{"id":7450,"date":"2018-09-12T14:27:55","date_gmt":"2018-09-12T18:27:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.brainstation.io\/?p=7450"},"modified":"2020-12-02T13:56:28","modified_gmt":"2020-12-02T18:56:28","slug":"what-skills-do-you-need-to-become-a-data-analyst","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brainstation.io\/blog\/what-skills-do-you-need-to-become-a-data-analyst","title":{"rendered":"What Skills Do You Need to Become a Data Analyst?"},"content":{"rendered":"

As we\u2019ve written about, <\/span>data analysis (or data science<\/span><\/a>) is the process of collecting, transforming, and modeling data to discover information that can inform business strategy and decision-making. <\/span><\/p>\n

Demand for these kinds of data skills is expected to grow by 39 percent in the next two years according to <\/span>this IBM report<\/span><\/a>. It\u2019s a \u2018quant crunch\u2019 that shows no signs of slowing, with companies using data analysis more broadly than ever before. <\/span><\/p>\n

While data analysis can be applied to any size of data set, it\u2019s the newly voluminous amount of data associated with our actions in the digital age \u2014the digital traces of our lives\u2014that is fueling this new demand. It\u2019s not an exaggeration to say that it is changing the way the world does business. <\/span><\/p>\n

Winston Lee<\/span><\/a>, a student in Brainstation\u2019s <\/span>part-time Data Analytics course,<\/span><\/a> is a good example of the new frontiers for analytics. Lee\u2019s family business is the ceramic powder Zirconia, and he intends to use data analysis to find new and profitable applications for this raw material.<\/span><\/p>\n

But Lee is not limiting himself to Zirconia. \u201cLike many others,\u201d he says, \u201cI believe that data is integrated into every aspect of our lives and therefore by having the skills to collect, clean, organize, contextualize, draw patterns, and present data is very useful in any business.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The question is…<\/span><\/p>\n

What Skills Do You Need to be a Data Analyst?<\/b><\/h2>\n

The best data analysts have a mix of technical and soft skills, which allows them to become a valuable member of their company\u2019s decision-making process. <\/span><\/p>\n

This mix of skills includes: <\/span><\/p>\n

Hands-on Experience With Various Tools <\/b><\/h3>\n

Successful data analysts will need to keep up-to-date with the latest and greatest tools associated with data analysis, including:<\/span><\/p>\n