How to become a Data Analyst FAST (By 2025)
Summary
TLDRThis video offers a comprehensive roadmap for aspiring data analysts to secure their first role by 2025. It emphasizes the importance of consistent effort, understanding statistics as the language of data, and mastering Excel for data manipulation. The speaker also highlights the necessity of learning SQL for database management and Python or R for scripting. The video suggests practical steps, including joining Discord communities, practicing with real datasets, and building a portfolio to showcase skills. It assures viewers that breaking into the field is achievable with dedication and the right resources, even without a formal degree.
Takeaways
- đ The video provides a roadmap to land a data analyst role by 2025, emphasizing the importance of consistency and discipline in learning.
- đ You don't need a relevant degree or extensive experience to break into data analytics; the focus should be on practical skills.
- đ€ Joining a community like a Discord server can provide valuable networking opportunities and support in learning analytics.
- đ Understanding statistics is crucial as it forms the basis for data analysis, including concepts like descriptive statistics, correlation, and probability.
- đ Excel and Google Sheets are essential tools for data analysts, with pivot tables, conditional formatting, and visualization being key skills to master.
- đŸ SQL is a must-have skill for data analysts, used for retrieving and manipulating data from relational databases, and it's important to learn its basics and efficiency.
- đ Learning Python or R is beneficial, with Python being more versatile for various fields including data analysis, and key libraries to learn include pandas, numpy, and matplotlib.
- đ Visualization tools like Tableau, Looker, or PowerBI are important for presenting data insights effectively, and storytelling with data is a valuable skill.
- đŒ Building a portfolio showcasing your data analysis projects can significantly improve your job prospects in the analytics field.
- đ Consistent practice and application of learned skills are necessary for mastering data analysis, and showing your work is more impactful than just stating your abilities.
Q & A
What is the main goal of the video?
-The main goal of the video is to provide a roadmap to help viewers land their first data analyst role before 2025, regardless of their current profession or educational background.
Why is consistency and discipline emphasized in the video?
-Consistency and discipline are emphasized because breaking into the field of data analytics requires daily effort and commitment, rather than relying on quick fixes or shortcuts.
What is the significance of joining a Discord server for beginners in data analytics?
-Joining a Discord server is significant because it offers a community where beginners can receive referrals, collaborate on group projects, and get support from others in the field, which is beneficial for breaking into tech and data science.
Why is having a grasp of statistics important for a data analyst?
-Statistics is important because it is the language of data and analytics. It helps in understanding and interpreting data, conducting analyses, and ensuring that the analysis is not plagued by bias.
What are the basic statistical concepts a data analyst should understand?
-A data analyst should understand descriptive statistics like mean, median, mode, and standard deviation, as well as concepts of correlation, probability, and hypothesis testing.
How can one learn the necessary statistical concepts without a formal degree?
-One can learn the necessary statistical concepts through free online courses on platforms like Coursera, Khan Academy, or by watching educational videos on YouTube.
Why is Excel or Google Sheets a crucial skill for a data analyst?
-Excel or Google Sheets is crucial because it is a ubiquitous tool used across industries for data manipulation, analysis, and visualization, and is often required for day-to-day tasks in data analysis.
What are some key Excel or Google Sheets skills that a data analyst should master?
-Key skills include creating pivot tables for data summarization, using conditional formatting to highlight data patterns, and creating visualizations and dashboards for data presentation.
What is SQL and why is it essential for a data analyst?
-SQL (Structured Query Language) is a tool used to retrieve, manipulate, and analyze data stored in relational databases. It is essential because it allows data analysts to communicate with and extract insights from large datasets.
How can one practice SQL effectively?
-One can practice SQL effectively by using online platforms like W3Schools, Codecademy, or by participating in coding challenges on websites like LeetCode or HackerRank. Additionally, creating databases with multiple tables using tools like SQLite can help practice joins and other SQL queries.
Why is learning Python or R recommended for a data analyst?
-Python or R are recommended because they are scripting languages with powerful libraries for data manipulation, numerical operations, and visualization, which are crucial for advanced data analysis and automation.
