Switching Career To Data Analytics

Discussion in 'Education & Personal Growth' started by Dreamer, Mar 31, 2018.

  1. Dreamer

    Dreamer Silver IL'ite

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    I come from a non computing background and I am in my early 30s. I have been hearing about great scope in data science, big data or data analytics or business intelligence. I know it's a vast discipline. I wished to know if it is practical to switch career into data at this point in my life and if it will be worth it then how can I start.
    Any advise is welcome :)
     
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  2. chasingdreams

    chasingdreams Bronze IL'ite

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    OP,

    Data analytics is a great field. with a lot of scope in the future. If you are interested in programming, and have studied statistics, it will help you in this field. IMO, u need to know data-warehousing too. Python,hadoop,spark,tableau are all things you can learn. ETL tools like informatica will also come in handy. However if you have no flair for programming, I cannot comment on how successful you will be.
     
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  3. sokanasanah

    sokanasanah IL Hall of Fame

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    There are endless inspiring stories on the web of people with varying backgrounds switching to some form of analytics. One good way to think about this is to marry the domain expertise from your former background to data-analysis skills. That will make both your studies and your marketing somewhat easier!
    :beer-toast1:
     
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  4. Dreamer

    Dreamer Silver IL'ite

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    Thanks for your replies. Helped me a lot. I have programmed a bit in the past and can surely learn it. Marrying it with my current work is also a possibility but just for the prospect of marketing.
    Brings me to another question, how long do you think it would take for me to learn Python and Tableau?
     
  5. Sunburst

    Sunburst Platinum IL'ite

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    Hi dreamer . Business Intelligence doesn’t require much of a programming skills . You need visual and creative skill if you want to get into tableau or other tools like MStr , Congos ,BO. Your reports is what the stakeholders and VPs will be looking at so can’t afford to make mistakes . It’s a wonderful field and doesn’t need hard core coding skills . ETL is the backend and requires a bit of programming knowledge but you can manage with sql skills . For data analytics you need more analytics skills and can do with basic sql. They look at performance metrics like KPIs and figure out how to generate more revenue or analyse trends. Many analytics don’t have programming background but they know how to work with tableau reports ( most are experts in excel ) or run basic sql queries for their own analytics purpose. Infact , the marketing guys use their insights for marketing decisions . Everything is now moving to cloud , big data and Hadoop and that’s where the money is . Etl like informatica will be a thing of the past soon .

    As for python it’s hard core programming . Having a programming background will help but nothing is impossible if you willing to learn now .

    To break into this industry , you will have to correlate this to your background and show something that you have done similar work in your career . Or just start at a lower position and work your way up eventually .
     
    Last edited: Apr 1, 2018
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  6. Dreamer

    Dreamer Silver IL'ite

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    Thanks for the great reply. I would rather not delve too much into Python. So do you think that having a basic knowledge of Python but being good at SQL, Hadoop and Tableau will help?
     
  7. Sweety2018

    Sweety2018 New IL'ite

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    I have good working knowledge in SAS . How to land a job (entry level) without any experience. How to start freelancing projects without any experience, i have banking experience. How to project.......
     
  8. prasanna2

    prasanna2 New IL'ite

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    Hi , i worked as a test engineer for 2.5 yrs .After resignation 3 .5 yrs gap.which carrier suitable for me pls suggest .Informatica / cognizant/ sap bi,bo .Pls suggest .
     
  9. sokanasanah

    sokanasanah IL Hall of Fame

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    For posters on this and similar threads:

    If you want a useful answer, you must put some effort into asking a good question. Here are some tips, borrowed - and adapted - with thanks from this web-page. That post is written with technical coding questions in mind, but the ideas apply to any query - especially job-related questions. Pretend that your future boss might read your posts/questions!!! What would her impression of you be? That you are thoughtful, systematic, and worth hiring?? Or something else? There are many sites with advice on how to ask a good question. Please use them. You will benefit.

    Another useful link provided by @Iravati: How to Ask Smart Questions


    Imagine you're trying to answer the question
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    Describe what you’ve already tried and the results of any research. (You have searched for a solution to your problem before asking it, haven’t you?) Often there will be other people in a similar situation, but the answers didn’t quite match your situation. Just like the above point about unusual constraints, it saves time if you can point out differences between your situation and other common ones. Aside from anything else, this shows a certain amount of “due diligence” – people are generally more willing to help you if can show you’ve already put some effort in.

    Be specific & provide detail
    What are you trying to accomplish? What have you already tried? What happened in those attempts? Be detailed: in particular, if something didn’t work, don’t just state that: tell us how it failed. If at all possible, write a sort of “executive summary” at the start of your question, followed by a more detailed description.

    Write as well as you can
    Not everyone speaks English natively. However, if you’re trying to communicate on an English-language forum, you owe it to yourself to make an effort to write at least reasonably correct English. Use the right tools to achieve this. Pay some attention to formatting.

    Respond to feedback
    Keep an eye on the replies and respond thoughtfully. The process will help you clarify your thinking. It might help others as well.
     
    Last edited: May 16, 2018
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  10. Iravati

    Iravati Platinum IL'ite

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    Moved to chatter thread.
     
    Last edited: May 16, 2018

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