The modern business world relies on data for decision-making. In 2021 the amount of data generated was 72 Zettabytes and according to Finance Online, nearly 149 Zettabytes will be generated till 2024. This voluminous amount of data is of no use unless valuable information is extracted from it.
A data analyst does the important job of extracting meaningful information from data and the demand for such professionals has risen considerably in the past few years. You too can pursue this popular job role by opting for a data analytics course from a reputed university.
Given how the demand for such professionals is rising and there is a huge skill gap in the market, you will gain an added advantage by pursuing this course. It will make you qualified for the best and most well-paying jobs in the data and business analytics market. Below are some highly useful technical and soft skills that are necessary for this field. Aspiring data analysts must imbibe the following expertise to do well in their profession.
Data visualization
Data findings that are generated by the data analyst must be presented in a proper manner through graphics and illustrations. This is done to ensure that other team members and decision-makers can effectively grasp the information.
Those skilled professionals who have a better grasp on data visualization will be able to give a better understanding of insights to business decision-makers. This in turn will help the team make more sound decisions. To be able to achieve this, data analysts must look into data differently and be more imaginative in exploring as well as presenting data.
Data cleaning
Data cleaning is among the most important part of a data analyst’s job. To be able to extract valuable information from voluminous data, it is necessary to clean that data of useless information that can generate misleading patterns.
So, to be able to assemble a robust and functional machine learning model, it is important to clean data effectively as well.
SQL
SQL, or Structured Query Language, is another important skill that a data analyst needs to familiarize themselves with. While there are several database languages that are of use to a data analyst, SQL remains the most invaluable. Its functionality has put it in high demand in the industry.
These are just a few of the technical skills that a data analyst needs to acquire but you don’t have to worry about them as these are all covered as part of the curriculum in a data analyst program. Though, along with these, you also have to work on acquiring some soft skills that are of huge relevance in the data analytics field.
Creativity
Being creative is highly necessary if you want to succeed as a data analyst. Creative thinking and a strong imagination are needed if you are going to present data insights to decision-makers in an innovative and easy-to-understand manner. It is important for a data analyst to think outside of the box which makes creativity an essential skill.
