What is a data analyst?
Data analysts work with data to help their organizations make better business decisions. Using techniques from a range of disciplines, including computer programming, mathematics, and statistics, data analysts draw conclusions from data to describe, predict, and improve business performance. They form the core of any analytics team and tend to be generalists versed in the methods of mathematical and statistical analysis.
The rising demand for data analysts
The data analyst role is in high demand, as organizations are growing their analytics capabilities at a rapid clip. In July 2023, IDC forecast big data and analytics software revenue would hit $122.3 billion this year, and would see 19.3% CAGR through 2027.
Data analyst vs. data scientist
While data analysts and data scientists may be commingled on analytics teams, their roles differ considerably.
Data analysts seek to describe the current state of reality for their organizations by translating data into information accessible to the business. They collect, analyze, and report on data to meet business needs. The role includes identifying new sources of data and methods to improve data collection, analysis, and reporting. Data scientists, on the other hand, are often engaged in long-term research and prediction, while data analysts seek to support business leaders in making tactical decisions through reporting and ad hoc queries.
The difference between data analysts and data scientists comes down to timescale. A data analyst might help an organization better understand how its customers use its product in the present moment — what works and doesn’t work for them, whereas a data scientist might use the insights generated from that work to help design a new product that anticipates future customer needs.
Data analyst role
Data analysts mostly work with an organization’s structured data. They create reports, dashboards, and other visualizations on data associated with customers, business processes, market economics, and more to provide insights to senior management and business leaders in support of decision-making efforts. They also work with all manner of data, including inventories, logistics and transportation costs, market research, profit margins, sales figures, and so on to help the business estimate market share, price products, time sales, optimize transportation costs, and the like.
Data analyst responsibilities
Data analysts seek to understand the questions the business needs to answer and determine whether those questions can be answered by data. They must understand the technical issues associated with collecting and analyzing data, and reporting. And they must be able to recognize trends and patterns. According to Workable, key data analyst responsibilities include:
- Analyzing data using statistical techniques and providing reports
- Developing and implementing databases and data collection systems
- Acquiring data from primary and secondary sources and maintaining data systems
- Identifying, analyzing, and interpreting trends or patterns in complex data sets
- Filtering and cleaning data
- Working with management to prioritize business and information needs
- Locating and defining new process improvement opportunities
Data analyst salary
According to employment search engine Indeed, the average data analyst salary in the US is $78,258 per year, with a low of $49,448 and a high of $123,853. Indeed notes that data analysts can typically earn the most in non-traditional tech areas.
Top 5 cities for data analyst salaries
Data analyst skills
According to Coursera, the following are the most in-demand skills for data analysts:
- SQL
- Statistical programming
- Machine learning
- Probability and statistics
- Data management
- Statistical visualization
- Econometrics
In addition to analytical and mathematical skills, and facility with languages such as SQL, communication skills are essential. Data analysts frequently need to engage with the business to understand its objectives and to gather requirements.
Landing a data analyst job
An eclectic mix of skills and experience is often key to getting noticed when applying for data analyst positions, though facility with SQL and statistical analysis is a requirement. Good communication and writing skills go a long way because analysts write a lot of reports. Practical experience is also a plus, even if it’s an internship.
Data analyst training
While there is no set education requirement for data analysts, most data analysts have at least a BS in mathematics, economics, computer science, information management, or statistics. Coding bootcamps can help, and internships can provide experience that many organizations look for.
Data analyst certifications
Data analytics skills are in high demand and are relatively rare, so individuals with the right mix of experience and skill can command higher salaries. The right big data certifications and business intelligence certifications can help.
Some popular certifications include:
- Associate Certified Analytics Professional (aCAP)
- AWS Certified Data Analytics
- Certified Analytics Professional (CAP)
- CDP Data Analyst
- CompTIA Data+
- Microsoft Certified Power BI Data Analyst Associate
- SAS Certified Advanced Analytics Professional
- Tableau Certified Data Analyst
Other data analytics jobs
Data analyst is just one job title in the expanding field of analytics. Here are some of the most popular job titles and the average salary for each position, according to data from PayScale:
- Analytics manager: $121,155
- Business analyst: $84,578
- Business intelligence analyst: $89,923
- Data architect: $108,688
- Data engineer: $128,543
- Data manager: $88,464
- Data scientist: $123,379
- Research analyst: $67,126
- Statistician: $93,097
