Career advice

Become a Data Analyst

Data analysts use technical skills to collect and analyse data, form data insights and come to meaningful conclusions that they express through visual, written and verbal communication. Companies need data analysts so they can learn about their audiences.

  • Average salary in UK £35,000 (technojobs)
  • Average salary in US $77,063 (Salary)
  • Average salary in Canada CA$56,767 (PayScale)
  • Average salary in Australia AU$110,000 (Seek)
Source: PayScale

What skills do you need to become a data analyst?

  • Numerical and analytical skills

    Being a data analyst involves a lot of working with numerical data, so you need to be comfortable with numbers and have an analytical mind.

  • Problem-solving skills

    The role requires you to find solutions to problems using technical skills, so you have to enjoy using your brain to solve problems and provide practical solutions.

  • Specialist knowledge

    Depending on which area of data analysis you want to focus on, you’ll need slightly different skills, but there are certain specialised skills you’ll definitely need. You need to be very comfortable with excel and spreadsheets, familiar with relational databases and have knowledge of data cleaning, modelling and enrichment.

  • Strong communication

    Data analysts inform colleagues of data insights and have to listen carefully in meetings to determine where to focus their efforts, so they must be able to collaborate and communicate well with others verbally and in writing.

Develop these skills. Start a short data analysis course.

ExpertTracks
5 ExpertTracks

A series of courses designed to help you specialise your skills. Start a free seven-day trial, subscribe to keep learning at your own pace, and cancel your subscription whenever you like.

CloudSwyft Global Systems, Inc. accredited by Microsoft

Data Analysis with Excel for Complete Beginners

Learn data analysis from scratch, including an introduction to essential maths and Microsoft Excel.

4 courses

10 weeks

Introductory

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FutureLearn in collaboration with Tableau

Data Analytics for Business

Build your business analytics skills and learn to manage, wrangle, and analyse data with Excel and SQLite.

3 courses

12 weeks

Introductory

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FutureLearn in collaboration with Tableau

Data Visualisation

Supercharge your business problem solving through better data insights, analytics, and visualisation.

3 courses

12 weeks

Introductory

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Courses
22 Courses

Learn new skills, pursue your interests or advance your career with our short online courses.

Accenture

Digital Skills: Web Analytics

4.7 (388 reviews)

Learn about the role of web analytics in business, the types of analytics and how to use different techniques.

2 weeks

2 hrs per week

Free digital upgrade

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Coventry University

Decision-making and Risk: An Introduction

4.0 (75 reviews)

Explore big ideas about decision-making and risk and learn about the decision-making process, with this course for professionals.

2 weeks

3 hrs per week

Included in Unlimited

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University of Strathclyde, The Data Lab, UrbanTide & Digital Health & Care Innovation Centre

The Power of Data in Health and Social Care

3.8 (8 reviews)

Discover the power of data for individuals and organisations working in health and social care.

3 weeks

4 hrs per week

Included in Unlimited

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FutureLearn

Data Visualisation with Python: Bokeh and Advanced Layouts

Elevate your data visualisation skills and better communicate your data insights with the data visualisation package, Bokeh.

4 weeks

4 hrs per week

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FutureLearn

Data Visualisation with Python: Matplotlib and Visual Analysis

Discover how to produce visual data analytics and business insights with the powerful Python programming language.

4 weeks

4 hrs per week

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FutureLearn

Data Visualisation with Python: Seaborn and Scatter Plots

Discover how to create visualisations and show understanding of data visualisation theory with the Python programming language.

4 weeks

4 hrs per week

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FutureLearn

Data Analytics Using Python: Data Wrangling and Ingestion

Enhance your understanding of Python by diving deeper into functions including data wrangling, manipulation and transformation.

4 weeks

4 hrs per week

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FutureLearn

Data Analytics Using Python: Learning Python Functions

Expand your advanced analytics skills using Python - you can explore data ingestion with CRISP-DM methodology.

4 weeks

4 hrs per week

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Show more Become a Data Analyst courses 

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The benefits of taking data analysis courses online with FutureLearn

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Meet data analysis experts

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