Top Ways to Master Power BI Skills for Data Analysts

Introduction

Business intelligence tools are gaining unforeseen prominence among organizations of different scales, so have professionals specializing in them. Businesses are continually on the hunt for experts who can work with major BI tools to provide them with insights essential to remain competitive in the market. As of now, Microsoft Power BI is the most widely implemented BI platform across the world. This suite of tools and apps offers several distinct advantages that make it a top choice for businesses.?

For IT professionals working with data, undergoing Power BI Data Analyst training would be a good idea. As you might guess, the training program would help you develop the data analyst skills for Power BI. The effort may prove to be quite rewarding in terms of the career opportunities that it would open up. In case you started planning your career only recently, and the whole concept is new to you, this article should help.

What is Power BI?

For starters, it is necessary to first understand what exactly Power BI is and how it serves businesses. Launched by Microsoft, Power BI is an extremely popular business intelligence service that helps organizations deal with large volumes of data. Microsoft Power BI is capable of acquiring data from a wide range of sources and converting them into helpful information and insights.?

Here are a few things to note about Microsoft Power BI:??

• This suite is a collection of tools, apps, and data connectors.??

• Power BI is available in three versions – desktop, mobile, and service (SaaS)??
• The platform features a simple and user-friendly interface.??
• Companies can deploy Microsoft Power BI either on-premises or in the cloud.??
• Power BI offers a variety of ways to organize and work with data.??

One of the key uses of Power BI is the creation of detailed visualizations from data. Using this BI service, businesses can easily create customized business intelligence reports. Even users who aren’t very tech-savvy can get valuable insights into business trends and situations using Power BI.?

Why is it important to learn Power BI?

As an IT professional, you have plenty of fields to choose from when it comes to specialization. Regardless of what you pick, developing professional-level skills in a particular area of specialization will require a significant amount of time, effort, and money. It is essential for you to get an understanding of the skills needed for data analyst, before you start your training.?

So, why should you choose to learn Power BI and develop the skills necessary for a data analyst role? Here are a few reasons why it could be valuable to your career:??

• An increasing number of companies are implementing Power BI for their operations. This has opened a huge number of job opportunities.??
• Being a Power BI data analyst role calls for specialized skills and experience in this field. This results in relatively less competition, provided that you are really competent for the role.??

• The job of a Power BI data analyst pays quite well. This makes it a lucrative and highly coveted position for IT professionals to work towards.??
• Comprehensive Power BI Data Analyst training can greatly enhance your capabilities in Power BI, helping you tackle complex tasks efficiently.??
• With advanced skills in Power BI, you can not only earn Power BI skills for Data Analyst but also prove yourself to be an asset to your company. This helps ensure job security and quicker promotions.??
• While building your career in the IT industry, it is crucial to pick a career path that would remain alluring in the long run. Power BI doesn’t seem like it’ll become obsolete anytime soon.??
• Having a certification in Power BI in your portfolio would give you a notable edge over other candidates while applying for a job.??

Hence, you may rest assured that pursuing a training program in Microsoft Power BI would be a smart move as a part of your career as an IT professional. You would develop valuable skills that would help you land lucrative jobs, secure them well, and grow fast. To know more about the capability of Power BI, download our brochure .??

Why are businesses adopting Power BI?

By now, you must have realized that the lucrative career opportunities for Power BI professionals stem largely from the widespread adoption of this BI service. While other business intelligence services, like Oracle, Qlik, Tableau, etc. are quite popular too, they are nowhere close to Microsoft Power BI in terms of market share. So, what leads businesses to choose Power BI over the various other rivals? Here are a few features of Power BI that make it such a popular option.??

• Ease of use??

This is essentially one of the prime reasons behind the popular adoption of Microsoft Power BI across businesses of different scales. This business intelligence service suite comes with an easy-to-use user interface. This allows even non-technical professionals Power BI skills for Data Analysts to create helpful visualizations and reports.???

• Real-time analytics??

Amidst raging competition in the digitized environment, many organizations need to work with completely up-to-date data at all times. Things keep changing in the market, and working with outdated information can often lead to miscalculations. Power BI helps out here by performing real-time stream analytics. It can acquire data from social media and other sources in real-time, and adjust the visualizations and reports accordingly.??

• Seamless integration??

