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Data Analyst Jobs: What You’ll Need to Know

Over the years, there has been a notable increase in data analyst jobs. More and more companies are looking for qualified professionals who would be able to take the position of a company’s data and statistic analyst. It does make sense, though - the bigger the companies become, the more data they have to manage, thus increasing the need for people who could fill in the data analyst roles and responsibilities.

However, before you go ahead and start looking for positions at companies, you need to find out some of the main requirements that these jobs have and where you can gain those skills. And this article will help you do just that. Spoiler alert: online learning platforms like DataCamp can be very helpful here.

The way that we’ll go about this is by taking a look at each of the bigger groups of data analysts out there. There are three main groups that we’ll focus on, all based on the person’s skill level in the field of data analysis. We’ll talk about the requirements, responsibilities and everything in between. With that said, let’s not waste any time and jump straight into the tutorial!

The Different Types of Data Analyst Jobs

In many general aspects of the matter, the jobs of data analysts are no different from most other jobs out there. The same is true when we’re talking about the types of data analysts that there are. Generally, these professionals are divided into three main groups: entry-level (beginner), junior and senior data analysts. This is also the classification system that we’ll be using in this tutorial.

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Entry-Level Data Analysts

Entry-level data analysts are the people who have just recently gotten into the business of data analysis. These people are usually fresh out of university and have just started looking for a job.

That being said, it is probably worth mentioning that there are a lot of beginner data analysts that have started their career path by avoiding traditional education institutions (i.e. university or college) and turning towards alternative learning methods. Even though personal tutors and YouTube videos are quite popular in this aspect, certified online courses and extensive e-learning programs on platforms like DataCamp and Udacidy still take the lead. And if you, by chance, cannot afford the paid courses, you can apply for BitDegree's small scholarships. You can find a tutorial of how to do that here.

Having said that, many employers who are trying to hire people for entry-level data analyst jobs still kind of shun away from people who have taken the alternative route towards their education. Although this is much more felt when we talk about, for example, data engineering, data analysts are still no exception. This is mostly because these specialties are rather difficult to study and learn without specific, expert-led help. Many employers simply do not trust individual learners.

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Requirements

Entry-level jobs have the least amount of requirements out of all of the three types of data analysts out there. This is mostly because employers urge beginner data analysts to work on furthering their knowledge and slowly learning all of the tropes that this industry has to offer.

When a company hires an entry-level data analyst, employers know that they will have to teach this person all of the essential skills needed to be able to properly work within the company. This is also why many of these companies have special training programs that are designed explicitly for people looking for beginner data analyst jobs.

All of that being said, specific entry-level data analyst requirements are still important to keep in mind. These requirements include possession of analytical and critical thinking skills, being well-suited to work in a team, being great at maths, etc.

Responsibilities

As a beginner, your data analyst role and responsibilities are going to revolve around performing basic, entry-level tasks, helping your supervisors and other senior members of the team with whatever tasks they might have, practicing and learning to use the most essential programs that are required to do the job properly, and so on.

While you may think that the beginner data analyst responsibilities are rather simple, the opposite is the truth. Since there are usually many people competing for a single data analyst job position, you will have to prove yourself to your employers. Hard work, observable passion, and continuous growth are just a few ways to do so.

Career Path Options

When you’re an entry-level data analyst, the world’s your oyster! All of the possible career choices are still ahead of you. While data analysis is somewhat of a niche field in of itself, if you’re good at what you do, you could even branch out and turn towards data engineering (an advanced version of data analysis).

If you do decide to stick with data analyst jobs, there are still many different career options that you can take (assuming that you put in the work and the effort, that is). If you want to earn a higher salary and advance to the next (junior) group of data analysts, you could choose to study this topic even during your free time, to maximize your learning potential. Also, while working in one of your first posts, you’ll get a pretty good feel for the carer path, in general. Who knows - maybe you’ll realize that this isn’t your cup of tea, after all?

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Salary

It is somewhat widely known that entry-level data analysts don’t make that much money, at least when compared to their junior and senior colleagues. While this is mostly true because of the fewer responsibilities and requirements that this group has, there is another reason for it. Many people tend to choose the career path of data engineering - this makes it so that these engineers fill in the data analyst jobs since these two professions interact with each other.

Knowing all of that, Ziprecruiter.com states that the average annual salary that most entry-level data analysts should provide is around $41,927. While this isn’t the dream salary, it’s still a good amount of money when you keep in mind the amount of work that you have to do to earn it.

Junior Data Analysts

Junior data analyst roles and responsibilities are quite a bit different from those of an entry-level one. These specialists are usually people who have already worked on a few different places concerning data analysis, and thus already have a feel for the work ahead of them.

And that’s the thing, too. While the conditions of a proper, relevant education stay the same as with the beginner group, one of the main requirements that juniors have is an experience. The more experience you have in the field of data analysis, the more data analyst jobs unlock for you. While it is true that some companies will hire junior analysts who have no prior work experience, it’s a rare occurrence (even then, the job candidate would have to do something that would impress his or her potential employers).

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Requirements

As I’ve mentioned above, adequate education and proper experience are two very important factors when you’re looking for junior-level positions. In addition to that, however, your employers are going to expect you to be able to work on given tasks without too much supervision.

