Breaking Into Data Analytics: Alex the Analyst Shares His Journey and Insights

I fell in love with a girl and decided to stay in Dallas and knew I needed to get a job that actually paid me money."

What can I say? Alex Freberg is one of the giants in the data space. His YouTube channel, Alex the Analyst, and his analysts builder platform have helped countless people kickstart successful careers in data analysis. Alex's professional journey proves that with determination, the right tools, and a passion for learning, anyone can make their mark. From starting his career with little technical knowledge to building an educational platform with nearly a million subscribers, Alex’s journey is one of resilience, growth, and innovation. In this exclusive interview, Alex shares his personal story, insights on mastering essential data skills, and advice for those hoping to thrive in the ever-evolving world of analytics.

Can you briefly share your journey into the world of data? How did it all start for you? What challenges did you face, and how did you overcome them?

I definitely pushed myself a lot to learn the technical skills quickly, and that was quite challenging for me, especially Python, which really took me a long time to learn but now I love it.

Alex: It all started back in 2017 when I moved to Dallas for an internship at a behavioral health hospital. I planned on just completing this internship and then moving back to South Carolina to get my masters in occupational therapy. I fell in love with a girl and decided to stay in Dallas and knew I needed to get a job that actually paid me money. I got a job at a nonprofit and worked as a resident advocate, basically cooking and cleaning and helping the residents with paperwork. At that job they had an opening for a data collection specialist and analyst, and I applied, and I got the job. They liked me there and thought I would do a good job working with Excel because that's really all the job was with. During that job, we had hired an A consultant to help us use Salesforce, which I had never heard of, and he told me he needed to learn SQL. I had never heard of this before, and I started learning it immediately, a few hours every night after I got back from work. After about six months, I got another job at a healthcare analytics company, which was quite small. After a little over a year, I got my first job at a really big company called AmerisourceBergen, where I was a data analyst and worked my way up to an analytics manager. Throughout all of those challenges, my lack of experience or knowledge of the industry was always a challenge, and I failed many technical interviews throughout the process. I definitely pushed myself a lot to learn the technical skills quickly, and that was quite challenging for me, especially Python, which really took me a long time to learn but now I love it.

You have a very successful YouTube channel called Alex the Analyst. Talk briefly about what sparked the idea to start that channel and how that transitioned into the Analyst Builder Platform.

The whole interview process and knowing what to learn was very confusing to me and so I wanted to help other people who were wanting to get into data analytics.

Alex: After a few years into being a data analyst, I kind of felt like I had a lot of things figured out that were really really confusing to me when I first started out. The whole interview process and knowing what to learn was very confusing to me and so I wanted to help other people who were wanting to get into data analytics. I really didn't think there were going to be many people out there who were interested in this, and I really just made them because I thought it was really fun and interesting and that I could help a few people out there. Overtime it grew and grew and grew and now here we are getting close to 1,000,000 subscribers and it feels a bit surreal. I decided to create analyst builder because I wanted to go a lot more in depth in the technical side of things as well as do something that not a lot of other platforms have done, which is create full courses for data analytics and also integrate a coding editor in the course to be able to practice with. I feel like we are a combination of something like Udemy and Leetcode, and I am so proud of the platform because it really is everything I hoped it would be.

Talk about the overall goal of the analyst builder platform and how it is designed to help data analysts increase their chances of landing a job.

We just came out with a course called Landing a Data Job, which walks people through exactly the process of landing a job, creating a resume, creating a portfolio website, getting ready for technical interviews, and negotiating salaries.

Alex: The main goal is to help people become data analysts faster. They're going to learn the technical skills really in depth, and I include a lot of information on how these skills are applied in the real world, which I think is very useful. We also have a questions page where people can practice for technical interviews, which are something that you're going to get in about 80% of data analyst interviews. We just came out with a course called Landing a Data Job, which walks people through exactly the process of landing a job, creating a resume, creating a portfolio website, getting ready for technical interviews, and negotiating salaries. So you combine this with all the technical skills and you really set yourself up for success.??????

As an educator and as someone who started their career before the onslaught of artificial intelligence, what do you think is the likely impact of AI on students who heavily rely on it in their learning journey? Do you think there is a smart way to use AI?