What are some important Python libraries for data analysis that the video suggests learning?
-The video suggests learning libraries such as pandas for data manipulation, numpy for numerical operations, matplotlib or seaborn for visualization, and scikit-learn if interested in machine learning.
How can one learn data visualization tools like Tableau?
-One can learn data visualization tools like Tableau through online courses on platforms like Udemy or LinkedIn Learning, by practicing with Tableau Public, or by using free trials of other business intelligence tools.
What is the importance of creating a portfolio in the context of job hunting for data analyst roles?
-Creating a portfolio is important because it showcases practical experience and technical abilities to potential employers, giving job candidates a competitive edge over others who may not have tangible examples of their work.
Outlines
đ Introduction to Breaking into Data Analytics
The speaker introduces a roadmap to secure a data analyst role by 2025, emphasizing the video's relevance to both working professionals and students. They highlight that despite changes in the job market, it's possible to break into data analytics without a relevant degree or extensive experience. The speaker encourages viewers to be consistent and disciplined in their efforts, dismissing the idea of a 'magic pill' for success. They recommend joining a Discord server for networking and group projects, and stress the importance of understanding statistics as the language of data analytics, suggesting that a fundamental grasp is sufficient rather than expertise.
đ Importance of Statistics and Excel Proficiency
The speaker discusses the necessity of understanding descriptive statistics, correlation, and probability for data analysis. They clarify that correlation does not imply causation, using an example of marketing budget and sales. The speaker then transitions into the importance of Excel and Google Sheets, stating that these tools are ubiquitous across industries. They suggest that viewers should practice using Excel for pivot tables, conditional formatting, and visualizations to solidify their learning. The speaker also recommends using online resources and YouTube for learning Excel, and emphasizes the value of hands-on practice with datasets from kaggle.com.
đŸ Mastering SQL for Data Manipulation
The speaker moves on to SQL, explaining that it's essential for retrieving and analyzing data from relational databases. They simplify SQL learning by breaking it down into basic components like SELECT, FROM, WHERE, JOIN, GROUP BY, and HAVING clauses. The speaker insists that SQL is a must-have skill for data analysts and that efficiency in querying is critical when dealing with large datasets. They recommend using W3Schools and YouTube for learning SQL and suggest practicing on platforms like LeetCode and HackerRank. The speaker also advises creating mock databases with multiple tables for practice, as real datasets often come as single tables.
đ Python and R for Advanced Data Analysis
The speaker recommends learning Python or R for more advanced data analysis, with a personal preference for Python due to its versatility and large community. They highlight key libraries such as pandas for data manipulation, numpy for numerical operations, and matplotlib or seaborn for data visualization. The speaker also touches on the utility of Python for automation and ETL processes. They suggest learning through practical application and recommend using resources like DataCamp and online courses for learning. The speaker concludes by emphasizing the importance of learning a BI tool like Tableau for data visualization, suggesting that storytelling with data is crucial for effective communication of insights.
đ Visualization and Building a Portfolio
The speaker stresses the importance of data visualization and storytelling, recommending Tableau for its interactive capabilities and the availability of a free public version. They advise learning the science of visualization and practicing with tools like Google Sheets before moving on to more advanced tools. The speaker also encourages viewers to build a portfolio showcasing their projects, which can significantly boost their job market prospects. They conclude by emphasizing the time and consistent effort required to master these skills, suggesting that by 2025, viewers who follow the roadmap will be well-prepared for a career in data analytics.
Mindmap
Keywords
đĄData Analyst
đĄStatistics
đĄDescriptive Statistics
đĄCorrelation
đĄProbability
đĄExcel
đĄSQL
đĄPython
đĄPandas
đĄVisualization
đĄPortfolio
Highlights
A guaranteed roadmap to land your first data analyst role before 2025 is presented, applicable for both working professionals and students.
The video promises a 99% success rate if viewers follow through with the tips and make them actionable.
It's emphasized that breaking into data analytics is possible from unrelated fields, and viewers are encouraged to commit to consistent effort.
