Data Analytics is one of the most promising domains in the twenty-first century. As data is frequently termed as the ‘new oil’ that drives the world economy, organizations in different domains that possess huge quantities of data and are able to derive meaningful business insights from them are positioned to conquer their respective markets. But to do this, these organizations need professionals who are adept at analyzing humongous amounts of data on a real-time basis. This is where data analysts come in. Due to the ever-increasing demand for skilled professionals in the Data Analytics sector, many young professionals and freshers are switching to careers in Data Analytics by attending any reputed Data analytics free course or certification. However, to get the best results for the time and effort you put into a data analytics course, you must first know the basic structure of what a good data analytics certification will look like. So, in this article, we will discuss the best ways for you to learn data analysis as a beginner. We will also touch upon the important topics and tools that you must learn to become a data analyst. You could use this article as a free resource to plan your data analytics journey.
Table of Contents
Subjects to learn Data Analysis
To become a master data analyst, you must learn a wide variety of topics and excel in the usage of a variety of technological tools. Let us take a look at some of the concepts and tools you must know for a data analysis career.
Mathematical and statistical tools
There is no escaping the fact that you must have a good hold of certain basic concepts in mathematics and statistics to succeed as a data analyst. You must focus on developing the following Mathematical skills:
- Some basic statistics and data summarizing parameters such as mean, median, mode, central tendencies, and distributions.
- Data integrity concepts, comparison, and tendency tests like t-test, z-test, f-test, etc.
- Regression – Linear, Logistic, GLM, Mixed in the given order
- Advanced techniques such as prescriptive methods and predictive modelingÂ
Technological tools
Traditionally, Microsoft Excel has been used for Data analysis in the IT world. The last decade has the emergence of several advanced tools that cater specifically to data analysis. Let us look at some of the most commonly used tools by Data Analysis experts in the industry.
- Microsoft Excel is considered the holy grail of analytics. Learn this in and out. From simple formulae to the data analytics tool and dashboard, you should learn it all.
- VBA: This is an Excel extension that is not used very extensively. It can help in making a lot of tasks easier.
- SQL: Learning the Structured Query Language or SQL is the logical progression from Excel for those who are handling larger data volumes and standardizing processes, creating code modules for repeated use, etc.
- Tools like SAS/R are the next steps that can help you do more complex processing like regression and modeling.
- Tableau: This tool is the gold standard for data visualization and dashboarding.
- More advanced technologies like Shiny, Hive, Hadoop, etc.
Business knowledge
Anyone employed in the Data Science sector must be well-versed with the business requirements of the organization and the obstacles to achieving them:
- Working in different verticals like Technology, Pharma, Retail, Healthcare, Banking, etc.
- Applications of analytics in each vertical
Best Data Analysis free courses
We have compiled a brief list of the best free courses available for aspiring Data Analysts.
Introduction to Data Analytics Course by Skillup
This data analytics course for beginners is designed to provide a solid foundation for working with various types of data, data visualization for decision-making, and data analytics in different domains. This program is ideal for someone looking to become a data analyst/analytics manager. Learners can master the fundamentals of data analytics and data science methodologies through this program and drive better business decisions.
Data Science for Everyone by Datacamp
DataCamp is a paid course provider providing courses for data analytics. However, the first module of their Data Science for Everyone course is fully provided for free. It doesn’t get into any heavy technical jargon and is perfect if you’re a novice to the topic.
Online Data Science Courses by Harvard University
Now you have a chance to say that you studied at Harvard without actually going to the university! Harvard University offers many data analytics courses free via EdX. You can dive deep into several topics ranging from data wrangling to linear regression as well as machine learning. However, these courses may be better suited to learners with a bit of prior knowledge in the subject as they cover numerous specialized topics, delving into far more detail than most of the free courses do.
Data Analytics Short Course by CareerFoundry
CareerFoundry is a free, five-tutorial data analytics short course that is perfect if you want a light-touch introduction to data analytics. Enroll in the course, and you’ll get access to five 15-minute lessons with hands-on training, each focused on separate steps of the data analytics process. This course provides a broad view of data analytics, and this will set you up to explore the topic further if you choose.
Learn to Code for Data Analysis (OpenLearn)
OpenLearn offers a free, eight-week coding course that will help you learn to Code for Data Analysis. The course provides a solid grasp of programming and data analytics fundamentals, enabling me to write simple analytical algorithms in a programming environment. These courses provide interactive exercises and a free participation certificate at the end.