Technical Tools You Need to Become a Data Analyst

“What technical tools should you learn to become a data analyst?”

I see this question unsolicitedly answered hundreds of times per week in the LinkedIn data space. And every data creator or professional answers with some combination of Excel, SQL, a BI tool (like Power BI or Tableau) and a programming language (either Python or R). The majority of people, however, say you should learn the following before applying to data analyst jobs: Excel, SQL, and a BI tool.

I understand why people give this answer. Being proficient in Excel, SQL, and a BI tool opens up more opportunities for you. Having all three skills on your resume makes you “qualified” for a larger pool of job openings.

The flaw with this answer, however, is that while a proficiency in Excel, SQL, and a BI tool may make you qualified for more jobs, it doesn’t necessarily make you more qualified for the data jobs you want.

This is why I have a different answer to the question:

The technical tools you should learn to become a data analyst depends on the type of data analyst you want to become.

“Data Analyst” is a misleading, vague term.

What exactly is a “data analyst” anyway? I define a data analyst as a person who analyzes data to make better decisions.

If data analysts were defined by the tools they use, then you could argue I’m not a data analyst. For the first year of my job, I strictly used SQL. Only over the last two months did I begin using Excel more. But I never use a BI tool or programming language.

Another data analyst I once met is the opposite of me. He only uses a BI tool and rarely uses SQL, Excel, or a programming language. We have the same job title yet use different technical tools. Neither one of us, however, are less of a data analyst because of this.

A data analyst is not defined by the tools they use. They are defined by the data they analyze.

When choosing what technical tools to learn before applying for data analyst jobs, you shouldn’t focus on the ideas that get LinkedIn creators thousands of likes and views. Consume their advice with caution. Just because something worked for them doesn’t guarantee it will work for you.

Instead, do your own research and clarify what type of data analyst you want to be.

You discover the data analyst you want to become by first learning what type of data you want to analyze.

People trying to enter the data world often think they should only look for jobs titled “data analyst”. This is a mistake. Remember my definition for a data analyst. It’s a person who analyzes data to make better decisions.

This means that there are many titles for data analysts.

Financial analysts, marketing analysts, operations analysts, and supply chain analysts, to name a few, don’t have “data” in their title. But people in these roles analyze data just as much as any other analyst. The major difference between them, aside from job title, is the type of data they analyze.

So, here’s what I recommend to someone trying to figure out what technical tools to learn. First, figure out what type of data interests you. Is it related to marketing? Finance? Health and wellness? Food? Fitness? The options seem endless.

Once you figure out the type of data that interests you, research companies and industries hiring for relevant roles. It may take time to find the proper job titles and companies here. But no one said the job search was supposed to be easy.

After finding companies and industries hiring for data analysts that analyze the data that interests you, the final step is to analyze job postings. See what technical tools and skills companies require. The more postings you analyze, the better sense you will get of the tools you should learn.

There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to the “What technical tools should you learn to become a data analyst?” question. Once you embrace this, you’ll realize that it’s easy to figure out what you need to learn to land a data analyst job. The problem, I think, is that most people don’t want to do the work and research themselves.

They’d prefer to have answers given to them, even if it’s not the best (or right) answer.

The real question now is who will you be? The person that blindly listens to the advice others give? Or the person who takes the time to research the right answer?

It's your choice...