Data analyst

A career as a data analyst will suit you if you have strong mathematical and analytical skills, are curious and enjoy problem solving

As a data analyst, you will translate numbers and data into useful information that can be used by an organisation to solve business problems. You'll use your skills to interpret data, turning it into valuable insights on areas such as:

• key trends
• anomalies
• patterns.

Your insights will help influence decision-making across an organisation or business, enabling it to improve both processes and performance.

The ability to communicate well is another essential skill for data analysts. As well as understanding the data, you must also be able to provide insight and analysis to a range of stakeholders through clear visual, written and verbal communication.

Types of data analyst

Data analysts are in high demand across all sectors, such as finance, consulting, healthcare, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, retail, government and education.

You can work across a range of areas, including:

• business intelligence
• data assurance and quality
• finance
• marketing
• sales.

Responsibilities

Key areas of work include:

• data collection and management
• data analysis and reporting
• process automation
• data validation
• key performance indictor (KPI) tracking
• benchmarking.

Your responsibilities will vary depending on your area of work, the sector you work in and your employer. However, you'll typically need to:

• design and implement secure, efficient and compliant data collection systems, ensuring data quality and integrity by identifying errors and cleaning data
• develop records management and reporting processes and policies
• identify areas to increase efficiency and optimise data collection processes by automating data workflows and building efficient data pipelines
• identify, evaluate and implement external services and tools to support data validation and cleansing
• gather, understand and document detailed business requirements using appropriate tools and techniques
• collaborate with internal and external stakeholders to understand and validate data requirements, ensuring accurate reporting
• establish and monitor KPIs and other metrics to measure business performance
• monitor and audit data quality and ensure data quality standards
• design and carry out surveys and analyse survey data
• manipulate, analyse and interpret complex data sets relating to the employer's or client's business
• produce visualisations and reports (using tools like Tableau, Power BI, and SQL) and present findings to both technical and non-technical stakeholders in a clear, actionable manner
• create data dashboards, graphs and visualisations
• conduct sector and competitor analysis to provide insights for continuous improvement
• keep up to date with industry trends and best practices in data analytics.

Salary

• Entry-level salaries typically range between £23,000 and £25,000. Graduate schemes in data analysis and business intelligence at larger companies tend to offer a higher starting salary of around £30,000.
• Salaries for data analysts are typically between £30,000 and £40,000.
• Experienced, high-level and consulting jobs can command salaries of £60,000 or more.

Factors affecting salaries include the sector you work in. For example, salaries are often higher in the finance, healthcare and technology sectors. Salary levels also vary depending on your location, with salaries in major cities like London, Manchester and Edinburgh typically higher due to the higher living costs.

Other factors affecting your salary include your skills, experience and qualifications.

Additional benefits may include a company pension scheme, private health and life insurance, bonuses and other financial incentives, and flexible working arrangements.

Salaries for freelance data analysts can vary and you may have a different pay structure. Factors affecting salaries may include market demand, project complexity, the type of contract and your level of expertise.

Income figures intended as a guide only.

Working hours

Working hours are usually 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday. You may be expected to work some extra hours during busy periods or big projects.

Hybrid working may be possible, combining days working from home with days in the office.

What to expect

• Roles are normally office based, although consulting roles may involve travel to visit clients' offices.
• Data analysts work for all types of employers, so dress code and office culture will vary depending on the company you work for.
• You'll be working with complex systems, requiring a high level of concentration and attention to detail.
• You'll need excellent communication skills in order to interpret client requirements and present data in a clear and compelling way.

Qualifications

You'll usually need a degree to work as a data analyst. The following subjects can be particularly useful:

• business information systems
• computer science/technology
• data science
• engineering
• information management
• mathematics
• statistics.

You can, however, become a data analyst with any degree subject as long as you have the relevant skills.

Although not essential, a postgraduate degree in a related field such as data science can be beneficial, particularly if you want to learn analysis skills or are changing careers. Search postgraduate courses in data.

Entry without a degree is possible at data technician level. You could also take a Level 3 Data technician or Level 4 Data analyst apprenticeship, combining paid work with part-time study.

It's also possible to develop your statistical and data analysis skills through short courses run by a wide range of training providers. Skills Bootcamps in data and analytics, for example, can be a useful way of getting to grips with the fundamentals of preparing, analysing and presenting data. Other course providers include:

• The Open Data Institute (ODI)
• Coursera
• FutureLearn.

