Planning a Data Analytics career? Here is how you can be successful in it
Data is present all around us, and we now possess the ability to collect and make sense of it. A career in data analytics is highly enriching and profitable, more so than ever before. But, what is data analysis? What does the job entail, and how does one rise up to meet those demands and flourish? This article seeks to answer these questions and hopes to motivate you to ask some of your own.
What Is Data Analysis? What Do Data Analysts Do?
Conventionally, there are five types of data analysis - descriptive, diagnostic, predictive, prescriptive and cognitive. The descriptive analysis involves curating unstructured data into absorbable bits, meant to serve a specific function. To find patterns behind the data collated by a descriptive analyst, one requires a diagnostic analyst. This form of data analysis involves more of data processing than data storage and collection. Primarily, data analysts work to undertake these two tasks.
The other three forms of data analysis are usually handled by a data scientist, but the distinctions between the two occupations are blurry, often changing between workspaces. Therefore, a data analyst may very well be involved in predictive, prescriptive and cognitive analyses. Hence, it will definitely serve a potential data analyst to be versed in the basics of these modes of analyses.
The predictive analysis involves forecasting later iterations of present data sets, while prescriptive analysis seeks to modify potential incoming data to suit the demands of a specific function. A cognitive analyst uses tools ranging from machine learning to artificial intelligence to better perform these functions, as well as the more basic objectives of data processing and storage.
Hence, a data analyst’s job may foray across various domains, ranging from choosing what qualifies as data, finding ways to store and process that data, to finding and acting on better ways to collect and change future data to suit a purpose. The importance of a data analyst cannot be understated, as without his/her presence, society as we know it would cease to function efficiently.
How To Be A Successful Data Analyst?
Let us say a data analyst works for a business, looking to provide a service. It requires customer data to understand the demands for a new product. Additionally, he/she would like to skew public opinion in favour of his/her new product. A data analyst is required each step of the way in this endeavor.
A data analyst’s skill set and tasks are truly interdisciplinary. If specializing in data storage and descriptive analysis, one would do well to acquaint himself/herself with managing spreadsheets, mainly through services like Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets. The skills one gains from such may be applied to different tabular data collection software. This would aid in collecting data in an efficient and manageable way. In the above example of customer data collection, one definitely requires the usage of this skill. But, what if one wants to collect unstructured customer data? Instead of collecting data from structured sets like questionnaires, what if the company wanted to collect a random set of customer responses?
This is where diagnostic analysis is required. When entering the realms of this mode of analysis, it is better to be well-versed in web-driven languages like HTML and Javascript. Furthermore, one should also learn programming languages like Python and SQL. Additionally, specializing in mathematics and statistics will also provide a very necessary edge in solving problems. A diagnostic analyst would make better sense of unstructured data to find falsifiable patterns and work on what new product potential customers need.
Then comes the work of predictive and prescriptive analysts. The ones involved in this function would work to find newer ways to systematize and modify customer responses, to ensure greater success of their new product and/or service. A cognitive analyst finds better ways to streamline this process. If a data analyst is versed in Big Data tools like Hadoop, he/she would be highly marketable in this part of the process. While data analytics courses may not always cover this function, going out of the way to expand one’s own knowledge will vastly aid his/her endeavor.
In Conclusion
The functions and services of a data analyst are many, and they are far more in demand than ever before. Furthermore, it is a highly rewarding profession which aids in the knowledge of various disciplines.
Disclaimer: No Deccan Chronicle journalist was involved in creating this content. The group also takes no responsibility for this content.
