The role of a data analyst is to compile information, look for pattern and trends which involves critical analysis, interpret and extrapolate, prepare a report and present the data. They are required to have research skills, system expertise as well as good communication skills. Though post graduates are preferred for this job graduates too are eligible to apply. They are normally eligible for the fresher’s job.

Job Skills required for Data Analyst

• Data analysts are required to check out the information thoroughly, look for patterns and trends and reach a conclusion. Critical thinking is crucial for this job.
• Well versed in working with various software’s like Oracle, Teradata etc.
• Attention to details is important as missing any information could lead to wrong conclusion.
• For numerical data the analyst should have good mathematical skills.
• Analytical thinking is also important as the job involves working with large data. This will include figures, number crunching and facts.
• Data Analyst will need to understand the business processes and identify area of improvement.
• Team work and team management skills will help the analyst to work in a team and also work with other employees in the company like auditors.
• Good communication skills are required as there will many instances where the data analyst will need to present the finding. They will need to use power point, excel and other tools for presentation. They should be able to present the information in a simple manner for all to understand.

Expected Salary

The average salary drawn by a Data Analyst is between Rs. 300000/- to Rs. 800000/-. It will depend on the education qualification and work experience of the candidate.

Eligibility Criteria

Candidates who have completed both graduation and post graduation are generally for this job. Graduates are generally considered for the fresher’s job. Candidates who have specialised in areas such as computer science, maths, statistics are preferred. Analytical thinking as well as strong maths skills is crucial for this job.

Courses in Data Analysis field

There are various institutes offering course both offline and online. This includes Academy for Decision Science and Analytics which offers certification course on Data Analysis and Six Sigma. The course covers areas like data mining, application oriented training using case studies etc. The course also covers areas like project management and communication skills. Professional Diploma in Data Analytics is offered by UCS in Dublin. They offer an online course. The duration of this course is 1 year. It covers areas like various large scale classification techniques, Ensemble methods and boosting, model based classification etc.