Research courses thoroughly to make sure the content matches your career aims. Looking at job adverts can help you find what skills employers are looking for and which ones they will provide training on.

Skills

You'll need to have:

• excellent numerical, data manipulation and analytical skills to process large datasets and extract meaningful trends
• knowledge of statistical methodologies and data analysis techniques - you don't need to know all of them at entry level, but you should show advanced skills in Excel and the use of at least one relational database, as well as SQL (the programming language that makes up SQL databases)
• knowledge of data visualisation tools such as Tableau and Power BI for creating compelling visual narratives
• knowledge of programming languages such as Python or R
• written and verbal communication skills to clearly convey findings and solutions
• presentation skills to present your analysis in a visually appealing way that simplifies complex data
• interpersonal and relationship skills to liaise with staff at all levels within an organisation and also with external stakeholders
• research skills for gathering information from various sources
• attention to detail as you may be dealing with large data sets
• problem-solving skills and a flexible approach to work
• organisation and time management skills to meet project deadlines
• the ability to work both independently and collaboratively as part of a team
• an understanding of data protection issues and any regulations specific to your industry.

Work experience

Employers look favourably on relevant work experience, so take advantage of any year-in-industry, summer internship and placement opportunities on your course as they provide the chance to gain first-hand, practical experience and skills. Large companies may advertise placement opportunities on their website or you can speak to your careers service to find out about vacancies.

You could volunteer to work for a charity and help with data analysis work. You can also contact organisations directly to enquire about work shadowing, showing an enthusiasm for data analysis and for their business sector.

Taking the initiative to learn key data analysis skills and tools in addition to your degree will help you develop your skills and help set you apart.

Find out more about the different kinds of work experience and internships that are available.

Employers

Data analysts can work in large companies, such as consultancies or financial services firms, or consumer retail firms, small and medium-sized businesses such as marketing agencies or the public sector.

Employers of data analysts include the following:

• consultancy firms such as PwC, FDM, KPMG and Accenture
• government including the Civil Service, MI5 and GCHQ
• higher education institutions
• information technology firms
• insurance companies
• marketing firms
• the NHS and private hospitals
• pharmaceutical companies
• professional services firms
• retail companies
• telecommunications companies
• the media.

Look for job vacancies at:

• CW Jobs (tech job site)
• StatsJobs
• Free-Work (tech job site)

Specialist recruitment agencies such as Harnham advertise vacancies.

Vacancies are also advertised on LinkedIn.

Entry-level roles are available at companies across all sectors. Larger companies often offer graduate schemes, particularly consulting firms, government, media and telecommunications companies.

Professional development

Many organisations offer professional development through in-house training and on-the-job courses. If you're on a graduate training scheme, you are likely to receive formal training that may include mentoring.

It's vital that you keep your data analysis skills and knowledge up to date through continuing professional development (CPD). This could be through improving your current skills or learning new ones in related areas. You can take courses or gain certifications in areas such as:

• advanced data visualisation tools
• database management
• big data
• machine learning
• programming languages, such as Python or R
• statistical analysis
• using AI for data analysis.

You also need to keep up to date with current trends and developments in your sector.

You may choose to take a Masters degree or PhD in a related field such as data science to develop your skills further. Alternatively, may have the opportunity for professional development in other areas such as project management or leadership.

Career prospects

Data analysis is a fast-growing field and skilled analysts are in demand across all sectors. This demand is likely to grow over the next few years, both in the UK and internationally, as more employers look to adopt data-driven decision-making processes.

You will usually start in an entry-level role as a junior data analyst. With experience you can progress to data analyst and then senior data analyst. With further experience, there are opportunities to move into a management role, where you may manage a team of data analysts.

To progress in your career, you'll need to keep your skills and knowledge up to date. Promotion is likely for those with a good track record of completing successful data analysis projects.

There's also the opportunity for experienced data analysts to work on a self-employed basis, as a freelance consultant, being paid project to project and commanding considerable fees. You could become a specific domain campaign expert, specialising in a particular technical language.

Opportunities also exist to specialise in areas such as data science, data mining, data infrastructure, data visualisation, decisions analysis and business analysis. You could also specialise further by moving into areas such as AI and machine learning. Skilled analysts can also find roles in academic research or government advisory bodies.