Power BI comes from Microsoft, and as a result, integrates seamlessly with other Microsoft services like Office 365 . Power BI’s integration with Excel, in particular, deserves a special mention. With a huge number of businesses running their IT operations on the Microsoft ecosystem, it comes as no surprise that Power BI has become a popular choice.??

• Handling big data efficiently??

Organizations integrate Power BI and Azure together, using Azure data lakes to handle large volumes of data fast and efficiently. Professionals like data scientists, data analysts, and data engineers can collaborate with ease and work out complex problems. In a world where timely actions can make or break the success of a business strategy, faster acquisition of insights is a priority.??

• Various data sources??

One of the reasons behind Power BI’s popularity is the fact that this BI service supports a huge range of data sources. These include XML, Excel, PDF, JSON, CSV, .PBIX, etc. When an organization needs to work with large quantities of data that is impossible to open in Excel, Power BI can easily view, analyze, and visualize it.??

• Interactive design??

The interactive UI/UX of Power BI is one of the factors that make this BI suite so convenient to use. Not only does everything look neat and well-organized, but a drag-and-drop functionality is available too. This makes it easy for the users to customize the reports and replicate the formatting across different visualizations.??

Overall, Microsoft Power BI is excellent at converting raw data into actionable insights. The perks of this BI service suite are what make it so popular among modern businesses. Upon earning Power BI skills for Data Analyst, you would be able to leverage the data analysis capabilities of Power BI to the fullest.???

What exactly is data analytics?

The simplest explanation of data analytics, as the term suggests, is the process of analyzing various data to derive insightful information. When it comes to business intelligence, data analytics entails a comprehensive procedure of collecting, organizing, and evaluating data. The ultimate goal is to transform large volumes of data into well-organized pieces of information that the organization would be helpful.??

Insights obtained from data analytics can help a business in several areas, including:??

• Understanding the market better.??
• Keeping tabs on their competitors.??
• Evaluating the success or failure of a particular business strategy.??
• Planning effective marketing campaigns.??
• Understanding customer sentiments and more.??

At a time when data is a priceless resource for competitive businesses, it comes as no surprise that data analytics has gained such prominence. Forward-thinking organizations seek skilled professionals who have undergone Power BI Data Analyst training and can help leverage market data as much as possible.??

How much does a data analyst earn?

While chalking out your career path and goals, your potential income from a particular job position is one of the biggest factors to consider. After all, you are working to earn, and you would want to make the most out of your expertise. This brings up the question – how much does a data analyst earn? Well, in regards to earnings, you may rest assured that this is a well-paid role. Below is a quick overview of the average annual pay of a data analyst in different countries, to give you a rough estimate.??

• US: $63K per annum??
• UK: ￡30K per annum??
• Australia: A$83K per annum??
• India: INR 500K per annum??

This is essentially a very lucrative job and the returns would prove to be worth the effort. While the examples above denote the average salaries, the pay may vary significantly depending on the industry, the job responsibilities, and the level of expertise required. Completing a Power BI data analyst training course would help you secure a job with a salary closer to the upper limit. After all, this job role calls for specialized experience and expertise in the Power BI suite.??

What skills do you need as a Power BI data analyst?

A data analyst’s job is far from easy and requires professionals with superior skills in this field. To earn Power BI skills for Data Analyst, you must have the following:??

• Understanding of business goals??

For any analyst, understanding the specific objectives of their business is crucial. As a Power BI data analyst, it’s imperative to identify your organizational goal. Once you identify the challenges, you can access the available resources and use the right data. The process involves querying, as analysts habitually write complex queries based on SQL. They are also responsible for collecting and storing information, besides retrieving the same from various relational databases.??

• In-depth knowledge of the tools??

Power BI is a vast suite of business intelligence services, and consists of a plethora of BI tools. As a data analyst, you must possess detailed knowledge of all the tools in Power BI. Only then, you can leverage them and carry out complex data analytics on Power BI efficiently. Not knowing how certain Power BI tools work would of course, prove to be a huge hindrance.??

• Data visualization??

As mentioned previously, even non-technical professionals can use Power BI to create visualizations from raw data, with some training. However, a skilled data analyst would be far better at this job, and can easily prepare the data for visualizations in Power BI. This makes it possible for organizations to come up with detailed and customized reports to give stakeholders a better overview of their ideas.??