Joining a Discord server with over 5,000 members can provide valuable networking and collaboration opportunities.
Statistics is described as the language of data and analytics, with a focus on understanding descriptive statistics like mean, median, mode, and standard deviation.
The importance of recognizing correlation without assuming causation is highlighted.
Probability and hypothesis testing are introduced as fundamental concepts for making inferences and testing them with data.
Excel and Google Sheets are touted as essential tools for data analysts, with a focus on pivot tables, conditional formatting, and visualizations.
SQL is a must-have skill for data analysts, with a focus on understanding queries, joins, and aggregation functions.
Efficiency in SQL querying is stressed as crucial when dealing with large datasets.
Learning Python or R is recommended, with a focus on libraries like pandas, numpy, and matplotlib for data manipulation and visualization.
Data visualization tools like Tableau, Looker, and PowerBI are discussed, with Tableau being recommended for its free public version.
The importance of storytelling with data and creating dashboards that simplify complexity and provide actionable insights is emphasized.
Building a portfolio and showcasing practical experience is advised as a key strategy for standing out in the job market.
Consistency in learning and practicing is highlighted as the key to success in breaking into data analytics by 2025.
Transcripts
so today I'm going to be walking you
through a guaranteed road map to land
your first dat analyst role before 2025
whether you're working professional
student this video is for you now the
information in this video is 99%
guaranteed if you actually follow
through to the video to the end take
notes and also take the tips and make
them actionable listen times have
changed and so has the job market I've
seen countless of people break into Data
from unrelated Fields unrelated Gees in
2024 and I know you can too you might
think you need this relevant degree or
you might need years of experience or
100 projects on the side to land your
first rooll but I can tell you firsthand
you can break in without these now
before we get into the specifics I want
you to make a commitment to yourself and
myself if you do want to break into
analytics you do need to be consistent
and you need to be disciplined and put
in the work every single day to actually
break in there is no magic pill there is
no magic formula that you can just watch
a 8 Hour course and become a data
analyst that's not true you didn't make
a consistent effort every single day now
if you are completely new to the field I
recommend joining the Discord server
down below there over 5,000 people in it
people provide referrals people work on
group projects together and it's
honestly one of the best is good servers
for actually breaking into Tech and data
science and analytics now let's talk
statistics now it might be pretty
intimidating you might be thinking math
uh it sounds too complicated it's not
for me but you have to understand
statistics is the language of data and
analytics well you don't need to be an
expert by any means you don't need a PhD
you do need to have a fundamental grasp
of the basics of Statistics you might be
asked question like what is the average
customer spent what is the variance in
the data can you conduct the split test
for me and actually to answer these
questions you do need to have some grasp
of Statistics to make sure you aren't
plagued by bias and the analysis
actually makes sense for your
stakeholders so the first part of stats
is understanding descriptive statistics
this can be the mean median mode and
standard deviation of the data set they
basically paint a holistic picture of
the data set before you actually dive
into the specific analysis you're
actually doing next I want you to
understand what correlation means it's
basically a relationship between the two
variables but I do want you to note that
correlation does not equal causation so
for example correlation could be does
marketing budget actually lead to higher
sales you can actually figure out this
correlation and report it to your
manager and if it does have a high
correlation or relationship you can
actually increase your marketing budget
and hopefully increase sales now the
next thing you need to know is
probability and maybe a bit of
hypothesis testing this is basically
when you make some inference or
hypothesis on the data set and you
actually want to conduct some sort of
experiment to test it out so this could
be like hey does this new marketing
campaign actually have an effect on the
bottom line sales for the company so you
actually don't need a University degree
to learn these Concepts that pretty
straightforward and simple I recommend
just going on Con Academy or taking a
free course and auditing it on corsera
if you do want to you don't need to
spend thousands of dollars if you don't
want to there are tons of self-paced
courses online and there are tons of
videos on YouTube itself for statistics
I've also released videos on hypothesis
testing and split testing as well now as
I said you don't need a PhD in math or
statistics or computer science to
succeed in this field you just need to
know the basics in order to interpret
and present data in a nice way to your
