To better understand the importance of data analysts in the IT industry, you have to know the duties and responsibilities of a data analyst and why they are in demand right now. Here, we will discuss the role and importance of data analysts in various industries, especially in the IT industry. We also included
What Does a Data Analyst Do?
A data analyst is a professional that gathers and collects data, then organizes and interprets it to arrive at a conclusion. This interpretation of data involves analyzing patterns and trends and translating them into information valuable for the business. Thus, a data analyst plays a big role in important business and company decisions. They often make recommendations about the methods and ways a company approaches a problem.
What Are The Responsibilities of a Data Analyst?
A data analyst’s job may seem straightforward, but it involves a lot of duties and responsibilities. We listed some of their tasks for you to have an idea about their day-to-day tasks.
Researching and Collecting Data
Collecting and retrieving data is one of the most technical aspects of an analyst’s job. They collect and acquire these data from primary and secondary sources. The task may involve working with web developers to ease and optimize data collection.
Analyzing and Interpreting Data
When data is available, a data analyst’s next task is to analyze and interpret the data. In order to arrive at a meaningful result, the data analyst aims to identify trends and spot relevant patterns in data sets.
Analyzing and Reporting Results
Data analysts analyze results in order to get valuable information. They report the information to the necessary people by creating narratives with the data they got. This means that they have to present the data in such a way that the next decision-maker will understand the insights of the report. The report may also involve recommendations of new methods and the identification of opportunities for the business.
Collaborating With Other Teams
A data analyst’s job is very flexible, and often they find themselves collaborating alongside various teams and departments in the company. Data analyst’s report is relevant in almost every field. They will likely collaborate with departments involved with decision-making, such as executives and marketers. They are also most likely to collaborate with data scientists and web developers.
Why are Data Analysts In Demand Now?
We are living in the Information Age, where data becomes more and more abundant every year. As opposed to decades ago, where data was difficult to gather, data right now is easily accessible thanks to breakthroughs in technology and the Internet. Data is now easily gathered and collected by people and machines.
Technology, together with the Internet and social media, allows the collection of data every day. Every time a person uses a smartphone, browses on social media, or searches on Google, data is generated. As data is generated every second, more and more people are needed to manage all this data.
Predictions say that soon, companies and businesses with the most data sets are most likely to be on top of the market. Thus, data is now considered an essential commodity. However, data that is not analyzed and interpreted are meaningless for the organization. In order to make sense of this data so it won’t go to waste, organizations have started to invest in hiring data scientists.
Still, the number of data scientists is limited compared to the amount of data available right now. More people are needed to interpret these data, so other data science jobs such as data analysts have started to increase in demand.
What Are The Skills Required to Qualify as a Data Analyst?
First, a data analyst’s career is heavily based on the following subjects:
- Mathematics
- Computer Science
- Statistics
- Economics
On the other hand, the most in-demand tech skills for data analysts involve mastery in the following software and programming languages:
- SQL - short for Structured Query Language. It is a language that allows the data analyst to query and manipulate databases.
- Excel - the dominant spreadsheet program. Data analysts use Excel to analyze data quickly.
- Tableau - a drag-and-drop business intelligence software. Data analysts use this to create visualizations and dashboards.
- Python - a very popular programming language for working with data, websites, and scripting.
- R - a popular free open-source language for statistics.
- SAS - statistical software used for data management and advanced analytics.
- PowerPoint - a very popular software for creating electronic presentations.
- SQL Server - a database server that implements SQL.
- Oracle - another database software used for database management systems.
- Power BI - business analytics service that provides interactive visualizations.
These software and programming languages are the most often used skills in gathering and analyzing data. They also allow data scientists to create visualizations for the presentation of their findings. If you want to pursue a career in data analytics, studying and getting certifications in these skills will give you a big edge.