5 Steps

to Start a Career 

in Data Analytics

Every major company wants to make smart decisions that will keep it ahead 

of its competitors. No matter the industry, data analysis is a vital component 

of strategic planning.

Data analysts collect and analyze a company’s data to identify trends, find insights
and solutions based on that data, and project future outcomes. Still not sure about
what it is? OK, we’ll explain further.

Imagine you are running a clothing store. There are a lot of things happening
behind the scenes that you can’t interpret on your own. It is the analysts who
determine how full shelves, bad weather, and even background music affect
purchases.

All these and other data can be collected and analyzed. This will help you arrange
the goods so that customers stay in the sales area as long as possible and notice
important offers. You can also redo the cashiers' work schedule to reduce queues
at the checkout. By learning more about the interests of your customers through
data, you will be able to optimize purchases and logistics.

In 2022, data analytics is one 


of the most critical factors 

to the success of any business.
Demand for Data Analysts is skyrocketing:

2000+* ₱50 000*

Companies are looking 
 Average salary of middle 

for Data Analysts Data Analyst specialist

*Based on the jobstreet.com.ph and indeed.com

Step 1

Do your research
The internet is filled with a vast amount of resources, courses, and blogs about Data
Analytics. The human mind is easily trapped with the shiny object syndrome and will
look for new and better resources instead of building a skill, only to find itself in the
tutorial hell.

▶ F ind sites with vacancies in the field of Data Analytics and compare job
descriptions. rite down the job requirements that are repeated most often.
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Remember, you don’t need to learn everything in the job description. any M

descriptions contain a lot of unnecessary information, and there are only a handful
of skills you really need.

The skills required to become a Data Analyst aren’t difficult to acquire. You don’t need
to spend years pursuing a degree or studying. You can learn all you need to know
online from scratch. ou ha e 2 ays to start studying:
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1 Start ith Self Study

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The internet has a lot of resources that you can access for free. If you have
enough discipline and motivation, you can learn data analysis skills on your 

own with free tutorials and articles.
2 F ind an nline Course
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If you want to get structured comprehensive knowledge and apply your new 

skills in practice, find an online course. Do another research and compare
courses according to the job requirements you wrote down from the vacancies.
P ay attention not only to the price but also to other features of the course 
 :

the duration of studying, feedback, homework, whether there is support 


from mentors or not etc.
R efocus offers a Data Analytics Course. During the Course ourney, students 

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get exactly the experience they are asked about in interviews.

W e’ll teach you how to master data analytics tools in real life projects
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M entors of the course provide answers to the students' questions 24/7

Our career center helps you find a job and prepare for an interview.

Step 2

Start Learning The Top Hard Skills

You’ll Need to be a Data Analyst
As we mentioned before, a degree isn’t necessary to start a career as a Data Analyst.
Data Analysts are in demand, and employers want to know that you ha e the key skills
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to do the job effecti ely. You can start learning these skills and tools on your own 

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or on a course with the support and feedback of mentors.

The top hard skills are:

1 SQL
SQL is the most common language for extracting and organizing data.
It facilitates retrieving specific information from databases that are further 

used for analysis. It’s the no.1 skill you need to get if you want to become 

a data analyst.

2 Data isualization tools

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Data visualization tools along with SQL are powerful tools. You can apply 

to most jobs knowing how to use just these two. Data Analysts spend a lot 

of time creating reports to communicate their insights to other teams through
visualization. Tableau and ower BI are what most companies use these days,
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so you can add any one of them and it would be a great plus.

3 Excel
Excel is familiar to almost everyone and is not even mentioned separately 

as a skill in the job description. It is a must have skill in 0 not just 

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for the data community but for every online specialist.

4 Python
Python is a programming language and extremely helpful for managing, cleaning,
visualizing, and modeling data in one place. However, it can be intimidating for
an absolute beginner. So it’s recommended to take this as the last step to avoid
getting overwhelmed.

Step 3
Start Learning The Top Soft Skills
No matter which field Data Analysts work in, they need to have a mix of both technical
and soft skills to do their job. hy is this so important? Data Analysts provide
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technical information for non technical stakeholders and vice versa, that’s why
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communication skills are crucial. Often, people who need to use data aren’t data -

savvy. So Data Analysts should be able to identify their needs and find the answers
from their data.

The top hard skills are:

1 Communication
Data Analysts should have great communication skills, including written, verbal,
and specialty visualization software. You should be able to report your
conclusions to a team in a group setting, so public speaking and presentation
are essential skills as well.

2 Problem-solving
Technology doesn’t always work perfectly. Data Analysts must work together
with other specialists in their company to decide which problems to target
and how to solve them with data analysis.

3 Research
You should be prepared to do some digging (now you understand why our first
step is about doing research). If you’re trying to tell a story or interpret raw data,
you’ll need to be experienced in researching and asking the right questions.

4 Attention to detail
Data Analysts need to be able to notice small clues that point to a bigger
message hiding in a data group. They also should be on the lookout for tiny
mistakes that can lead to larger difficulties in the system.

5 Teamwork
Data Analysts co work with people in the company to get the job done.
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They should collaborate even with company leaders to determine how 


the data insights can guide the company in moving forward.

Step 4
Make Your Portfolio Shine
After gaining the hard and soft skills needed for getting a job in data analytics, 

you can create a competitive portfolio. A portfolio demonstrates your skills 

to hiring managers and potential employers.

A strong portfolio sho s your ability to:

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Scrape data from different sources

Clean and normalize raw data
Visualize your findings through graphs, charts, maps, and other visualizations
Draw actionable insights from data.
The best way to do this is by:
making projects
doing work for nonprofits
doing contract freelance jobs.
It will be way easier to create a portfolio if you study the online course, because

every homework you do during the course qualifies as a real case for a portfolio.

If you have doubts about what to include in your portfolio or need some
inspiration, check other people’s portfolios to see what they’ve chosen to include.
You can also sign up for a GitHub account and start posting your projects there.
It’s a great platform for networking and sharing your work. In addition, it will
possibly catch the eye of recruiters.

Step 5

Start Searching 

for an Entry le el Data Analyst Job - v

After gaining some experience working with data and presenting your conclusions,
it’s time to polish your resume and begin applying for junior Data Analyst positions.

Create a LinkedIn profile

LinkedIn is the online platform where hiring managers hang out. 

And it is an excellent way to showcase all your certifications and projects 

in one place and reach out to recruiters.
Create a CV
Yes, it’s 0 , and we still need to create a resume. Compare your CV with
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vacancies’ descriptions and make sure that it’s structured and not very long.
Reach out
U se the name of the manager when you send your CV and adapt the text 

of your email for every company according to their job requirements. ake sure M

to contact at least 10 people a day.

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