Why learn data analytics?

There has been a major shift in the demand for data analytics and other data-related jobs as more and more professional industries utilize digital data collection tools. In fact, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics, data-related job openings are anticipated to increase 36% over the next decade, significantly more than the national anticipated average of 4%. Analytics is one of the most versatile professional skills you can learn, as new advancements in data collection and cleaning tools have made it easier than ever for companies, individuals, and institutions to track tremendous amounts of data about everything from customer behavior to the launch angle of a batter v. up-and-in curveballs from right-handed pitchers. This means that there are ample career opportunities available for skilled data analytics experts in a wide range of industries and professional contexts.

Recommended: Data Analytics Certificate Program
Recommended: Best data analytics classes near me
Recommended: Best data analytics classes in NYC
Recommended: Best AI classes and bootcamps in NYC

Key skills learned during data analytics training

Data analytics training arms students with both technical and strategic skills that are applicable across many different industries. Here are some of the most common subjects taught during data analytics classes:

• Data cleaning: This process includes learning how to spot errors and handle any missing values.
• Statistical analysis: Learning this allows you to find trends and patterns in datasets.
• Excel for data analytics: Excel is used for tasks like creating pivot tables and lookup functions to simplify analysis.
• Data visualization: Tools like Tableau and Power BI are used to turn data into easy-to-understand visualizations.
• Python: Students learn to use Python to automate repetitive tasks and work with libraries like Pandas.

One of the best ways to narrow down class options to find the one that teaches skills most applicable to your goals is by looking through the top guide to data analytics classes. This list has comprehensive options for classes and training providers teaching data analytics classes, as well as some helpful information on the field as a whole. 

Jobs for data analytics professionals 

Data Analysts can find work in a wide range of different fields since the applications of their skills are relatively universal. No matter what kind of work you are doing, you are likely to be able to do it better with a bigger picture of the quantitative and qualitative data to which you have access. Data-related careers have been on the rise for several years and the trends show no meaningful signs of slowing down. This means that data analytics experts are in high demand, and the pay is relatively good, especially when compared to comparable positions. Depending on location and experience, a Data Analyst can anticipate a salary of around $108,000 dollars per year, with higher salaries available for professionals who can work with more complex data and machine learning-related projects.

Data analytics is only possible thanks to the work of data scientists who construct and build the tools and infrastructure that make data analysis and collection possible. These professionals are vital to a whole host of different commercial and business practices and they are paid a commensurate salary to acknowledge their contributions and the level of training they require. If you want to dedicate yourself to a long-term career that is in high demand, it pays to learn data science skills.

Industries that use data analytics

Data analytics has become so ubiquitous that virtually every industry has begun employing specialists who are able to utilize experts in data analytics who can bring their expertise to the specific field in question. Data analytics tools are becoming more commonplace in a wide range of different industries and almost all of them are attentive to their need to accurately collect and interpret data to make informed decisions about their business strategies.

The industry most closely associated with data analytics is the financial sector, the banking and investment firms that make up Wall Street, and the major stock exchanges and futures markets. Whether you are talking about a small bank or a major investment firm, it is certain that they will be employing data analytics experts who can keep track of the immense amount of data being produced by the markets every second of every day. In order to make informed decisions for yourself and your clients, you need to have an understanding of the financial data you have access to, and that means learning how to leverage data analytics tools and how to use applications to transform that raw data into understandable and rhetorically persuasive data visualizations. Billions of dollars are moved around the markets every day, and everyone whose money is involved in these systems wants to ensure that they are approaching their investment strategies with as much information as they possibly can.

Similarly, the retail industry is a major player in the field of data analytics. Major retail chains, including businesses like Target and Walmart, as well as more specialist boutique and artisanal shops, rely heavily on data analytics to track in-person and online consumer activity as part of their business strategy. While this is true for the major players in the retail industry, it is also true for basically everyone running a business more complex than a hot dog cart (which, honestly, would also want to have some kind of data on foot traffic), so if you are interested in finding work in the retail sector, you may want to consider working on your data analytics skills.

Data analytics is also a major tool utilized by nonprofit organizations, political campaigns, local and state governments, and basically any institution that is looking to best serve the public good. This is because it is incredibly valuable to be able to track voter and constituent information in ways that provide you with actionable insights and a larger informational scope than you might otherwise have. Political campaigns use data analytics to target specific zip codes and even neighborhoods and streets with targeted political messaging, and the government employs huge data collection and analytics teams to help them transform public policy from ideas into realities. If you are interested in working in politics, public policy, or civil service, learning data analytics can make you more competitive as a candidate (figuratively and literally).

Lastly, data analytics is frequently associated with marketing and advertising since advertising firms spend lots of money to determine whether or not an ad campaign is actually going to be successful, and they want hard, quantitative data that can tell them this. Thus, they employ data analytics experts at all stages of the advertising process so that there is data to collect and interpret from the first brainstorming sessions to the post-launch impact meetings. Since virtually every consumer-facing business needs to advertise to one degree or another, this also means that skilled data analysts are poised to find work in the marketing side of almost any field that they want to enter.