While handholding is very common with the beginner group of analysts, juniors should already be able to work on their own, and have their work checked only once in a while. That being said, even if you’re applying for junior data analyst jobs, you will still most likely going to have to go through a special training program provided to you by your new employers.

The junior data analyst job description also includes being able to work with large amounts of data (interpret and “translate” it in many different ways), gathering data and then segmenting it, presenting your research results to your employers, and so on. There’s a wide spectrum of junior data analyst requirements involved in getting this job position - keep that in mind!

Career Path Options

As a junior data analyst, you should already possess quite a few skills and be knowledgeable when it comes to the everyday tasks of most of the data analyst jobs. This means that you have plenty of opportunities to find a job that you’ll truly enjoy (whether it be because of the people, the salary or anything else), and grow within the company.

This is also the point in your career where you can start thinking whether you want to aim towards becoming a senior data analyst or turn things around and slowly start moving towards the field of data engineering. Since both of these professions belong to the field of data science, you won’t be “breaking the rules” and re-branding yourself completely.

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Salary

It’s rather tough to estimate the salaries that junior positions offer since they vary by quite a huge margin. Since the junior group of data analysts is as huge as it is, it’s usually rather difficult to give a specific number.

That being said, Glassdoor.com still provides a rather specific number. According to the site, the average yearly salary that most junior-level data analyst jobs should offer is around $50,645. That’s not a bad salary at all! Do keep in mind, though, that this is just an estimation - by the time you’re reading this, things might be quite a bit different, for better or for worse.

Senior Data Analysts

Senior data analysts, as the name probably implies, are the most seasoned veterans of the industry. They are the people that work on the most difficult of the tasks, and that prepares younger industry newcomers for the challenges to come.

When you compare all of the three groups of data analysts, there aren’t that many senior analysts around. This is mostly because it takes a lot of time to become a senior data analyst, and not everyone is motivated enough to walk down this career path.

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Requirements

This will probably come as no surprise to you, but senior data analyst jobs are expected to know virtually everything when it comes to the standard data analyst requirements. When you take a look a senior data analyst job description, some of the very first things that you’ll see our experience, proven skills and work etiquette, perfect knowledge of how to manipulate large amounts of data, the ability to use all of the virtual tools associated with data analysis (visualizations, data management, etc.), and so on.

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Senior data analysts also have to be able to work within big teams of different specialists - since they are some of the most important members of the team, it is only natural that there will be quite a few situations where they will either have to command a certain group of people or reach an agreed-upon consensus.

Responsibilities

As for senior data analyst jobs, you’ll have a few big responsibilities. First of all, you will have to be able to work under pressure on difficult tasks and meet specific deadlines while you’re at it. Since you’re already a senior analyst, your words mean a lot to your employers - this means that you have to be very responsible with your analyses and their results since they will impact the company heavily.

Furthermore, as I’ve mentioned a bit earlier on in the tutorial, senior data analysts are usually responsible for taking care of and teaching their younger, less-experienced colleagues all of the different intricacies of the job, and all of the potential tips and tricks that they might require in their work to come. That’s a lot of responsibility!

Career Path Options

As you might have expected, there are very limited future career options for senior data analyst jobs - that’s simply because there are no more levels above them! That being said, your salary, job benefits, and various other perks can still increase - it all depends on the specific job in question!

That being said, if you do wish to continue to actively learn and develop your data analyst skills even further, the option of branching out into data engineering still stands! It might even be a smoother and an easier process, now that you’re already a senior data analyst.

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  • Suitable for enterprises
  • Paid certificates of completion
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Salary

Given all of the data analyst requirements, responsibilities, and the time it takes to perfect their skills, senior data analysts to make the largest amount of money when it comes to this profession. But what number are we talking about here?

GlassDoor states that the average annual salary of a senior data analyst should be about $75,898. While this is a great salary on its own, senior experts who choose to branch out towards data engineering can make even more money than that.

Time to Work

You should know all about the possible data analyst jobs and what they do according to their level of expertise. If you have studied and maybe worked with data analysis, this tutorial might help you find what job you should look for.

If you haven't started, now is the best time. Choose Data Analysis courses and programming guides on DataCamp and BitDegree. And remember, you can try to apply for scholarships for some of the courses as well!

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Recent User Reviews

Thanks, a great read

I finally managed to understand the differences between a data analyst and data engineer

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I think it's impossible to work in this field without a degree imo

didn't know

there are so many different jobs involving IT, it's mesmerizing.

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is enormous

hate data

not sure how I would do over here, I am an IT specialist, but I just can't stand data!

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looks really bright over here

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What's the difference between data analyst and data scientist? I see the same responsibilities over here.

FAQ

What are the responsibilities of a data analyst?

Data analysts have some huge responsibilities - working under pressure is one. Since they present their employers with all the facts and figures their business generates, they have to be responsible and careful what they're speaking about. Also, if you're a senior data analyst, your responsibility will be to teach less experienced colleagues who are still learning in the field.

What are the requirements for a data analyst?

Requirements for data analysts include experience with SQL and Microsoft Excel, being familiar with one or more programming languages, and understanding Machine Learning. Of course, leaving the practical side of things, data analysts also need to obtain great presentation skills, data visualization and, of course, critical thinking.

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