Explore how a job as a data analyst can help you follow a variety of exciting career paths, including data science, management, consulting, or a specialty.
Getting a job as a data analyst could be your first step in pursuing a larger data career. Take a closer look at four common career paths you can take in this high-demand field.
If you鈥檙e new to the field of data analysis, your first job might be an entry-level role as a junior analyst. If you have some experience with transferable analytical skills from a previous job, you may be able to get hired as a data analyst.
While most data analyst jobs require at least a bachelor鈥檚 degree, some companies may allow you to fast-track into an internship or entry-level job by earning certifications for key job roles, such as SQL, Python, and Excel.
Before applying for that first job, you鈥檒l want to develop some core data analyst skills, including SQL, R or Python, data management, statistical analysis, and data visualization.听
Read more about how to become a data analyst through four different career paths.
As you gain experience as a data analyst, you may encounter opportunities to advance your career in a few different directions. Depending on your goals and interests, you may progress into data science, management, consulting, or a more specialized data role.听
Take a closer look at four possible career paths in the world of data.
Many data scientists start out as data analysts. Making this transition typically involves:
Advancing your programming skills
Learning more advanced mathematics
Developing an understanding of machine learning听
Many data scientists also have a degree in data science, computer science, or a related field. While a degree may not be strictly necessary, having one can mean more job opportunities.听听
Another common career path for data analysts is to move into management positions. You might start out as a data analyst before advancing to senior-level analyst, analytics manager, director of analytics, or even chief data officer (CDO).
If you鈥檙e interested in pursuing this path, you鈥檒l want to focus on developing your leadership skills alongside your data skills. In some companies, a master鈥檚 degree in data analytics or business administration with a focus on data analytics might be required to attain these higher-level positions.
As a data analyst, you might work in one of many different industries. Sometimes, your career path might take you deeper into the specialized knowledge of that industry.
Business analysts use data to help make an organization鈥檚 IT processes, organizational structures, or staff development more efficient and effective.
Financial analysts use data to help guide investment opportunities, identify revenue opportunities, and mitigate financial risk.
Operations analysts are tasked with optimizing a company鈥檚 performance by identifying and solving technical, structural, and procedural issues.
Marketing analysts, also called market research analysts, analyze market trends to help determine product and service offerings, price points, and target customers.
Systems analysts use cost-benefit analysis to help match technological solutions to company needs.
Health care analysts use data from health records, cost reports, and patient surveys to help providers improve their quality of care.
Once you鈥檝e gained several years of experience analyzing data for a company (or several different companies), you can consider working as a data analytics consultant. Instead of working for a company directly, you鈥檇 work as a freelance contractor or for a consulting firm, conducting analysis for a variety of clients.
Working as a consultant often means more variety in the type of analysis you鈥檙e performing, as well as greater flexibility, particularly if you鈥檙e self-employed.
Even entry-level data analyst positions tend to be well-paid. As you add years of experience and advanced job titles, salaries often go up accordingly. Look at the average base pay of different data analyst roles in Canada in September 2024, according to Indeed:
Junior analyst: $54,580 CAD听
Data analyst: $72,469 CAD听
Senior data analyst: $83,387 CAD听
Analytics manager: $107,105 CAD听
Director of analytics: $138,760 CAD听
Data scientist: $96,163 CAD听
Business analyst: $75,549 CAD听
Financial analyst: $72,436 CAD听
Operations analyst: $65,430 CAD听
Marketing analyst: $80,626 CAD
Systems analyst: $72,596 CAD听
*All annual base salary data is sourced from Indeed as of September 2024.
Pursuing your education or exploring certificates can help you start a career in data analytics, allowing you to choose from many different branching careers. Take the first step toward a career in data analytics with the Google Data Analytics Professional Certificate available on 糖心vlog官网观看. Build job-ready skills in less than six months. Upon completion, you鈥檒l have a shareable certificate for your resume, as well as the ability to start applying for jobs directly with Google and more than 130 other US employers. If you're ready to build on your existing data science skills to qualify for in-demand job titles like junior data scientist and data science analyst, consider the Google Advanced Data Analytics Professional Certificate.
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