Data, data everywhere, but we have no idea which is valuable. Organizations require qualified professionals—data analysts—to extract insights from this massive data. A data analyst’s job is to process various data about the company’s customers, products, or goals and make it suitable for decision-makers.
The data analysts’ data enables businesses to customise their products for customers, define marketing strategy, and make significant improvements to the manufacturing process. You’ll always have to deal with data, whether you’re looking for entry-level or senior-level data analyst jobs. This article will discuss how to get entry-level data analyst jobs and whether a fresher can become a data analyst. Let’s get started!
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Jobs for Entry-Level Data Analysts
If you have a good GPA and have graduated from a data analysis programme, you can easily land entry level data analyst jobs. Someone with a degree in Mathematics, Statistics, or Economics who does not have a specialisation in data analysis can also get entry-level data analyst jobs.
Most entry-level data analyst positions require at least a bachelor’s degree. A master’s degree in data analytics, on the other hand, is advantageous. Most people with technical backgrounds begin their careers as entry-level positions such as statistical assistant, business support analyst, operations analyst, or others, where they gain valuable on-the-job training and experience. But, what skills can help you land an entry-level data analyst position? Let’s look at the skills needed for entry-level data analyst positions.
Basic Understanding of Excel tableau
To get into an entry-level data analyst job, you should be acquainted with Microsoft Excel. Categorizing data and calculating numbers are among the significant tasks of a data analyst. Hence, it is helpful if you are comfortable using Excel.
Good Knowledge of Statistics: One should be well-versed in Statistics and distributions, which are crucial in data analysis. You need to have a good hold on inferential and descriptive statistics, binomials and tests, and experimental and statistical design for an entry-level data analyst job.
A Strong Hand in Mathematics:
A data analyst communicates through numbers. As a result, you must be familiar with various types of mathematical operations. The entry-level position entails converting word problems into mathematical expressions. You should also be proficient in solving algebraic expressions, multivariable calculus, and various types of functions.
Familiarity with Machine Learning:
 The foundation of machine learning is linear algebra and multivariable calculus, which allows data professionals to make accurate predictions. You should familiarise yourself with the three major types of machine learning: supervised, unsupervised, and reinforcement learning.
Knowledge of programming languages:
In the field of data analytics, programming skills are essential. You should be able to interpret data using programming languages as a data analyst. For an entry-level data analyst position, you should be proficient in at least one programming language. The more languages you know, however, the better. SQL, Python, R, C++, Java, MATLAB, and PHP are some of the programming languages used in data analysis.
Top 5 Jobs for Entry-Level Data Analysts
Several employers are currently hiring professionals for data analyst jobs all over the world. The top 5 entry-level data analyst jobs are listed below.
Operations Analyst
Operations analysts are typically employed by large corporations. An operations analyst’s responsibilities include working on in-house reporting systems, managing product manufacturing and distribution, and overseeing the overall restructuring of business operations. Operations analysts can work in a variety of industries, and their pay can vary greatly. The average salary for an entry-level operations analyst in India is 2,50,239.
A quantitative analyst's job
A quantitative analyst’s job is to study market statistics in order to develop analytical software and quantitative models. Quantitative analysts collaborate with Mathematical professionals to improve trading protocols and increase business profit. In India, the median salary for an entry-level quantitative analyst is Rs. 7,50,000.
IT Systems Analyst:
IT Systems Analyst: An IT systems analyst’s responsibilities include designing systems to solve IT-related problems. Some system analysts use third-party tools to test software, whereas others create new tools based on their knowledge of data analytics. In India, the average salary for an entry-level IT systems analyst is $2,81,354.
Healthcare Data Analyst:
 Healthcare data analysts assist doctors and scientists in solving problems that they face on a daily basis. The healthcare industry generates massive amounts of data, and as regulatory standards for data storage and processing become more stringent, the demand for skilled healthcare data analysts is increasing.
Data Analytics Consultant:
 Healthcare data analysts assist doctors and scientists in solving problems that they face on a daily basis. The healthcare industry generates massive amounts of data, and as regulatory standards for data storage and processing become more stringent, the demand for skilled healthcare data analysts is increasing.
If an entry-level data analyst is familiar with all of the above-mentioned skills, the average monthly salary in India is 13,417. According to Analytics India Magazine, at their entry-level, 76 percent of analytics professionals earn between 0 and 6 lakhs. However, given the increase in the number of freshers in the data analysis domain in India, data analysts are in high demand. While the number of freshmen aspiring to be data analysts is increasing, they are finding it difficult to begin their careers from scratch. Let’s take a look at how new data analysts can get started.
