?With Data Collection, ?The Sooner, The Better?, is Always the Best Answer? – Marissa Mayer (Former Yahoo! President and CEO)
Most business organizations are situated within an environment of intense competition with its competitors in meeting the needs of its target audience.
One of the crucial strategies for enhancing one?s competitive edge has emerged in the form of deriving meaningful and actionable insights from data collected. This is one of the prime responsibilities of Data Analysts within organizations.
Moreover, since the significance of data is unlikely to die down in the future; the demand for Data Analysts is quite likely to proportionally keep on increasing.
The idea that a career as a Data Analyst is a lucrative one is a settled fact. However, what if:
You lack industry experience or have been studying or working in a completely unrelated field?
In such a case, how to become a Data Analyst with no experience?
If you too happen to be confused about how to become a Data Analyst without experience; you have come to the right place.
In this blog, we shall try to answer the question of how to become a Data Analyst with no experience. We shall try to take up a crucial debate on how to get a Data Analyst job without experience?: is it possible at all?
Consequently, we shall also elaborate on the steps which you can follow if you wish to establish yourself with a Data Analytics career, but happen to lack professional experience.
Another quite common concern which grips young aspirants seeking to make a career as a Data Analyst is how should they go about it if they happen to lack a conventional college degree in a relevant discipline.
If you too happen to share the same apprehension, do refer to our blog on ?How to Become a Data Analyst Without a Degree?: A Step-by-Step Guide?
What is Data Analytics and Who are Data Analysts?
Data Analytics is the discipline which deals with the management of raw data through its collection and storage, as well as, with the techniques, processes and data visualization tools, which help in analyzing it and producing the conclusions in the form of easily understandable data visualization.
The objective of this data analysis is to discover patterns, valuable correlations, unseen trends, and consequently, extract meaningful insights which could help in undertaking business decisions, making predictions as well as improving its efficiency.
In simple words, Data Analytics implies making use of the different Data Analytics tools for making sense of the data available to you (by way of conducting data analysis).
If you wish read more on some of the most popular Data Analytics tools available in the market, do read our blog on ?Data Analytics Tools: The Top Ten?
As can be well understood from the definition of Data Analytics; Data Analysts are essentially tech professionals who help organizations in extracting insights from the data available with them.
They make use of different Data Analytics Tools, along with diverse strategies including Machine Learning, Statistics, Mathematics, Programming in order to derive conclusions which are based on hard core facts.
A Data Analyst is essentially responsible for sifting and exploring large volumes of data with the objective of developing informed opinions on long-term and recent trends, making tentative predictions as well as communicating the findings to the stakeholders and decision makers of the organization.
Given the significance of data for organizations cutting across sectors; the importance of Data Analysts has come to spread much beyond the tech borders and they are being considered as assets for private equity firms, community non-profit organizations, large investment banks and so on.
How to get a Data Analyst job without Experience?: Is it possible at all?
This question is quite a profound one which grips most of the young Data Analyst aspirants. As you think of the possibility or otherwise of how to become a Data Analyst without experience; you should be rest assured that this is completely possible.
In this section, we shall look at some of the reasons which facilitate the initiation of a career as Data Analysts with no previous experience.
The Data Industry Boom
The global data analytics market is projected to grow at an astonishing rate of 30% each year, between 2020 and 2023.
In fact, the job market within the data domain has been identified as one of the most promising and high-growth professions by the World Economic Forum.
This implies that there will only be a massive increase in job opportunities and demand for Data Analytics experts in the Data Analytics industry, in the years to come.
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Data Skill Gap
While we are being faced with a burgeoning data market; the demand for Data Analyst experts is not being met with an equal supply of the same. In other words, there is a Data Talent Shortage.
Recruiting data experts has become a top priority for firms across industries. However, there is a data skill gap and the demand for data experts is not being met with an equal supply of skilled professionals in the field.
Given the scenario, it is evident that newcomers and aspiring candidates for the position of a Data Analyst job, stand a good chance of grabbing this coveted position.
The jobs are right there; what?s important for you is to cultivate the right balance of data skills and qualities, which will help you acquire the same.
Importance of Transferable Skills
The execution of the roles and responsibilities of a Data Analyst, does entail the need for the cultivation of a specific set of skills and competencies; however, not all these skills are limited to the field of Data Analytics alone.
This implies that there are a number of transferable skills which you can carry from your previous professional experience and utilize it in the data field as well. Some of these transferable skills include: Inquisitive and Adaptive nature, Good Communication Skills, Problem Solving Abilities, Skills for Collaboration and Teamwork.
Besides these soft skills, there can be certain technical skills as well which might come in handy as you enter the Data Analytics field.
For instance, marketing experience can acquaint you with the fundamentals of analytics; which can be sharpened further and transferred into the role of a Marketing Data Analyst.
How to become a Data Analyst with No Experience?: A Step-by-Step Guide
By now, I am sure that you must have been convinced that it is definitely possible to become a Data Analyst without any previous experience. But, how to become a Data Analyst without experience? What steps should you follow, to enter this lucrative professional domain? Let?s try and answer this question.
Decide upon your Career Path
The data field is too vast a domain. As you think of establishing your position within the same, it will be important for you to strategically narrow down and tailor your options.
It is important to determine your starting position and the targeted post where you want to see yourself.
