Roadmap To Transition Into Data Analytics From Any Background

Data Analytics helps companies make the right sense of data and generate insights and trends and is one of the most sought-after fields in Tech. Let's see how one can transition into Analytics without having any prior background.

Upskill

Upskill yourself with different technical skills. You can either take up a degree or certifications to upskill. The most essential technical skills that are required to become a data analyst are

1. SQL
2. Excel
3. Tableau/Power BI
4. Python
5. Statistics
6. Exploratory Data Analysis and Wrangling

Projects

Projects play a key role for someone who is new to this field. You can learn the most through proper hands-on on various data analytics projects to learn, grow and gain confidence with respect to different approaches that you can take, and it will also improve critical thinking as an analyst. It is the best way to work on something as close to real-world and industry standards. Choose a certain data set and start playing around with the data. Few of the well-known websites that have data sets freely available are

1. ?Kaggle
2. Data.gov
3. Datahub.io
4. UCI Machine Learning Repository
5. Earth Data
6. Google Dataset Search
7. World Bank Open Data

?Portfolio

Build a Portfolio based on your projects and previous relevant experience on GitHub. Make sure you save your work from the projects that you work on. Try out different things in your analysis and document the code, insights generated, visualizations, and models from your project

Few of the work areas that are important to build a portfolio as a data analyst are

1. Cleaning the raw data into a useable format
2. Building insightful visualizations from the data
3. Statistically Analyzing the data
4. SQL and Python Codes used for useful analysis
5. Models generated for analysis

This will give me an edge while starting as a fresher in this field.

Presentation and Storytelling

Presentation is a very valuable asset as an Analyst. As a Data Analyst, it is important to present your findings to stakeholders clearly and concisely. Once you are done with generating insights from your data, present it to someone you are comfortable with to build this essential art. One tip is to make a note of key points that you would want to present and then create a story around those points. It will also help you to walk through while you present. Make sure you are also recording yourself in the process and ask for feedback which can be good improvement points.

Soft Skills

Soft Skills are very important as a Data Analyst as you will be working a lot with cross-functional teams and dealing with different stakeholders.

A few of the important soft skills that are required as a data analyst are

1. Critical Thinking
2. Communication
3. Collaboration
4. Leadership
5. Team Player

Business Acumen

One of the most important skills required as a data analyst is to understand the business properly. Only if you understand the business thoroughly, you would be able to generate meaningful insights through the data and build the right code. Hence, it is important to get an understanding of the data thoroughly. While working on projects make sure every element of data is understood and try explaining the business logic to someone the way even 4th grader can understand. This will improve the way you understand the data.

Job Description

Look at different job descriptions of data analyst positions and make a note of common skills that are required. Start upskilling in those areas. This is a good way of building skills as per the industry standards and getting closer to your first analyst job.

Optimize Resume and LinkedIn

Optimize LinkedIn to an All-star profile to get noticed by recruiters.

Refer to this to build an All-Star LinkedIn Profile - Building an All-Star LinkedIn Profile

Optimize Resume to beat the ATS and successfully Cross the first step

Refer to this to Optimize Resume - Tips to Optimize Resume

Target Internships and Entry-level Analyst Jobs

After having enough confidence and hands-on working on different projects, optimizing Resume, and LinkedIn, start applying for internships, freelancing, and entry-level jobs.?

Quote of the Week

“No matter how much falls on us, we keep plowing ahead. That’s the only way to keep the roads clear”

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