• Expertise in Power BI??

It is noteworthy that in case you are already a data analyst but have been operating on a different BI platform, you need to develop your skills specifically for Power BI. For instance, if you are currently an Oracle data analyst but wish to work in a company that uses Microsoft Power BI, you would have to undergo Power BI data analyst training. After all, Power BI is different from the other BI services, and offers various added features.??

• Knowledge of ML algorithms and statistics??

Data analytics applications run largely on machine learning algorithms. To establish yourself as a competent Power BI data analyst, you must have an understanding of these algorithms and know how to use them to achieve your objectives. Needless to say, a data analyst should also have a sound understanding of statistics in order to work with bulk amounts of numerical data.???

• Mining data??

Professionals specializing in this domain need to mine data from a wide range of sources. In the age of information, the multiplicity of data sources continues to be a challenge. Power BI analysts collect information from all these sources and organize the same. In the process, they construct intelligent data models to boost the system’s efficiency.??

• Cleaning, and examining data??

Wrangling and cleaning the data happen to be the core responsibilities of Power BI analysts. Often, the collected data might miss certain values and look messy. The first priority is to clean the gathered data and prepare it for analytics.??

While examining data logically, certified analysts use advanced statistical and analytical tools. This is where their knowledge on programming language proves to be effective.??

• Interpreting trends of data??

As a successful data analyst, you would be competent in deploying different libraries and tools to identify data patterns and trends. It’s quite challenging to detect these trends on scrutinizing complex datasets. However, these insights can prove valuable for your business, as the decision would be scientific and data-backed. As a result, the organization would be able to make informed decisions. This explains how crucial data analysts are in the organizational circuit.??

• Preparing reports and summaries??

Deploying advanced tools for data visualizations, certified analysts successfully develop summary reports for their respective organizations or departments. The leadership team, on evaluating these reports, can make intelligent decisions to propel the business ahead. Timely decisions on their part often puts the organization in a position of strategic advantage.??

• Collaboration with other teams??

Along with developing the core skills, data analysts specializing in Power BI need to work on their soft skills as well. The very nature of their career responsibilities makes it necessary to master these abilities. For instance, data analysts often work in close association with the development and management teams. Sometimes, they cooperate with data scientists to make sure that the information is properly interpreted to the business. Besides, a collaborative approach helps them find probable opportunities for improvement. Therefore, analysts need to be cooperative and collaborative to holistically leverage their respective organizations.??

Well, if you are confident in these abilities, it’s worth pursuing the Power BI data analyst training program . Make sure to choose the right online training course from an established institute to make the most of the learning opportunities.??

How to become a Power BI data analyst?

Now that you know that becoming a data analyst specializing in Power BI can pay off, you might be wondering how to go about it. Of course, you would need to acquire all the necessary skills and the expertise to fulfill the roles and responsibilities of a Power BI data analyst. Well, you should find a reputable institute offering Power BI data analyst training and undergo the training program.??

The PL-300T00: Power BI Data Analyst course would be ideal for you. As the name of the course suggests, it is meant specifically for professionals aspiring for the Power BI data analyst role. It is a replacement for the DA-100T00: Analyzing Data with Power BI course, which professionals pursuing this role previously had to complete. The DA-100T00 course would be retiring on 31st March 2022.??

What skills would you gain from the PL-300T00 course?

So, what are the skills that this course would help you develop, and would you benefit from them? Here is a quick overview of the skills that you would acquire from the course:??

• Ingesting, cleaning, and transforming data??
• Managing report assets and sharing them??
• Enhancing data performance and scalability through modeling??
• Using Power BI to build paginated reports??
• Applying and performing advanced data analytics on Power BI??
• Designing and creating reports that you could use for data analysis??

??Quite evidently, all these skills would prove to be extremely valuable in your career as a Power BI data analyst.??

What does the PL-300T00: Power BI Data Analyst course cover?

While it is understandable that this Power BI data analyst training course covers the skills necessary to become a Power BI data analyst, let us take a deeper look. Here is an outline of the course and an overview of the topics it would cover:??

