What Does a Data Analyst Do?

A Data Analyst is responsible for evaluating a wide range of data. He or she analyzes it for certain details and develops various concepts on this basis. In addition, the Analyst presents the data to his or her colleagues and superiors and makes it understandable to them. The analyses in this position are usually determined using a so-called data warehouse. This is a central database system that stores certain company data for analysis purposes.

What Are The Tasks Of A Data Analyst?

• Processing and transformation of enterprise data
• Analysis and evaluation of data
• Summarize and present the results of the work
• Coaching of colleagues and superiors
• Maintenance and implementation of data systems
• Support in quality control
• Implementation of (new) systems for data collection
• Obtaining the correct data from external and internal databases
• Conversion of raw data into the appropriate format (Data Wrangling)
• write queries
• close cooperation with the development teams
• Creation and development of reports
• Define the correct key figures

What Does A Working Day Look Like?

In the morning, the current campaigns and monitoring are first checked. Monitoring is the monitoring of processes. It is an umbrella term for all types of systematic recording (logging), measurement, or observation of a procedure or process using technical aids or other observation systems.

(One function of monitoring is to determine whether an observed procedure or process is taking the desired course and whether certain thresholds are being observed so that otherwise it is possible to intervene in a controlling manner. Monitoring is therefore a special type of logging).

After all clicks, conversions, engagements, and impressions have been analyzed, this is shared and discussed with the team. Then the next task is to optimize current and new campaigns. Here, the “customer glasses” must always be put on to achieve an optimal result for the customer. At least one optimization per day should be the goal. The satisfaction of the customer is the priority here.

In the evening you put all the collected data into Jira, then you can start the next day well prepared.

What Special Skills Should You Have?

The Data Analyst and the Data Scientist are two very similar professions. Usually, a Data Scientist formulates the questions for the company, which he wants to answer with his database, himself. He also programs for the company — in contrast to the Data Analyst, who is concerned exclusively with analysis and optimization. Also you give the task to other teams (e.g. from sales or marketing) and seeks a solution to their questions.

In this professional field there are various possibilities to specialize:

• Financial Analyst — often found in the insurance industry
• Data Analyst BI — an expert in business processes, who is in demand in almost all industries
• Customer Data Analyst — the customer understanding expert
• Big Data Analyst — with algorithms you automatically analyze gigantic amounts of data, e.g. for real-time updates of airline ticket prices
• Risk Analyst — often working in the banking sector and management consultancy
• Clinical Data Analyst — essential for the further development of e-health
• Weather Analyst — how the weather will be, the data will tell you
• UX Data Analyst — the user understanding

If you want to know how to become a data engineer, check out our blogpost How to become a data engineer!