Anyone work in data analytics? (career change)

[Deleted]

Not sure how much help this will be. I have a friend who's a data analyst. He found his job through an IT recruitment firm and is SQL certified.

[hocus2]

I ended up in analytics and I have a social science degree. Depending on what specific form of analytics you want to study there maybe education programs for you (e.g. financial analytics, marketing analytics, HR analytics etc).

Overall I do like analytics but I'm not in love with my role in part because I do very little analytics right now. Folks who have the skills to move data sometimes get sidelined in more technical roles.

[katespade]

I work in data analytics and I think it's great. I started doing analytical project work while I was in the HR field before I made a full career change, and I really enjoy my current role.

I agree with the PP who mentioned SQL certifications. Also, some of the more common programs that are used for processing data and visualizations, like Excel and Power BI.

In my area, most employers also list some type of four year degree in business or technology as a minimum requirement.

[jigsy]

Maybe mp would be willing to come back to answer questions, lol.


I don't know what she does, but she seems to like it and I envy the solid career choice she made.

[hocus2]

Jan 16, 2017 13:43:27 GMT -5 lake said:

Jan 16, 2017 13:03:28 GMT -5 hocus2 said:

I ended up in analytics and I have a social science degree. Depending on what specific form of analytics you want to study there maybe education programs for you (e.g. financial analytics, marketing analytics, HR analytics etc).

Overall I do like analytics but I'm not in love with my role in part because I do very little analytics right now. Folks who have the skills to move data sometimes get sidelined in more technical roles.

Thanks for the info.

This was part of what I am curious about. I have degrees in another area so I am less excited about getting another full-fledged degree (but maybe).

Did you do any training (certifications or like one of those XX week/month training programs), or were you trained on the job?

  I was trained on the job. I started at a non-profit which I think is more likely to look for start folks with potential than the private sector which seems to want folks with a specific skill set. If you're at a company with analytics I'd map out out a path for a sideways transition. That is far easier than getting an analytics job cold if you're transitioning from a differ role. 

In terms of education - in my specific area there are a lot of year or 18 month programs that are designed for working folks to get more informed in the area. You take 1-2 classes at a time.

I took a training in SAS. Now R, Python and SQL are more popular.

[thebreakfastclub]

I work at the HQ of a retailer, and we have a data analysis team. There's probably several, but I am familiar with the ones who support merchandising and planning, since that's my area.

I feel like Access, higher-level Excel, SQL, familiarity with relational databases, are all keys to the role. My last company used SAS as a planning system, and I know you can get higher-level certifications in SAS programming. I am just an end-user of SAS to build financial plans, which is nothing like writing queries and truly using SAS.

I think I'd try Access/SQL even at community college to see if it's a fit before pursuing anything else.

[sweetteavodka]

I work in digital marketing analytics and I love it. We hire assistant analysts with no analytics experience but do require a 4 year degree.
I agree with what PP have said re: SQL, Excel Pivot Tables, Tableau as good programs to learn. If you are interested in digital marketing we also look for Google DoubleClick and Facebook Business Manager as good to have skills. 

[MixedBerryJam]

Jan 16, 2017 13:22:41 GMT -5 jigsy said:

Maybe mp would be willing to come back to answer questions, lol.


I don't know what she does, but she seems to like it and I envy the solid career choice she made.

Are you still friends with her? Please give her my regards if so. 

[tillie]

I worked in data analytics for a health insurance company. I loved it.
I agre with PPs regarding SQL, relational databases, SAS, etc. If there's a specific position you are vying for you best bet is to find out what they use. Hopefully they'll even offer to train you or at least contribute to it.

[Deleted]

I do. I love it! Learn sql, tableau, R, and be a power user with excel. I learned excel and tableau on my own, and took a MOOC on sql (code academy and then a lot of trial and error) and R (the coursera Johns Hopkins sequence). Basic knowledge of a programming language or at least the ability to understand how programming is approached is very helpful prior to learning an advanced package like R. I know excel inside and out, and I picked up R quickly because the thinking is (somewhat) similar. To a lesser extent (this will be role dependent) knowledge of surveying, data collection, etc is important. Also, many roles will look for not only analytics skills but also ability to identify and recommend strategy as a result of your analysis.