customers and your fellow stakeholders
all right now that you have a
fundamental grasp of what you need to
learn statistics the next thing I want
you to learn is Excel and you might have
some background in Excel but Excel is
one of those things or Google Sheets is
one of those things that will be
ubiquitous in almost all of Industry no
matter if you're data analyst or your
investment banker or your sales or
marketing or even customer service you
probably have used Excel to some degree
now do you remember all the concepts we
covered in statistics earlier you can
actually use them in Excel you can
figure out the sum the max the Min all
these descriptive statistics you can
figure out V lookups index match and so
many other functions that you can
actually use on a day-to-day basis I
would say the most important Concepts to
cover in Excel or Google sheet are one
pivot tables it helps you actually
summarize the data set and visualize it
very easily normally when I'm making
visualizations in Excel and Google
Sheets I typically make a pivot table of
the data to begin with and then I
visualize that pivot table for my end
user most of the time data sets are very
large they could be thousands if not
tens of thousands of rows and pivot
tables just summarize the data so easily
for your customer so they don't have to
just look through tens of thousands of
rows of data they can just see a nice
summarized aggregated field of data in a
pivot table the next thing I think you
should learn in Excel and Google Sheets
is this idea of conditional formatting
conditional formatting is basically in
the name itself you set a condition and
then it formats the text so the way I
use it is to highlight anomalies or
outliers in the data set so let's say
the sales is actually going down for the
quarter over quarter you'd actually
maybe do red conditional formatting to
indicate bad green to be good and yellow
if it just doesn't make much of a
difference so I typically like to do
this in summary this feature just helps
you see patterns in the data and
summarize it easier so once you've done
the basics with V lookups pivot tables
conditional formatting the next step is
actually work on visualizations and
actually visualizing your data set so
once you actually figure out
visualization with bar charts pie charts
line charts you actually want to build
what are we call dashboards dashboard is
basically a visual hierarchy to present
a paino or problem statement to someone
with a group of visuals big numbers and
it's just a basically a way for like
let's say a sales team wants to see how
many sales they're closing per quarter
this could have like a conversion table
this can also have a big number saying
how many sales calls were booked how
many sales calls were closed and it's
basically the way for a team to get to
make better decisions based on
visualization and data a welld design
dashboard can make the difference even
if your visualizations are amazing or
storytelling's amazing if your dashboard
is not visually appealing or welld
designed often times stakeholders will
be a bit biased and it won't actually
take suggestions from that dashboard so
make sure you're spending the extra time
to design it well and communicate your
findings effectively so where can you
actually learn Excel I recommend you can
audit a course on course era as well um
Excel is one of those things where you
can just honestly learn on YouTube I
think there is some documentation for
Microsoft as well on how to use
functions in Excel there's also
literally a help feature in Excel that
you can use to learn certain features
pretty easily one more thing I don't
want you to learn Excel just in theory
watching these courses I actually prefer
if you actually practice it so go on
kaggle.com download a data set and just
import into Google Sheets or Excel and
just start making pivot tables start
making visualizations and start using
maybe descriptive statistics and just
playing around the data set so
everything you actually learn in terms
of documentation you can actually
practice and then that way it it'll be
much easier to remember it and apply it
in your actual work now that you've
mastered statistics in Excel the next
step is actually move on to SQL SQL
stands for structured query language and
this is basically how you retrieve
manipulate and analyze data stored in
relational databases so think about it
like this companies have tons of data
sitting in various databases whether it
be sales Data customer information
product inventory SQL is the tool to
actually communicate with this data set
and bring useful insight for your
customers in my previous experience SQL
is one of those things that isn't a nice
to have it is a must have it is a
non-negotiable to learn SQL and be
effective as a data analyst that is the
tool that I use by far the most at as my
job as a data analyst then when I move
to a data scientist it is truly my bread
and butter here's the thing though I
don't think SQL is that difficult to
learn I think you can learn it fairly
quickly but you do have to understand
the basics first so the anatomy of a SQL
query you always want to use a select
before everything this basically allows
you to choose certain columns that you
actually want to Output in your query
next every SQL query should have a from
statement which basically chooses which
database or which table you actually