1. Getting started with Microsoft Data Analytics: This is an introductory area that would help you get an idea of data analytics in Microsoft and Power BI. In case you are relatively new to Power BI data analytics, this should help you get a better understanding of the Power BI environment. You would also learn how to use Power BI specifically in the desktop version.??
2. Preparing data in Power BI: Before you can work with any data, you always need to prepare it first. After all, Power BI can create reports and visualizations from raw data only when you provide it with the latter. This segment of the course would show you how to gather data from different sources, connect them to Power BI, and prepare the data on Power BI desktop.??
3. Cleaning, transforming, and loading data in Power BI: Working with large volumes of data on Power BI requires you to clean and transform it first. Loading unfiltered data into your Power BHI datasets can lead to too many errors. In this part, you would learn to shape and profile the data, enhance the data structure, and load it into Power BI.??
4. Designing data models in Power BI: To carry out data analytics in Power BI, you need a sound understanding of data modeling. This is exactly what you would learn in this course. This part would introduce you to advanced data modeling in Power BI desktop. You would also learn about dimensions, hierarchies, and how to use Power BI tables while creating a data model.??
5. Create model calculations using DAX in Power BI: In case you are unaware of it, DAX (Data Analysis Expressions) is a programming language used widely in Power BI. DAX finds its uses in solving various complex data analysis problems and calculations. This segment of the course would introduce you to DAX and show you advanced DAX operations.??
6. Optimize model performance in Power BI: The performance of your data model determines how efficiently it would work. By undergoing the Power BI data analyst training course, you would learn to optimize model performance in Power BI. It would also teach you to build and manage aggregations and optimize DirectQuery models.??
7. ?Creating reports in Power BI: One of the key functionalities of Power BI is the creation of detailed and helpful reports from available data. Hence, it comes as no surprise that a course on Power BI data analysis would help you learn to design reports using Power BI. You would also acquire the skills necessary to enhance the reports with formatting and interaction on Power BI desktop.??
8. Creating dashboards in Power BI: While this is a feature exclusive to Power BI Service only, you can create interactive dashboards in Power BI from reports. These dashboards carry simplified visualizations of the reports that users can easily comprehend to get an overview of the reports. This portion would teach you to create and enhance different Power BI dashboards, including real-time dashboards.??
9. Enhancing Power BI reports for usability and storytelling: The reports created using Microsoft Power BI should be easily usable and readable for non-technical professionals. For instance, a company may use such reports to give their stakeholders an idea of their plans. The Power BI data analyst training covers the creation and enhancement of paginated reports perfect for storytelling.??
10. Performing advanced Power BI analytics: While professionals who aren’t very tech-savvy can handle the simpler functions of Power BI, more advanced tasks require expertise. As a Power BI data analyst, you must be able to tackle advanced data analytics in Power BI. This unit would not only show you how to do it, but it also covers leveraging AI visuals for data insights.??
11. Managing Power BI datasets: Besides creating datasets in Power BI, you should also know how to manage them. This is exactly what this segment of the course covers. You would learn about the different parameters, datasets, and security in Power BI. These are crucial skills for a Power BI data analyst too.??
12. Creating and managing workspaces in Power BI: You would learn how to create and manage workspaces in Power BI. This includes the sharing of various assets and the publication of Power BI content.?
13. Creating different types of charts in Power BI: Learn to create a wide range of charts in Power BI and how to use them to handle large volumes of data.?
14. Creating and using maps in Power BI: Lastly, you would learn to create different types of maps in Power BI that are easy to use. This is important to display geographical patterns and relationships.?

As you may notice, this Power BI data analyst training program is a very comprehensive course, covering crucial topics.??

Does this course have any prerequisites?

Advanced IT courses typically have certain eligibility criteria as prerequisites. This is because pursuing an advanced course without learning the basics first wouldn’t be of much use. For instance, you cannot get a sound understanding of the advanced data analytics tools on Power BI if you aren’t very familiar with data analytics in the first place.????

Similarly, the PL-300T00: Power BI Data Analyst course has certain prerequisites too, that you must meet in order to be eligible for this course. Before you sign up for the training, make sure that you meet the following criteria:??