[picksthemusic]

My DH has a degree in graphic design but does HR/benefits analyst work (or is trying to - he got laid off last year). It's a really specialized skill set. Do you know where you want to work, or for which company?

[Deleted]

Jan 16, 2017 17:54:42 GMT -5 lake said:

Jan 16, 2017 17:34:23 GMT -5 @akswartz85 said:

I do. I love it! Learn sql, tableau, R, and be a power user with excel. I learned excel and tableau on my own, and took a MOOC on sql (code academy and then a lot of trial and error) and R (the coursera Johns Hopkins sequence). Basic knowledge of a programming language or at least the ability to understand how programming is approached is very helpful prior to learning an advanced package like R. I know excel inside and out, and I picked up R quickly because the thinking is (somewhat) similar. To a lesser extent (this will be role dependent) knowledge of surveying, data collection, etc is important. Also, many roles will look for not only analytics skills but also ability to identify and recommend strategy as a result of your analysis.

Thank you!

Your last sentence - developing the ability to identify and recommend strategy = this appeals to me.

One other question: in your opinion, is a lot of math involved? (I guess this depends on your definition of math.) I have always had a bit of self doubt when if comes to complicated math and I am interested in your take on this. I've googled a bit about it, which made me feel better. It's a mental hang up, and probably why I haven't looked into this sooner. Thanks!

I think it's less about knowing complicated math than being comfortable with logic. I went up through calculus in college and never use those skills - i.e. A particular formula or whatever. But what I do use is the ability to think through a complicated problem. It's really about the ability to break the end product apart and plan /execute to get there. (I'm not sure if that makes sense, I'm trying to keep out specifics...). PM me if you want to know more.

I did a course through McKinsey on strategy but I'm not sure if that is available to the general public. A lot of it is learning on the job.

[pretzel]

Python and R are the big tools to start with data analytics and visualization. We have an employer who won't interview students who don't have Hadoop.

[whiskeytails]

I work fairly closely with our data person and their job is to understand our google analytics, do audience/data modeling, analyze surveys (plus setup), and customer profiling.

[Deleted]

Jan 16, 2017 19:01:42 GMT -5 picksthemusic said:

My DH has a degree in graphic design but does HR/benefits analyst work (or is trying to - he got laid off last year). It's a really specialized skill set. Do you know where you want to work, or for which company?

We are hiring (we are always hiring!)... the role has some analytics components but is also an HR role. Pm me if you want to learn more.

[verycontrary247]

Jan 16, 2017 13:22:41 GMT -5 jigsy said:

Maybe mp would be willing to come back to answer questions, lol.


I don't know what she does, but she seems to like it and I envy the solid career choice she made.

I had no idea she left here. I see her so much on other social media I didn't notice.

[pizzapizza]

I work in data analytics.  It highly recommend making a career of it.  What I find so amazing is the huge number of free or low cost resources to get you started.

I think Google Analytics is a great tool that you can get certified in for free.  I would recommend reading more about Google Analytics to see if it is something you would find interesting.  

This is what I would do if I wanted to move into the data analytics world - if you are self directed and like working with data I think this would be a very smart approach that could help you get a job.  

1. Get a certification to become more marketable - I like the Google Analytics Individual Qualification because it is free

- Read Occam's Razor blog by web analytics thought leader - Avinash Kaushik (please note his writing can be annoying)                   - Start with this post - good summary at a high level about the types of jobs out there: Web Analytics Career Guide: From Zero To Hero In Five Steps!
   - The post is old and the Google certification is now free and I would not waste time on Yahoo right now 
- Buy a couple of books on Google Analytics/web analytics and read some popular blogs on these topics
   - Analytics Blogs
- Study for the Google Analytics Individual Qualification (this is a free certification that Google offers)
  - link
- Pass the Google Analytics Individual Qualification to receive your certificate