want to pull data from after this you
have the option of using aware Clause
think of this as like a filter you can
basically filter data Down based on
certain conditions you ask for it so
let's say you want to pull from a sales
data set you can only pull data from a
certain sales rep or a certain threshold
amount or a certain date it's just
basically a filter now often times
you'll have to pull for multiple data
sets and this is where the idea of a
join comes in join allows you to bring
in multiple data sets and then use them
together to actually pull make a query
joins are very common and they're
different types called inner left join
right join and outer join are the most
common joins you'll probably be using
and lastly you want to know what group
by and having functions are these are
basically aggregation tools so let's say
you want to group by months so your date
actually has individual rows for each
date but let's say you want to figure
out the total sales in a month you would
Group by month and all those days would
actually go into one row for that month
and then you can actually use an
aggregation function like a sum average
min max then you can have that value for
each of the months so you it's basically
called aggregation you don't want to
filter with wear Clauses on a group buy
you want to use a having for group buy
filtering now even if you master the
basics and you're able to make queries
out of nothing efficiency matters a lot
in this game a lot of the times you're
playing with large large data sets like
even hundreds of thousands of rows of
data so efficiency matters a lot and you
want to create the most efficient SQL
query as you possibly can using less
compute the better make the most memory
optimized SQL query
all of this stuff matters and once you
learn the basics the next step is to
learn efficiency of SQL querying so this
can be learning how to index tables or
how to use subqueries properly or how to
use common table expression these are
all tools to you work with to make
queries more efficient and during that
technical interview you're going to have
for data analyst knowing how to query
tables efficiently is what separates a
data analyst from another data analyst
even if they can both output the right
output now there are countless amount of
free tutorials and learning SQL W3
schools Con Academy and so many anym I
recommend W3 schools I learned on W3
schools I also learn on YouTube
tutorials but honestly the best way to
learn SQL is just practicing going on
lead code going on hacker ring these
interview prep tools and just doing
problem after problem until you get
comfortable I actually have a video up
on my channel of how I learn SQL in 10
or 15 days and I basically had to go
into work on the first day as a data
analyst right after school and I didn't
know SQL prior to joining that company
and my first task was to write SQL code
and bring the answers to the my boss's
question so I didn't really have the
luxury to take in a class I just had to
learn on the job and this was the best
way for me force me to learn so the one
thing I will note SQL probably isn't the
easiest tool to practice because often
times you want to download data sets
from kaggle but SQL it's really
important to be able to join tables
together and kaggle often times only has
one table depending on what data set
you're pulling so I recommend even using
chat GPD to populate your own databases
with multiple tables and then actually
practicing how to do joins and SQL
querying this data may not be the most
accurate it may not make the most sense
because it is AI generated but it is a
first step now after you learned
statistics Google Sheets Excel and SQL
the next step is to Learn Python or R
and these are what we call scripting
languages I personally recommend python
it has a really large community it's a
lot more versatile if you want to go
into software development or data
engineering python is just a much better
tool to learn in terms of Versatility R
is more for like Academia and statistics
youd probably use it more as a data
scientist if you know you want to stay
on that path but you can't really go
wrong with either uh for the purpose of
of this video we are going to just be
talking about python now you don't need
to be a software engineer by any means
but you should know like the basics and
a few packages that are data analytics
specific the two of the most important
libraries that I think you should learn
are pandas numpy and also maybe map plot
lib for visualization and pyit learn if
you want to go into more machine
learning so pandas is actually a data
manipulation library that allows you to
clean organize data quickly and
efficiently so you can basically think
of it as Excel pretty much on steroids
or a SQL typee package you can use
pandas to group data filter data and
join tables together and so much more
and also read csvs read Excel files and
import data into a data frame numpy is a
package you'd use for more numerical
operations I like to think of this as
like an advanced calculator you could
use in Python that's probably a good way
of looking at it now once you've
actually imported the data with pandas
and you've done your numerical
calculations with numpy I believe the
next step is probably visualization I
would use a package like Matt plot lib
or caborn to help visualize the data
