What Does a Data Analyst Do, and How Do You Become One?

Data has changed the world over the last decade and is now like a gold mine in this modern world. While many may choose to ignore the importance of data, data volumes have been exploding.

The worldwide data volume stands at 149 zettabytes in 2024 before expected growth will push it to 181 zettabytes in 2025. The rapid expansion in data production occurs because of increasing IoT device use combined with real-time data processing and cloud storage capabilities. A single zettabyte represents 1 sextillion bytes that amount to 250 billion DVDs, demonstrating the massive extent of data expansion. 

The global data volume grew by 90% over the past two years, while data storage increases approximately every four years. 

Data analysis stands as a global career leader for both popularity and demand in the present day. Experienced data analysts can access rewarding salaries and additional benefits that create excellent career progression within Data Science and Analytics. 

Who is a Data Analyst?

Data Analysts transform raw data into practical business insights through analytical techniques, utilizing data analysis tools. Data analysts are essential in market trend prediction and future business marketplace evaluation.

Entrance into data analyst roles suits individuals who desire to resolve problems and excel in mathematics, together with an ongoing interest in analyzing data.

The role of a Data Analyst is to assist businesses through data analysis and collection to optimize their strategies involving customers, products, and business performance. Companies gain the ability to make well-informed decisions in real time through this process.

You will leverage different analytical tools to thoroughly analyze information to identify actionable insights that become fundamental in building successful business directions.

If you want to learn more specifically about data science, opt for the Post Graduate Program in Data Science & Business Analytics. The PGP DSBA Course is specially designed for working professionals seeking career assistance.

Fill out this form to register for this program.

Data Analyst Job Description: Roles and Responsibilities

Let us take a look at the detailed data analyst job description below

What does a data analyst do?

The main responsibilities of a data analyst include gathering and analyzing substantial data distributions to produce practical business insights. The data analyst applies insights to answer questions while solving problems.

Rapidly advancing technology and the development of languages like SQL have made it easy to retrieve data from databases. The knowledge of MS Excel and SQL is two things every data analyst should have in their arsenal.

Apart from analyzing data, you’ll also be removing corrupt data, performing analysis to assess the quality, and then determining the meaning of data, and preparing reports based on analysis for the company’s top-level management.

Here are some of the essential roles and responsibilities of a data analyst:

• Using data analyst tools to extract data from data sources
• Removing corrupt or wrong data / Data Cleaning
• Performing quality analysis on data
• Developing and managing databases
• Creating database systems and processes for data management
• Filtering data basis requirements from various stakeholders
• Using data analysis and statistical tools to analyze data and forecast trends with actionable business insights
• Preparing comprehensive reports based on analyzed data, forecasting trends, and predictions
• Working with other team members from technical, product, engineering, and operations teams to stay on top of data management processes/systems
• Managing Exploratory Data Analysis Projects and identifying patterns
• Thorough understanding and experience in MS Excel, including VBA and Macros
• Proficiency in statistical tools like SPSS, SAS, and other tools based on project requirements

Data Analyst Skills – Key Skills required to be a Data Analyst

Various technical and soft skills are needed to be a data analyst. Based on the analysis from job search sites like LinkedIn, Indeed, and many others, here is a list of a few skills:

• Good analytical thinking skills
• High attention to detail
• Excellent mathematical knowledge and skills
• Having a strategic and logical approach to problem-solving
• Written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to work collaboratively with the team
• Good research skills
• Ability to analyze and interpret data
• Proficiency in:
  • Microsoft Excel
  • Microsoft Word
  • Microsoft Powerpoint
  • Tableau
  • SAS
  • SPSS
  • Oracle
  • Microsoft Power BI

In addition, programming languages such as SQL, Python, and R are great add-ons to a data analyst’s profile.

Related Free Courses to master these skills:

• Free SQL Courses
• Python Programming Course
• Free R Course
• Free Power BI Course
• Data Analytics in Excel Course
• Data Analytics in SQL Course

Data Analyst Qualifications and Training Requirements

Knowledge of data analysis software does not lead to effective data analysis practice on its own. Acquiring strong mathematical abilities combined with critical thinking skills and analytical thinking competencies leads to becoming a practical data analyst.

A data analysis career starts with better prospects for candidates with degrees in Mathematics, Computer Science, Economics, or Statistics. The current pandemic situation enables PG programs in data science and business analytics to provide additional benefits, which prepare candidates for industry work.

How to Become a Data Analyst?

If you are new or have less knowledge about this role, here is a quick, practical step-by-step guide on becoming a Data Analyst.

• Research and Plan
• Work on your skills
• Gain Hands-on Experience
• Showcase your work/experience
• Keep Learning
• Internship/Job Search
• Go for Advanced Certification

1. Research and Plan
The first thing we recommend you do is research the role of a data analyst in the data science industry. This research will help you understand where you stand and how you need to get started! It is vital to develop some foundational knowledge in this field.

E.g., go through a course curriculum of data science and a job description of a data analyst on an excellent learning blog to understand in detail.

2. Work on your skills
Once you have done the basic research, you know the skills you have vs what you need to learn to kick-start the journey of becoming a data analyst. Here, focus on the technical skills.

Based on the job description analysis you have done, start learning these by prioritizing the important ones.

3. Gain Hands-on Experience
Now that you have essential skills and an idea of the roles/responsibilities of a data analyst, you must get hands-on experience. One such way is to work on projects with deadlines. This can be done online by taking up any free project-based courses available or by approaching freelancers via LinkedIn and getting involved with them on the project they are working on.