2. Get comfortable with data and learn how to manipulate it

- Learn SQL (Google has a product called bigquery that allows you to query the Google Analytics database, there is a free version that can be used for practice)
  - www.quora.com/How-do-I-learn-SQL
- Become an expert in excel, powerpivot is good too
- Python is another option 

3. Visualize the data 

- Excel, R, Tableau, Power BI
- Google has reports and dashboards built in and you can get 5 free reports in Data Studio

4. Practice what you learned and illustrate your value to future employers

- Volunteer to help a non-profit optimize their website and giving campaign

- Interview non-profit leaders to understand their goals and objectives (is it awareness, growth in giving, reduction in costs, increase in giver satisfaction?, etc)

- Tie goals and objectives of non-profit  to KPIs
(Key Performance Indicators) that you would like to track
- Track KPIs in google analytics
/google sheets/other free products
- Set goals for KPIs and work with non-profit to meet those goals and to investigate points of failure/customer issues etc

5. Network

So much I think of being successful is listening to the business/non-profit to understand their goals and objectives and tailoring a reporting and analytics strategy to help meet or exceed those goals and objectives.

Good luck!  Feel free to PM me if you have any more questions.  

[niemand88f]

This is a great post! My newish job uses some of these tools but for a fairly limited scope. This post is very helpful to considering how I'll be able to translate these skills to a better job

[glw]

I do, specifically for higher ed. My BA is in English and I went back to grad school for a Graduate Certificate in Institutional Research. I've also taken SQL courses through ed2go to become familiar with the language; I don't use it in my current position. I work mostly in Excel and SPSS.

[gt7301b]

Georgia Tech is offering an online Master's in Analytics starting in the fall:

pe.gatech.edu/online-masters-degrees/online-master-science-analytics

[mp]

Ohhai.

Ditto SQL. A lot of this is dependent on the field within analytics that you want to get into. For example, google analytics is not really super helpful if you're not evaluating web analytics. ETA - yes, they have offline data options, but it's strengths are online in my experience. I work in web/advertising analytics and have for 10 years. SQL has been a needed component my entire career, and the other tools come and go based on employer and needs. Tableau is one of the industry standard options for visualization. If you were totally confident in SQL and tableau, you'd probably be good to apply to entry level analytics roles.

I ditto the idea that it's more logic based than math based... but... if you're uncomfortable with math I do feel that you'd find yourself struggling to move forward and grow in a role like this, again depending on field. There can be a lot of modeling and basic statistics involved - I do not use a lot of heavy statistical programming in my daily work, but a lot of data mining, cleaning, modeling, and recommending strategy, etc.

[cheeseandcrackers]

sorry to bring up an old post..
i found this link online and i was wondering what you guys thought of it:
www.linkedin.com/pulse/20140610015329-78432055-how-to-get-a-50k-job-as-a-data-analyst-almost-for-free-without-a-college-degree
i have a bachelors degree in graphic design and certified in marketing, but i'd like to get into data analytics. i was wondering if it's best to just get certified versus going through a university and paying lots of $$

[atarianna]

Personally, I fell into analytics and love it. I have no specific training or certifications but do have some great experience with various tools and systems. If you want to do a career change, getting a cert may be helpful, but the way I started was in data entry. I proved my worth and was promoted very quickly to a business analyst, and have since done a few other analytic roles.

[dancelnow]

I'm bumping this because I have an interview in an analytics group this week. I'm an engineering supervisor looking for a change out of energy /plant life. I originally interviewed for the supv but they wanted someone with more stats experience and asked me to interview for a Sr Staff analyst instead. I'm trying to figure out how to prepare for this and learn what best practices are. It's more business intelligence and KPI work instead of web analysis.

[moolarkey]

Jan 16, 2017 21:39:49 GMT -5 pretzel said:

Python and R are the big tools to start with data analytics and visualization. We have an employer who won't interview students who don't have Hadoop.

We are Hadoop where I work - I do not work in analytics so can't give any info there.