• DP-900T00: Microsoft Azure Data Fundamentals: You must complete the DP-900T00: Microsoft Azure Data Fundamentals course first. This is because Power BI data analysts often have to work with datasets from Azure infrastructures. Organizations running their operations on a Microsoft ecosystem tend to use Azure, due to easier integration.??
• Data analytics and visualization: You need the knowledge of data analytics and visualizations. After all, visualizations are largely what Power BI is all about. As for data analytics, it is rather obvious why a professional aspiring to be a data analyst should be adept at it. Without enough knowledge in both of these fields, you would have a hard time using Power BI to analyze data and create visualizations.??
• Understanding core data concepts: Performing data analytics in Power BI can prove to be a complex task. This calls for a sound understanding of core data concepts, so that you can handle a variety of data with ease. It isn’t logical to apply for a Power BI data analyst training course without understanding core data concepts first.??

Besides these, you should also know how to work with relational and non-relational data on cloud. Rather often, organizations integrate Power BI with their cloud infrastructure and require their data analysts to work accordingly.??

Who should complete the PL-300T00: Power BI Data Analyst course?

The Power BI Data Analyst training program would highly benefit professionals specializing in business intelligence and data. On completing this course from one of the established online institutes, you would gain the competence to carry out data analysis precisely deploying Power BI. Besides, if you are someone willing to strengthen your skills in data visualization and reporting on cloud platforms or on-premises, you should go for this program.??

Completing the Power BI Data Analyst course will significantly leverage your career, bringing you growth opportunities. Professionals completing this course can fancy opportunities for promotion within their organizations as well as new career opportunities. After all, when you eye a progressive career, there’s no alternative to staying within the learning loop. As this suite of technologies isn’t getting obsolete any time soon, the program would add value to your professional profile.?

How to choose the right learning platform for the Power BI Data Analyst course?

IT professionals and other aspirants should adopt a strategic stance while choosing the right learning platform for this training program. It would be a prudent decision for you to opt for a platform offering the right mix of flexibility and professional value. No wonder, why most professionals are opting for the self-paced PL-300T00: Power BI Data Analyst course to earn Power BI skills for Data Analyst. This ensures that you won’t end up with time constraints, or mess up your ongoing career and responsibilities. With seasoned experts ready to assist you throughout the learning process, you would appreciate the holistic experience.??

Here are certain criteria you should look out for before settling with the Power BI course for data analysts.??

• Established online institutes bestow the learners with the provision of access to a virtual lab environment in real time. This way, you would be mastering the practical aspects with first-hand experiences.??
• The best institutes for Power BI Data Analyst training arrange interactive learning sessions for the aspirants. With Microsoft Certified Trainers (MCT) ready to instruct you in the virtual learning sessions, your knowledge-acquisition process would turn out to be breezy and help you earn Power BI skills for Data Analyst.??
• Most importantly, the leading online institutes offer their aspirants access to Microsoft Official Courseware (MOC). This way, you can comprehensively acquire knowledge and streamline your profile.??
• Often, professionals working with different organizations look for time flexibility. With the right institution, you would never encounter time constraints. The trainers offer access to the recording of the course materials throughout the year. Therefore, you can get back to your learning process at any hour you are comfortable with.??
• Most importantly, learners would need dedicated support from the online institute when they enroll for the Power BI Data Analyst training program. This is what the leading institutes prioritize, ensuring a memorable and happening learning experience for the professionals.??
• The flexibility of your learning schedule proves to be yet another crucial criterion when you choose the right platform to master the Microsoft Power BI course. It’s always wise to undergo training through a self-paced program, such as the PL-300T00: Power BI Data Analyst course. This way, you can prioritize your schedule and tasks while imbibing advanced industry knowledge. You can also check out our course success story here .?

At a time when competition is raging high for promotion and career progression, it makes sense to be choosy about your learning platform. With the desired flexibility, comprehensiveness, and value of learning, you can propel yourself ahead towards your career goals.??

Should you pursue the Power BI Data Analyst course?

By now, you know how beneficial the Power BI Data Analyst course could be for your career. Provided you choose the right training institute to earn Power BI skills for Data Analyst, there should be nothing holding you back from acquiring the specialization. Forward-thinking data analysts habitually embrace such learning opportunities to capitalize on the tremendous career scope in the global business space. Moreover, aspiring professionals are already enrolling for PL-300T00: Power BI Data Analyst course at reputed institutes. Therefore, it would be worth investing in the training program to streamline your professional profile. A comprehensive program in Microsoft Power BI from an established institution would significantly strengthen your career. You can also watch our Accelerate your Business growth with Microsoft Power BI?.