the data to prepare it for analysis
- Analyzing the data
- Interpretation of the result
Based on the questions you need to answer, the process of data analysis can take different forms. If you wish to find:
What happened – Descriptive Analysis
Why that happened – Diagnostic Analysis
What will happen (projections for future) – Predictive Analysis
What should be done (recommending actions to be taken) – Prescriptive Analysis
How to Become a Data Analyst?
- Bachelor’s Degree
The first and foremost requirement you should fulfil to become a data analyst is to earn a bachelor’s degree in the domain that focuses on building statistical and analytical skills, including statistics, computer science, and math.
It is stated by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics that it is crucial to earn a bachelor’s degree to get into a data analysis job.
- Acquire the required skills
Some crucial skills required for a data analyst are:
Programming Language (SAS/R): As a data analyst, you are required to be an expert programmer. To perform some specified steps of data analysis like data collecting, cleansing, data visualization, and statistical analysis, programming languages such as R, SAS, and Python are crucial.
Data Visualization: Trial and error form the main essence of data visualizations. For effective data visualization, you should be familiar with the types of graphs, the ways of scaling visualizations, and the charts to be used according to the audience.
Database Querying Languages: SQL is the most crucial querying language used in data analysis. You are also required to know about the variations to this language including T-SQL, Postre-SQL, PL/SQL (Procedural Language/SQL).
SQL Databases: SQL databases, as the name suggests, are relational databases that deal with structured data. Data is arranged in tabular form, and you have to extract information from various tables to analyze the required data.
Data Mining and Cleaning: Usually, data is not arranged in a specific order or is not neatly sorted in the database. Therefore you are required to use different tools to collect unstructured data. Data mining processes enable you to collect unstructured data and transform it into a usable form. With the help of programming, you can then clean it and process it.
Advanced MS Excel: when dealing with small amounts of data, MS Excel is an excellent choice. You should master advanced MS Excel to understand analytics and modeling techniques.
Data Warehousing: to work on the back-end, you have to connect databases with different sources to build a data warehouse or a repository. Then you can use SQL or other querying languages to identify and manage data.
Machine Learning: though this is not required to become a data analyst, knowing machine learning can help you advance your career in data analytics and data science.
Strong Communication Skills: to interpret your results effectively, the most crucial soft skill required is strong communication skills. You may be required to present your findings to the stakeholders, executives, team members, or even a small audience. So these skills form the key to success.
Analytical and Creative Thinking: The key attributes of a successful data analyst are creativity and curiosity. It’s crucial to view the problems with analytical and creative perspectives. This helps you understand the problem inside out and draw conclusions accordingly.
- Take an online training course to Get Certified
Now comes the most crucial step!
There are many online bootcamps that enable you to get certification in data analysis. The different certifications that you can pursue to boost up your career. They are:
- Microsoft Certified Data Analyst Associate
- Cloudera Certified Associate Data Analyst
- Springboard Data Analytics Certification
- Google Data Analytics Certificate
- Certified Analytics Professional (CAP)
Interested in a Career in Data Analysis?
You have landed at the right place if your answer to this question is a Yes!
There are many online bootcamps offered by accredited institutes. They allow you to learn at your own pace, provide you with top-class learning management systems, round-the-clock teaching assistance, and provide job guidance at the end.
Enrol Yourself Now!
