Top 5 Career Opportunities For Data Analysts and How to Position Yourself For Them
The growing availability of data in recent years has increased the demand for data analysts in various industries, including healthcare, finance, and e-commerce, to mention a few. Consequently, this has given rise to diverse career opportunities for people skilled in data analytics.
In this article, I will discuss the five high-paying career paths you could consider as a data analyst and how you can position yourself for excellence in them. Let’s go!
1. Business Intelligence Analyst
The business ecosystem is very dynamic. As such, businesses are leveraging the expertise of business intelligence analysts to stay ahead of the curve. Here’s why: a business analyst collects and analyzes data and proffers actionable insights to facilitate business operations.
They also identify trends, optimize processes, engineer product development and improvement, and review a business’s performance. In addition, you can wear different hats as a business intelligence analyst, as your expertise is relevant to other business areas — including marketing, finance, production, and human resources.
Although the average annual pay for a business intelligence analyst is $71,860, according to PayScale, you can be confident of earning more as you advance in your career.
2. Financial Analyst
Financial analysts analyze and review data to help businesses and individuals make informed investment decisions, identify revenue opportunities, and mitigate financial risk. This includes analyzing financial statements, balance sheets, income and cash flow statements, and other financial documents.
A financial analyst is also responsible for developing financial models and forecasts and providing financial recommendations where and when necessary. Plus, you can work full-time, part-time, or as a freelancer in a bank, investment firm, or other organizations requiring financial expertise. Meanwhile, the average annual salary for a financial analyst is $73,859, according to Glassdoor.
P. S. I’m a financial analyst, but alas, I’m nowhere near earning that salary (yet). Oh, well.
3. Data Management Specialist
A data management specialist ensures an organization’s data is properly managed and maintained. In addition, they develop and implement policies and procedures for ensuring data accuracy, quality, consistency, and security.
Data management specialists also work across multiple organizational departments, ensuring all data-related activities align with administrative regulations. Meanwhile, according to Payscale, the average annual salary for a data management specialist is $61,964.
Nonetheless, your earnings depend on your employer, location, and responsibilities.
4. Big Data Engineer
Becoming a Big Data engineer is one of the fastest-growing career paths in data analytics because of how much these professionals contribute to the data economy. Big Data engineers’ primary function is to build, implement, and maintain data infrastructures that collect, process, analyze, and store large volumes of data.
In other words, they develop systems that transform raw data into accessible and usable formats. A Big Data engineer also works with other professionals to ensure ready-to-use data is secure and meets the required standards.
Moreover, Big Data engineers can earn up to $89,838 annually, as seen on Payscale. However, considering how broad their responsibilities are, you can be confident of making more if you have the necessary skills and experience.
5. Data Analytics Consultant
As a data analytics consultant, your primary responsibility is to help businesses and organizations make better decisions by providing them with insights and recommendations based on their data.
Simply put, when businesses provide you with their data, you must:
- Ensure the data you receive for analysis is complete and reliable. This may require working with the IT department to ensure data accuracy.
- Use statistical tools and techniques to analyze the data and gather valuable insights.
- Develop data-driven solutions and recommendations from the insights that could help the business improve its operations and increase revenue. This could involve creating models, identifying opportunities for optimization, or designing new products or services.
- Communicate your findings to stakeholders clearly and concisely. Also, this may involve creating reports, presentations, or dashboards that both technical and non-technical audiences can easily understand.
As a data analytics consultant, you can work full-time, on a contract basis, or work for multiple organizations as a freelancer from the comfort of your home. Besides, you can earn as much as $87,448 annually, according to Payscale.
How to Position Yourself for These Careers
Although the career paths listed above have excellent prospects, they are challenging. Thus, here are a few tips to help you kickstart your journey, stay on track, and enjoy your career pursuit in data analytics.
— Earn a Certificate or Degree
A certificate or degree is proof that you possess specific skills and expertise. Regardless of how trivial many people now make earning a formal certificate or degree seem, having one or more of them dramatically increases your chances of employability. It adds context to your resume and sets you apart during interviews.
Similarly, a degree or certificate in data analytics or any related field will help you land your dream job as a data analyst. To get one, you can take advantage of my long list of certificates/certifications to get as a data analyst, pursue a two or four-year degree in a verifiable learning institution, or take courses on platforms like Udemy and Coursera.
— Develop Your Technical Skill Set
The core of data analytics is technical. Hence, having a top-class technical skillset is vital to success. Start learning the best programming languages for data analytics. Then practice using tools needed for data analysis, such as Power BI, Tableau, and Microsoft Excel.
These in your arsenal will help you carry out your responsibilities with little or no hassle. However, developing technical skills takes time and effort, so be patient and persistent in your learning.
— Try Diverse Data Analytics Projects
They say practice makes perfect. Likewise, to position yourself in any data analytics career path, you must practice working with actual data. You can start by finding publicly available datasets and using them to create reports, dashboards, and visualizations like this trading dashboard.
You can also participate in hackathons and open projects on online communities like Reddit and Kaggle. These will give you a better understanding of manipulating and using data to solve problems. Moreso, they will expose you to different approaches and techniques for data analysis.
— Connect With Industry Leaders
Connecting with industry leaders is one of the fastest paths to growing your career. How do you do this? Network!
Attend industry conferences, meetups, and workshops to network with other data analysts and learn from experts in the field. You can also connect with them on social media platforms — LinkedIn is a great starting point. Follow, comment, share their posts that resonate with you, and probably become their favorite fan.
However, be careful not to come off as a stalker — keep your interactions cordial but professional.
— Prioritize Career Development
Data analytics is a rapidly evolving field, so it’s essential to keep improving your expertise. Read books, take advanced courses, and attend workshops to stay informed about the latest developments in the field. Otherwise, you’ll be left behind while your colleagues achieve giant strides.
Start Building Your Dream Career in Data Analytics
Data analytics has diverse opportunities for beginners, intermediaries, and veterans who can perform data analysis. Jobs are abundant, salaries are high, and the sky is wide enough for everyone.
And with this list, you have the preface to explore roles under the data analytics umbrella — and find one that suits you. So what are you waiting for? Go out there and get your dream job!
But before you kick off, subscribe to my blog for first-hand information on more intriguing topics. Best wishes in your career pursuits.
