2022 Data Analyst Roadmap

This is a generalized Roadmap that is supposed

to help you determine the steps that make the
Caveats: most sense for you to take on your journey
into analytics. As with most goals, how you
My work experience has been entirely in the United States
Almost everyone I know has a college education should approach getting a job in analytics
will have a lot to do with where you started. Shashank Kalanithi ©
Starting Points
(and the simplest way to get into Analytics)

No Degree and Have a relevant

Pursuing a Have a Degree Working in a degree, and the
no Intent to
Degree and Searching Company approriate
Get one technical skills

Obtain a Relevant Degree If you don't have a relevant Internally Transfer

degree don't worry, I have a
and Internships
degree in Chemistry. Look at
Mathematics the chart below to see which
(Statistics) skills you'll need to build, and
Computer Science start tackling them one after
another. Start applying as soon
Engineering as you can, remember the only
Data Science way to get a job is to apply
for it.
Google Data Analytics Certificate Apply More
Find a team that you'd like to work
at, request a meeting with the This is the hardest position to break into the field from If you've really
manager and ask them what would and you'll have to work harder than most other learned everything
candidates to get in. Don't worry though, the Google Data that's outlined in
you need to do in order to become a
Analytics Certificate was created for candidates like this roadmap, then
Data Analyst on their team.
Look on the internal jobs portal and yourself. It teaches you a lot of the necessary skills in the only thing to do
build a relationship with a recruiter order to become a Data Analyst and can be used in lieu of is apply more. Try
who can help you get into a job. a bachelor's degree at some companies. and dissect what's
Additionally, if you have work experience, don't discount wrong with your
Recruiters have backlogs of jobs
on this and try to find ways to talk about how you've application and how
they're constantly trying to fill so
having a vetted internal candidate is always been an analytical person in your interviews. you can improve it if
always appreciated you're not moving
past a certain stage.

Define What Type of Job You Want

We'll focus on 3 major dimensions of job classification

Employee Type Job Type Industry

Full Time Employee: Full benefits, and more job security, even
in right-to-work states like Texas, it's not easy to fire full
time employees. You'll get job security, and additionally can
usually ask the company to invest more in your career
development in the form of Udemy Courses or even having the
pay off your degree.
Part Time Employee: This can be a great way to break into the
industry. You'll get less money, and fewer benefits but better
work-life balance.
Contractor: Easy to hire easy to fire, contract work is a good
way to get started, but I argue that unless you actively want
to be a contractor (Upwork), you should convert this position
into a Full Time Employee as soon as possible. Companies
typically don't invest in their contractors and will fire them
at any sign of economic instability. As a side note, it is
possible to get paid a bit more as a contractor in exchange
for the instability.
Consulting: Companies like EY, Deloitte, Bain & Co. You'll Industry in this case, refers to the
work on many different, unrelated projects and leave with primary business of the company
the stamp of approval of a well-respected corporation you're working at. Toyota works in
Automobiles, Nordstrom in Retail,
Industry: Companies like Nordstrom, Toyota, or other non- and Exxon Mobil in Oil and Gas.
tech, non-Consulting companies. These are normal companies
and jobs can range in quality from poor to very good. Contrary to what Michael Scott
says, there are many different types
Tech: I've separated out Big Tech companies like Facebook, of industries, and they almost all
Google, Stripe etc. because they tend to compensate their need Data Analysts.
data analysts significantly better and have more mature tech
implementations. Many "industry" companies also have tech
branches like Woven Capital for Toyota or Walmart Labs for
Walmart. These are typically the hardest jobs to get.
Startup: Newer, less established companies. Job-security is
not as high, salaries tend to be lower, but you can make a
significantly greater difference in your organization and
might be able to get equity in your job.

Non-Profit: Low-pay, and hard work, but can be much more

rewarding if you're into that.

Roadmap to become a Data Analyst

Along with my suggested order of skill acquisition

Legend: Green = Necessary Orange = Highly Recommended Purple = Completely Optional

Stage Nulla Stage I

Stage Nulla Objective:
Stage I Objective: Gain a basic understanding of how to manipulate data using a Graphical User Interface.
These are tasks/objectives
that can take years What is this? Why should you learn this? Shashank's Resource Alternative Resource
to develop and aren't https://youtu.be/Gl2lg-TtRJo https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/learn/powerplatform/power-bi
BI Tool

available to everyone. BI Stands for "Business Intelligence" and talks These tools are built to be easy to understand
but powerful enough to enable advanced data
If you are able about a class of tools that help users organize
operations like Joins, and Unions. With relatively
a large amount of data and then present it to
to, then you should try users in a typically visual manner. Examples little effort, you can quickly bring advanced insights https://app.datacamp.com/learn/courses/introduction-to-power-bi
and achieve the include Tableau, PowerBI, or Microstrategy. to your business stakeholders
objectives here but
they aren't necessary

