What Does a Data Analyst do?

A data analyst collects, cleans, and interprets data sets in order to answer a question o solve a problem. They work in many industries, including business, finance, criminal justice, science, medicine, and government.

These are the types of questions you might be pressed to answer as a data analyst. Read on to find out more about what a data analyst is, what skills you’ll need, and how you can start on a path to becoming one.

What is data analysis?

Data analysis can take different forms, depending on the question you’re trying to answer. You can read more about the types of data analysis here. Briefly, descriptive analysis tells us what happened, diagnostic analysis tells us why it happened, predictive analytics forms projections about the future, and prescriptive analysis creates actionable advice on what actions to take.

• Identify the data you want to analyze
• Collect the data
• Clean the data in preparation for analysis
• Analyze the data
• Interpret the results of the analysis

What tools do data analysts use?

During the process of data analysis, analysts often use a wide variety of tools to make their work more accurate and efficient. Some of the most common tools in the data analytics industry include.

• Jupyter notebooks
• Microsoft Power BI
• SAS
• R or Python
• Tableau
• SQL
• Google Sheets
• Microsoft Excel

Types of data analysts

People who perform data analysis might have other titles such as:

• Medical and Health care analyst
• Market research analyst
• Business analyst
• Business intelligence analyst
• Operations research analyst
• Intelligence analyst

How to become a data analyst

There is more than one path toward a career as a data analyst. Whether you are just graduating from school or looking to switch careers, the first step is often assessing what transferable skills you have and building the new skills you’ll need in this new role.