I think the best thing to do is to learn the skill first and understand the underlying concepts, and then use AI to help and serve as a building block instead of a full replacement.

Alex: I personally love using AI and I think it is absolutely going to be something that we continue to use going forward. Right now, AI is somewhat limited in its understanding of more complex technical concepts and writing code. It does a good job, but in the real world, when you're working with real data and really complex data schemas and architecture, I found myself having to rely less on AI because it does make a lot of mistakes. With that being said, its a fantastic tool to learn with and use in your job, but I wouldn't fully rely on it or expect it to answer everything. That's one thing I worry about for people who are exclusively using AI to code: as things get more complicated, AI tends to not be able to solve some of these things, and then the person themselves can't solve it because they don't know the skill well enough. So I think the best thing to do is to learn the skill first and understand the underlying concepts and then use AI to help and serve as a building block instead as a full replacement

As far as tools are concerned, there is Python, SQL, Excel, and so forth. What do you think are the most important tools to learn in the current job market? What impact do you think soft skills have, if any, on someone’s chances of getting hired in the data space?

I absolutely think soft skills are very important because in an interview and in the real job you are going to interact with people a lot.

Alex: I still think SQL is the most important skill to have. After that, Excel and a bi tool like Tableau or Power BI are great to have. After that, I would say Python and Pandas, as well as learning a cloud-based platform like AWS or Azure. Those, to me, are the core skills that people should be learning and really understanding the underlying concepts because those skills can be applied to almost all other tools, systems, and software. I absolutely think soft skills are very important because in an interview and in the real job you are going to interact with people a lot. So showing that you have good communication skills so you can smile and work through a problem is really important.

You have a lot going on, YouTube, the analyst builder platform, and so forth. Is Alex all work, no play? How do you maintain a healthy work-life balance?

I actually feel like I have great work-life balance. A lot of that is because I have a wife who helps a lot to help give me time to do my work.

Alex: The majority of my time working is spent consulting with tech startups in Silicon Valley. After that, it is Analyst Builder and then YouTube. I actually feel like I have great work-life balance. A lot of that is because I have a wife who helps a lot to help give me time to do my work. When I wake up, I help get my kids ready I cook them breakfast, I make their lunches and then when they go out the door at 7:15 AM, I start working until about 3:30. After that, I spend time with my kids from 3:30 till about 8:30 at night playing games, doing homework, eating dinner, and just hanging out. When they go to sleep, I usually work for about another 3 hours. So I actually feel like I have a really great work-life balance and I don't feel overworked at all.

What do you see as the future of the analyst builder platform? What other courses are you planning to launch?

Alex: We have a lot of plans for the platform, including integrating AI, which will be coming out quite soon, possibly within the next month. We also have some bigger features that will be coming next year, but I don't want to give away too many spoilers. My next courses will be on power BI, advanced excel, our programming for data analytics, and a course on using AI. I have more planned after that but those are the next ones in the lineup.

For people that are doing everything they can to find a job in data but are still struggling, what advice can you give them?

Revamp your resume, revamp your LinkedIn, and always try to be one of the first people to apply to new jobs that pop up.

Alex: I would say that the job market is really tough right now. The best thing to do is to reach out to connections, reach out to recruiters, and not to get too discouraged. The job market has its up periods and its down periods and were definitely in a down. So revamp your resume, revamp your LinkedIn, and always try to be one of the first people to apply to new jobs that pop up. During that time, try to upskill and learn new skills that are in demand. That's my best advice

Thanks for taking this interview. Where can people who want to follow you find you? Do you have any last words you want to share?

Your future is yours for the making. You can create the future you want, and the hard work you put in now will pay off for years to come.

Alex: The last thing I want to say is that your future is yours for the making. You can create the future you want and the hard work you put in now will pay off for years to come. Even if you don't see the fruits right now, there will be fruits in your future. So don't give up. If people want to follow me, LinkedIn is probably the best place. I'm also on X, Instagram, and, of course, YouTube.

Where You Can Follow Alex

• LinkedIn: https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/alex-freberg/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AlexTheAnalyst
• X: https://x.com/Alex_TheAnalyst

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