Relevant What is this? Why should you learn this? Shashank's Resource Alternative Resource
Bachelor's Although Excel is generally not used for managing shorturl.at/luvI4
very large amounts of data, I use Excel almost every
Degree
Excel

Excel is a data manipulation tool that is used day to quickly analyze data using Pivot Tables and I currently don't have an excel
by almost all companies all over the world. VLOOKUPs and formatting it in a method that's easy tutorial I can link
Engineering Google Sheets is a great alternative although, for stakeholders to absorb. Excel is great for adhoc https://app.datacamp.com/learn/courses/data-analysis-in-excel
Statistics in the United States, I would recommend you analyses but be careful of investing too much time
Data Science learn about Excel.
Mathematics
into Excel as advanced data teams usually don't
use it for most operations.

Project I
Data
Science/Data
Now that you have some proper technical skills in the form of a BI Tool and some decent Excel knowledge, you can go ahead and demonstrate
Analyst your knowledge in the form of a project. Both Tableau and PowerBI have free versions of their software that you can use in order to bring some
Internships life to an otherwise boring dataset. I always recommend gathering your own data if you can, but if you don't have the time to do this, then
Data.gov or Kaggle.com are great websites to download clean and interesting datasets.
If you're able to
snag internships
while in college,
these will be Stage II Apply to Jobs
your golden
ticket into a job Stage II Objective: Now we're getting to the more advanced parts of your analytics journey. SQL will be the first "hard-core" skill that you learn and is a After you've finished the
in Analytics. They staple of any analyst's toolkit. "green" skills in Stage I,
can very easily be you should start actively
more important
applying to jobs. It can take
than your actual
What is this? Why should you learn this? Shashank's Resource Alternative Resource companies up to 3 months
degree. Look for
Data Science
https://youtu.be/gwp3dJUsy5g
to respond to you even if
Standing for "Structured Querying Language" SQL is a standard tool used by organizations large
Internships if you and small. Most companies will store their data in https://app.datacamp.com/learn/courses/introduction-to-sql they want you. The earlier
SQL is the standard method for retrieving data
can. Aim high, you you can start putting in
SQL

from databases. It's sort of a pseudo-programming databases and although there might be tools you can
have nothing to language and is used by analysts at all kinds of use to access the database without learning SQL, https://www.kaggle.com/learn/intro-to-sql applications, generally
lose at this stage companies to access the vast amount of data you'll drastically reduce the number of jobs you're eligible
for by not learning SQL. the better.
and an internship stored in databases.
https://www.hackerrank.com/domains/sql
at a major
company can lead Skillful resume building is the
to a job offer in cornerstone of your application.
the future. Grind Session I Watch my video here in order to
understand what makes a good
Resume Building

Rise and Grind. SQL doesn't lend itself to particularly interesting projects. Normally candidates will list SQL as a skill and then be tested on it resume.
during their interviews in a process called a "Technical Interview". In a technical interview someone (usually one of your future co-workers)
will ask you to perform some data operations on a table. Even if you excel at the behavioral parts of the interview, if you fail the technical
Data Science
interview, you will most likely not get the job. SQL is a skill that only improves with practice, websites like HackerRank and DataCamp have
Bootcamp numerous exercises that simulate real world interview questions that you might encounter. Try and finish as many of these as possible with
These can be daily practice. Understand that at some companies (usually FAANG companies) the technical interview might be harder than any of the actual
good for people work you end up doing while working for them.
who might need
https://youtu.be/D9oP2TqZiMo
the structure of
a classroom in Stage III
order to more Stage III Objective: These skills can help take you to the next level but aren't necessary for a lot of Data Analyst jobs. I highly recommend learning them A dreaded domain for many,
effectively learn. networking doesn't have to mean
but you can actively be applying while you're learning these skills.
Be careful, while trying to make small talk with
there are many random people at job fairs.
Networking

excellent Oftentimes you'll find that people

programs out What is this? Why should you learn this? Shashank's Resource Alternative Resource you have met earlier in life through
Although not required by all data analyst jobs (and less college or high school might might
there, there are https://youtu.be/sZDgJKI8DAM
Python / R