Can a New Graduate Work as a Data Analyst?
It is difficult for a newcomer to land his or her first job in any field. When it comes to data analytics, many freshers today want to know, “Can a fresher become a data analyst?” Yes, the answer is yes. A newcomer can become a data analyst if he or she learns the tricks of the trade and works hard to develop the necessary skills. To get started, freshmen must plan how they will stand out in the field and keep up with those who already have relevant experience in the field.
As a newcomer, you should consider the following factors to kickstart your data analyst career:
Around 47 per cent of companies surveyed across the country intended to hire freshers. This is up from the global average of only 7 per cent, Economic Times reported quoting TeamLease EdTech.
How to Land Your First Data analytics Job
Getting your first job in data analytics is a difficult task. Many people come to me for advice on how to get their first job in data science. Many IT jobs have trainee positions where one can get on-the-job training. Data analytics is most emphatically not one of them. Data science teams are typically small and work on a variety of business problems. Data scientists are frequently expected to be self-sufficient from the start.
I’m going to give you some pointers to help you land your first data science job. I’m not going to sugarcoat it by saying it’s easy. It will not be an easy journey, but following these guidelines will increase your chances of success
Technical abilities
I’m not going to focus on developing the technical skills required of a data scientist here. To be eligible to apply for data science jobs, you must first complete the following steps.
Getting to know a programming language
Exploratory data analysis is something that you should learn about.
Recognizing the various machine learning algorithms
Capability to communicate effectively
Creating a portfolio
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Creating a portfolio
When you feel comfortable with the concepts of data science, it is time to advance. Concentrate on developing a portfolio to learn and showcase your data science work.
When I say you should work on projects for your portfolio, I mean it. It does not imply undertaking a difficult project. As an example, consider a sophisticated and highly efficient recommendation system. It could be something as simple as your prediction model on the Titanic dataset or a housing price dataset.
What can you expect from a data analyst job?
During your training, what skills will you learn? To be honest, it depends on the company you work for, the business area you work in (e.g. sales, business operations, or product creation), and the type of analytics you use. You could, for example, focus on descriptive, prescriptive, or diagnostic analytics. Alternatively, you may study big data systems such as Apache Hadoop.
Most data analyst internships will not be high-stakes, regardless of what you learn. You’ll still get to learn about important things, but in a secure setting. A good mentor will push you to your limits while without overburdening you. While your specific responsibilities will differ due to the reasons stated above, here are some typical activities to anticipate.
Collaboration with various team members
Data analytics courses (or self-study) on the internet can convey the impression that data analysts work alone. In actuality, they must work with a wide range of specialties to communicate and coordinate. Engineers, product designers, and managers are just a few of the types of people you’ll encounter. You’ll also use your talents in a variety of business fields, including sales, marketing, IT, and finance. An internship provides a true taste of data analytics variety. You’ll gain unique insights into how a genuine firm is conducted by supporting management.
Data cleansing and database maintenance
Have you completed an online course or practise projects? If that’s the case, you may have conducted data analytics using online datasets. However, these datasets are frequently pre-structured and cleaned. An internship will provide you with real-world data in all of its unstructured, messy beauty! You’ll receive hands-on experience cleaning data using Python and Excel. You could even learn how to employ big data structures to collect and store data. A organised education will teach you important theory, but you will need to apply what you’ve learned in the actual world.
Performing data analysis
Of course, the most important aspect of data analytics is conducting analyses. An internship allows you to put all of the statistical techniques you’ve learned into practise. You’ll need some theoretical knowledge of statistics as well as a variety of analytical approaches to get the job. However, once you’re in, this is your opportunity to shine. Finally, you’ll be able to put what you’ve learned in the classroom into practise.
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Visualizing data
The goal of visualisation is to make data more understandable. An intern may be deemed unsuitable for a high-stakes analysis. However, for someone with little experience, making visualisations is a safer endeavour. You’ll probably get to experiment with the company’s internal data tools and apply your own techniques. These data visualisation tools are typically enterprise-level (i.e., paid) and will be unfamiliar to you. Microsoft Power BI, Tableau Desktop (which also has a free version), Salesforce Einstein Analytics, and SAP Analytics Cloud are some of the most popular.