This will help you in gaining clarity about the skills you need to develop, the certificates you need to acquire and the kind of portfolio you need to build, in order to reach that position. Similarly, you can also choose to focus upon a specific department and develop more specialized skills in response to that position.
Acquire Certifications and Enroll for a relevant Course
One of the most common answers to the question of how to become a Data Analyst with no experience is via the path of certifications and initiation into a relevant Data Analytics Training Course which will help increase your chances of landing a Data Analyst job.
Some of the most popular certifications in the field include Professional Achievement in Data Sciences and Certified Analytics Professional certifications.
A reasonable Data Science course will help in providing you with crucial mentorship, a fair chance at skill building, useful career coaching with placement opportunities as well as a precisely structured course curriculum in line with the existing industry standards and demands.
Develop a Portfolio
As you think of how to get a Data Analyst job without experience, you should remember that a robust portfolio will definitely increase your chances for landing with a job. A good portfolio is a must in terms of establishing your credibility and serving as a testimony for your skills and expertise by way of participating in projects that you must have worked earlier in.
If you wish to read on some of the best Data Analytics Project Ideas, do read our blog on ?Top Data Analytics Projects?
You should remember that in building your portfolio, you should place special emphasis on certain points, like:
- Ability of Analyzing Data
- Technical Skills
- Ability to Extract Conclusions and Insights
- Propensity to conduct Research
- Communication and Collaboration skills
- Brush up your Competencies and Focus upon your Transferable Skills
The need to possess certain specific skills and expertise, should not really deter you from thinking of initiating a career as a Data Analyst.
You should remember that you must be in possession of some or the other kind of skills from your own life or professional experience which can help you discharge your duties as a Data Analyst.
For instance, coming from an academic background, you might have excellent explanation and communication skills. This might seem to be a small point, but it can be a great skill as far as presentation of data and insights to stakeholders is concerned.
Similarly, you might be great at researching or analyzing stuff which is a skill, not limited to the field of Data Analytics alone. These capabilities can definitely be transferred and utilized as you seek to establish yourself as a Data Analyst.
Experienced or a newbie; if you wish to ace a Data Analyst Interview like a pro, it will be important to be well acquainted with some of the most important topics within the field. To know more, do read our blog, on ?Top 30 Data Analyst Interview Questions?
Entry Level Data Analyst Jobs which you can Target
There is no denying the fact that many of the high-level Data Analyst jobs require you to possess a certain amount of domain experience.
However, this is not the end of the story. If you are unsure of how to become a Data Analyst without experience, you should remember that there are a number of entry level Data Analytics jobs, which you can definitely target if you happen to lack industry experience. Some of these are:
Data Entry Clerk
This professional occupies an administrative position and is responsible for executing routine clerical activities, essentially surrounding the task of feeding data into computer systems. Additionally, he is also responsible for:
- Database Update
- Data Entry into Databases
- Record Review
- Files and Digital Material Preparation for Printing
- Database Backup
- Records and Electronic Files Retrieval
The national average salary for this position is approximately estimated to be around $33,000 per year.
Quality Assurance Analyst/Research Analyst
While Research Analysts are responsible for ensuring the accuracy and quality of acquired data for deriving insights; Quality Assurance Analysts seek to collect data in order to ascertain that a given service or software product meets quality standards.
At times, QA Analysts need to have a bachelor?s degree in Information Technology; but at the same time, they can also develop skills through on-the-job training. Research analysts use different statistical, analytical and mathematical models for exploring database patterns.
Entry-Level Data Analyst
Entry-Level Data Analysts are responsible for the collection, analysis and management of data. They conduct research on data, derive insights from it, define market trends as well as generate reports and present them to stakeholders, executives and managers.
The position requires them to possess a certain degree of technical skill and at least a bachelor?s degree in disciplines like finance, mathematics, statistics and other related field.
The national average salary for this position is approximately estimated to be around $59,000 per year.
Business Analyst/Business Analyst Consultant
As a junior/entry level Business Analyst, you shall be responsible for facilitating the process of Data Analytics and extraction of insights for operational improvement. They also meet with clients in order to understand their needs and develop strategies. Their task is conducting as well as assisting in industry research.
The national average salary for this position is approximately estimated to be around $67,000 per year.
Conclusion
By the end of this blog, I am pretty sure that you must have been convinced that your lack of industry experience is not the end of the world if you wish to earn the credentials of being a Data Analyst. However, the question of how to become a Data Analyst with no experience is definitely a valid concern.
Prior experience in the field can definitely be an added advantage; however, given the rapidly expanding nature of the domain and the acute talent shortage within the same; you do stand a chance to offer much value to it as a newcomer.
Moreover, as a qualified Data Analyst, you will be able to exploit job opportunities in multiple sectors, including, Finance, Marketing, Media, Education, Retail, Transport and Logistics, and so on.
Data Analytics as a tech field is all set to flourish and gather accelerated momentum in the years to come. It is quite fascinating to read about the future of this domain. Check out our blog on the “Future of Data Analytics: Looking at what is to come“
If you are thinking of how to get a Data Analyst job without experience, one of the best means could be to enrol for a Data Analytics course in an online bootcamp.
Apart from valuable mentorship, placement opportunities, well-structured curriculum and flexibility; the option would offer you end-to-end assistance, even if you happen to be a newcomer to the tech world.
We, at Syntax Technologies, provide you with exactly such an amazing opportunity. With top notched data training, we help you establish your foothold within the job market. Enroll now for our Data Analytics course.