Python and R are general purpose programming requested than SQL), because Python/R are general be able to get your application
also many languages. They have been adopted by all kinds purpose programming languages, learning them unlocks
https://www.kaggle.com/learn/python
directly to a recruiter at a company.
programs that of advanced analytics by data teams because of a whole world of possibilities for your career. You'll Don't be afraid to reach out, I've
will charge you their ease of use, power, and robust libraries of be able to extract, transform, and load data using a https://www.kaggle.com/learn/pandas found that even people I haven't '
tens of thousands data-centric functions. Everything from basic single coding pipeline, automate data jobs, and talked to since Middle School
statistics to the most advanced Machine Learning analyze data using more advanced techniques than https://app.datacamp.com/learn/ are more than willing to help.
of dollars courses/intro-to-python-for-data-science
libraries can be easily executed using R or Python. are available from a BI tool or Excel. I highly recommend LinkedIn is your best friend here.
without a this skill after you've finished the other "Green" skills.
guarantee of a
job. Also beware
of income
What is this? Why should you learn this? Shashank's Resource Alternative Resource Very few people are naturally
sharing Statistics is another skill that I don't specifically see https://youtu.be/wwsizzg6UjU good at interviewing, which is why
agreements, Statistics is a branch of mathematics that is outlined in a lot of Data Analyst job descriptions. interview prep is an important part
Statistics

make sure you concerned with using representative samples Although I've used it in very limited quantities in my of becoming a Data Analyst.
of a population in order to infer attributes of the career, I believe that a good understanding of basic
can pay them off https://app.datacamp.com/learn/courses/ You can usually do This after you've
overall population. statistics as it relates to Exploratory Data Analysis and
Interview Prep

introduction-to-statistics-in-python already you've scheduled your

early without hypothesis testing can really give your analyses that
penalty as you interview. To see some of my tips
extra pop of insight. I would recommend learning this on the general interview process
should be able to after you have picked up the other "green" and "yellow" with Nick Singh, check out the
make a solid skills. video below:
income working
https://youtu.be/5pYyNm6DUj8
in Analytics.
Project II & Grind Session II
Now that you've learned how to do more advanced analyses using tools like Python/R and some statistics https://youtu.be/-pLjEgCunpI

you'll need to do two things:

a technical project to demonstrate that you know what you're talking about, and grind some Python/R
problems to pass a technical interview. The project possibilities with Python are endless, but the most
basic and simplest would be to take a dataset from Kaggle.com and then create a Jupyter Notebook of
your analysis. This could demonstrate both your Python/R skills and you statistical skills as you craft a
compelling and detailed narrative about the dataset that you select. You'll also want to start practicing
Python problems. Most Python/R technical interviews at large companies will involve a number of data
manipulations accomplished using Pandas or Tidyverse. As with SQL, daily practice is what keeps your skills sharp.

Stage IV
Stage IV Objective: Either you're an experienced analyst or you have some free time on your hands following the previous skills,
these are very much additional skills that aren't necessary but can propel your career forward into that of a Senior Analyst or allow you
to negotiate a more lucrative pay package.

What is this? Why should you learn this? Shashank's Resource Alternative Resource
Machine Learning

As you continue your growth and development as an https://youtu.be/KLjTAcH7Ikk

analyst, you'll continually be exposed to new analytical Kaggle has one of the best Machine
Machine Learning is a name for a group of techniques. Machine Learning, although not normally the Learning courses available and is where
mathematical and statistical techniques that when domain of analysts, is becoming more ubiquitous in data I learned the basics of the science.
Apply, Apply, and Apply Again!

combined with the power of computers, can help
take analyses to the stratosphere in regards to
impact.
Project Management
teams. Although application will most likely be left to
Data Scientists and Machine Learning Engineers, a basic https://www.kaggle.com/learn/intro-to-machine-learning
understanding of Machine Learning and the ML process
can go a long way to being a more effective analyst. This can easily be the most
frustrating part of the Application
Process. Just know that many

people, including myself have

What is this?
All aspects of managing various stakeholders and
technical experts to ensure everyone knows exactly
what they're responsible for, when it's due and
managing their abilities against the expectations of
executives and managers.
What is this?
Also known as "version control", GIT is the industry
standard way to maintain versions of code that you
This is also a more advanced skill and as you work
in organizations that have more advanced data
GIT
Why should you learn this? Shashank's Resource Alternative Resource had to apply to dozens of companies
As you become a more experienced analyst, before we got through the door.
you'll work with more people from Data Engineers I had to apply to over 80 companies
to Data Scientists to bring more advanced projects I currently don't have a resource on I will put in project management tools here in the before getting two interviews, one
to life. Knowing how to clearly track and manage project management future, I'm currently not too sure what the best of which was at my current job.
tutorials might be
many different individuals and track who knows
what within an organization along with people's
deliverables can be a relatively simple set of
skills that you can learn that pay massive
dividends and get you promoted.
Sold to
Why should you learn this? Shashank's Resource Alternative Resource
nmanish194@gmail.com
I currently don't have a resource on GIT
https://youtu.be/aw14VK9sN2s

write and ensure that it is deployed to systems
safely and thoroughly tested.
implementations, analysts will be expected to
write more of their own code. The only way to
organize a large team of coders effectively is
through some form of version control, which
is where GIT comes in.