It’s the truth that modern society runs on data. We generate approximately two and a half quintillion bytes of data daily with digital devices, and it doesn’t seem like this matric will decline anytime soon.
As per the recent reports stated by the International Data Corporation, the global Big Data and business analytics market has been expanding at a fast clip over the past years, leaping from $122 billion in global revenue in 2015 to $189 billion in 2019 and driving towards a projected $274 billion for 2022.
With this rapid expansion in data, the demand for a data analyst is also increasing every year. There comes a significant opportunity to develop skills in data analytics. Data-driven business strategies are in demand as most companies today realise the value of analysing collected data.
An individual must have relevant skills and technical knowledge to pursue a successful career in data analysis. Start by developing those skills by joining online data analytics courses, which attract many recruiters to a new career in data analysis, a high-growth field.
Let’s take a closer look at the technical and soft skills required to become a data analyst and how you can start learning them. But before that, let’s get a short introduction about the job responsibility of a professional data analyst.
What does a data analyst do?
A data analyst, better known as a data specialist, extracts meaningful insights from unstructured data by purifying and transforming the data to visualise it in a more straightforward form so that every organisation department can use it accordingly. It is the responsibility of data analysts to give them the relevant data to ease the process of decision-making for them.
What is the job role of data analysts?
- Creating and managing databases and data systems, as well as rearranging data into a usable form.
- Extracting data from primary and secondary sources using automated technologies.
- To discover and repair code errors, filter data by evaluating reports and performance metrics.
- Analysing local, national, and international trends that impact the company and the industry.
- Working with programmers, engineers, and management heads to identify process improvement opportunities, propose system upgrades, and develop data governance strategies.
- They were preparing final reports to assist stakeholders in thoroughly understanding the market and organisation’s current scenario so they could take predetermined decisions.
Skills required to become a data analyst
- Data Visualization
Data visualisation is the ability of persons how they can present the data findings via graphics or other illustrations. Individuals must have creative skills to visualise the data efficiently. The data-driven insights are easier to understand, even for those without expertise in data analysis. Data analysts can help decision-makers to identify patterns and understand complex ideas at a glance with data visualisation. This capability empowers data analysts to fill the gap between the organisation’s goals and customer needs.
- SQL
Structure Query Language is the common language used to communicate with data. Since the data analysts need to play with the data, learning SQL is a must. SQL is used to manage and store data, relate multiple databases or build or change those database structures. While searching for a job in the data analysis domain, one needs to add this skill to their CV as this is the first thing that recruiters notice at the time of the interview.
- Python or R
Learning Python or R should be on the priority list to learn while planning to be a data analyst. These programming languages are ten times faster than excel and can handle the data more efficiently. However, the knowledge of basic excel is required to learn these programming languages. Python and R are powerful statistical programming languages used to perform advanced and predictive analyses of extensive data. An individual must master at least one of these languages to become a professional data analyst. You can master these skills by joining data analytics courses online.
- Critical Thinking
Analysing the data to extract valuable insights is critical as you first need to understand what you are trying to find from the data in the first place, which can be pretty tricky. You are planning to be a data analyst, but first, you need to start thinking like an analyst. The data analyst’s role is to discover and amalgamate the connections from raw data, which is not always clear.
- Data Management
Data management is collecting, organising, and storing data efficiently and securely. With adequately managed data, even easy-to-use algorithms can generate remarkable insights. On the other hand, unorganised data can produce misleading insights and patterns that can affect business decisions.
- Communication
At last, you need to have strong communication skills to simply communicate the meaningful insights of the data in a simple form. You can’t be a professional data analyst if you don’t have strong communication skills. Being a good data analyst means being “bilingual.” You should be able to address highly technical points and provide clear, high-level explanations to ease a business’s decision-making process.
Conclusion
These are the most critical skills a person must have to become a successful data analyst. Data Analyst is one of the highest-paying jobs, and there is a huge demand in almost every organisation. You can build these skills by joining the best data analytics courses. Hero Vired is the top institute providing a post-graduate certificate in business analytics and data science to individuals who want to make a tremendous career in data analytics.