Another way is to start working on data that is openly available. For example, you can go to the Barclays Premier League website, and you will get the data of the past month and year of all the goals scored and various statistics for each team and the players of each team. Start collecting this data and analyzing it. You can write a blog about the findings, post it on your social media, and add it to your portfolio, too. 

You can do this for weather reports and climate data, which will also be available on various websites.

4. Showcase your work/experience
Create a portfolio to showcase all the work you have done. Use images/graphics and statistics to show your work. Nowadays, having a simple WordPress website is also a great pitch when you apply for a job or an internship.

5. Keep Learning
Well, this is a never-ending process. Once you start getting hands-on experience, do not settle there. Yes, you have an essential portfolio, but you must upgrade to the next level. Start working on more advanced projects. You can learn on YouTube and other learning platforms. Joining groups on Telegram and LinkedIn to stay updated and build your network.

6. Internship/Job Search
Create an ATS-compliant resume and apply for relevant internships and job roles once your portfolio is ready. Always read the job description in detail before applying for any job. This will help you not only choose the proper role but also prepare accordingly. You can use it on sites like LinkedIn, Naukri, Indeed, etc.

7. Go for Advanced Certification
Attending an advanced certification course or a PG program will help you immensely in career progression and picking up skills. Check out our Data Science Programs here.

1. PGP – Data Science and Business Analytics
2. Data Science Online Course with Gen AI

What are the Education Requirements of a Data Analyst?

To become a data analyst, you need technical and soft skills. Regarding technical skills as a data analyst, you should have complete knowledge of at least one of the programming languages. The more languages you know, the better. Some of the popular programming languages used by data analysts are Python, R, SQL, Java, PHP, etc.

You must also acquaint yourself with the fundamentals of data analysis and its tools. As discussed above, to be a data analyst, you should be comfortable with mathematics and statistics, and also know how to use charts, tables, and graphs.

You should achieve excellent depth in these areas before gaining practical experience in project handling with statistical programming alongside data cleaning and visualization. The basic technical skills should complement analytic data interpretation capabilities, thorough planning expertise, and deadline management skills. The ability to interact with different teams demands both solid interpersonal abilities with oral and written competencies, along with teamwork capability.

In a nutshell, data analysts are good at working with numbers and analysing details. So if you are looking forward to becoming a data analyst, start NOW!

Data Analyst Job Roles and Salaries

Adept data analysts are in demand in almost every sector. It is considered to be one of the most popular careers, so you should learn data science as early as you can in your career.

There is a large variety of data analyst jobs you can get as you strengthen your data handling skills. Listed here are some of the job roles you can take as you become a data analyst:

• Sales Analysts

Being a sales analyst, you will focus on analyzing the organization’s sales activities regularly. This will include examining the volume of sales along with the overall sales pipeline. 

• Marketing Analysts

Their key area of focus is on the different marketing channels that exist in the organization to find key strengths and weaknesses.

• Product Analysts

Their job involves a specific product and determining the aspects of the product that are expected from the company, which also includes suggesting the product pricing.

• Business Analysts

They work with their organisations to improve their processes and systems by conducting research and analysis to address business problems.

• Budget Analysts

A budget analyst reviews the organization’s budget and looks for new ways to increase profits and improve efficiency. They are the ones who allocate funds among different departments.

• Corporate Strategy Analysts

They analyze the organization’s broader corporate strategy to make recommendations for guiding key decisions. They are also involved in mergers and acquisitions.

There are various data analyst job roles available in the analytics industry. Here are a few of the top data analyst job roles with salaries for both India and the USA:

These are approximate ranges, and the salaries will vary depending on the years of experience, organization, skill, location, and various other factors. The above data is obtained from LinkedIn Salary Checker for the USA and Glassdoor for India.

Is Data Analytics a good career choice?

Data analysis provides job stability and attractive earnings that attract numerous applicants who like explaining challenges by analyzing information to create data-based solutions. Pursuing a Data Analyst as a profession brings many benefits to professionals.

Growing Demand

• Data Analysts remain in great demand since companies across finance, healthcare, retail, technology, and marketing sectors need their skills.
• The rise of organizations making data-based decisions leads to continuous growth in the demand for mobile data specialists in the job market.

Career Opportunities and Growth

• Based on their experience level, data analysts can pursue positions in the following categories: senior analyst, data scientist, data engineer, business intelligence analyst, and ultimately, data analytics manager.
• Organizations provide robust security for data analyst jobs with increasing prospects for advancement because business decisions heavily depend on data analysis.

Competitive Salaries

• Starting salary levels of data analysts are attractive, and staff members can expect salary progression along with their skill development and experience accumulation.

Diverse Skill Development

• Architects gain the ability to master versatile competencies, which include SQL, Python, Excel, Tableau, Power BI, and statistical analysis and machine learning basics.

Accessibility

• Various learning methods enable access to entry-level data analysis roles, including degrees and online bootcamps, and earning the IBM Data Analyst Certificate.
• Online learning platforms provide students with adaptable courses that enable them to improve their skills conveniently.

Major Companies Hiring Data Analysts

Multiple organizational types from different business industries employ data analysts to perform their work. Various organizations, including consulting firms, financial services firms, e-commerce companies, pharmaceutical companies, marketing companies, NGOs, and sector-based companies, recruit data analysts.

A few top companies are IBM, TCS, Wipro, Infosys, Deloitte, McKinsey and Company, KPMG, EY, Target, Flipkart, Amazon, and Intel.