with whatever type of visualizations you
want it's a lot more customizable than
tools like tableau or Google Sheets in
Python you can actually customize so
much more now this is a bonus once
you've learned these packages I think
you're good enough for data analysis but
python is also amazing at automation so
let's say you're doing a bit of ETL
which is extract transform load this is
more of a data engineering task python
can help you do this and also run
reports on saying hey has the data
loaded properly so once you learn these
basic packages I would also highly
recommend All of You To Learn Python for
automation as well now in terms of
actually learning data Camp's a great
resource for this of course is great but
as I said before the best way and the
best way that I've learned python is
personally on the job itself once I got
the job I would volunteer for python
projects the job itself didn't require
python to get but once I got it I used
to just volunteer to use Python cuz I
knew that was the best way to learn at
the time now the last thing I want you
to learn is some sort of bi tool or data
visualization tool this could be Tableau
looker powerbi or honestly any other
tool I've used probably four or five
tools throughout my career and just
depends on the company you're at each
company it own preferences like I've
used R shiny which is basically using R
for more customized visualizations I've
used Spotfire I've used Tableau I've
used looker I've used data Studio I've
used so many tools and One Thing Remains
the Same is the science of visualization
will stay the same no matter what tool
you have to use but being able to stay
versatile and be nimble and learn a new
tool quickly is very very important now
for the purposes of this video I
recommend that you actually learn
Tableau because Tableau public is free
for you to learn on and you can learn
the science visualization you can learn
the basics of visualization and then you
can apply for different sorts of uh VI
tools later down in your career I think
the best part about these visualization
tools is they're highly interactive they
can actually connect straight to your
database whether you're using SQL Presto
Hive any of these like SQL engines you
can actually make it as interactive as
you want you can include filters buttons
and you can do you can drag your mouse
over it and you can see some results so
it is very very interactive compared to
other visualization tools now I think
the best book on this is called
storytelling with data figuring out how
how to actually visualize data properly
I would learn how to create charts how
to create dashboards and how to actually
like present these cuz not only is
creating the dashboard's important
presentation is just as important when
it comes to your customers but here's
the most important thing to keep in mind
visualization is not just about making
simple and pretty charts it's about
making data easy to understand and
telling a story so whenever you're
making a dashboard you're making a
visualization you need to ask yourself
what is the key takeaway of this
visualization what value does this add
to the my audience the best dashboards
in my opinion simplify complexity as
much as possible and they provide clear
and actionable insights to your audience
in terms of learning I recommend just
going on Udi or LinkedIn learning I
think course there has a few courses on
this I would download Tableau public and
just start playing around with it before
you even get to Tableau public maybe
just start playing around with Google
Sheets that is free and start making
many dashboards there then slowly you
can progress check a bi tool like
Tableau or powerbi powerbi also has like
a free trial you can also probably use
if you want to get into it now I've
actually had videos on how to use Tablo
public with full tutorials I think we
used Airbnb data in New York city so you
can download kagle data an Excel or CSV
file upload it to Tableau and start
making dashboards immediately and follow
a walkr on YouTube like the one I have
once you have it you can actually just
put this on your resume your GitHub and
start branding yourself employers love
to see what you do it's much better for
an employer to see what you can do
rather than you tell them what you can
do they can actually see like your
abilities your technical abilities they
know like it's very hard to communicate
how good you are so often times just
practicing and and showing it off to
employers is the way to go now let's be
very clear this will not happen
overnight this will take anywhere
between 3 and 12 months depending on how
much time you have to dedicate and your
existing Background by the time 2025
rolls around you should have enough
experience if you followed this to a te
you took notes and you actually
practiced this every single day
consistently my last tip for you is to
build some sort of portfolio and put all
of these projects on that portfolio and
build a brand around yourself in data
analytics and data science employers
love to see practical experience and
will help you so much in the job market
if another candidate doesn't have this
portfolio that you do so if you Meed
this r on the video if you got any value
of this video please leave a like
subscribe and I'll see you next one
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