What Does A Data Analyst Do? | Data Analyst Job Description

In this age, technological advancements have created new avenues for people to interact with the rest of the world and with new users getting access to the internet, data is being generated at a rate never seen before.

To make sense of this data, a new field of data analysis has come into play, and data analysts have become a must-have for a venture to thrive.

Read on to find if you need a data analyst in your venture.

Data Analyst Job Description

A data analyst takes the numerical data obtained from a source and makes sense out of it.

Now, every venture interacts with its consumer and might have data related to sales, logistics, or transportation costs depending on the way a venture collects data from its consumer.

Data analyst’s job is to present the data in such a way which helps companies take better corporate decisions in line with the facts available to them.

These decisions could include pricing strategies for new materials, reducing expenditure in logistics, and also solve issues associated with the employees themselves like working hours and days, salary distribution.

Tackling these problems is important as for a venture to thrive it is essential to maintain a balance between retaining its customer as well as it’s employees and sustain the business in this ever-changing landscape.

Since there are many divisions in a business venture itself, there are many different types of data analysts in the field.

Here’s a brief job description of operations analysts, marketing analysts, and financial analysts.

Operations Analysts

Expectations From An Operational Analyst

• Work with executive management to make changes to the organisational structure to boost up the efficiency among workers. Wage cuts, promotions, bonus are some of the decisions which could be taken with their help.
• Even remuneration cost incurred while hiring and subsequent loss in case the hire is not up to the mark or defects to another organisation makes hiring, one area where operations analyst research significantly.
• They also collaborate with sales and operations teams to characterise the areas of improvement in customer retention and bringing the product to a new customer base in an efficient manner.
• Deliver a monthly report to management on trends and how to capitalise on those trends by altering company procedures.

Educational And Skill Requirements For An Operational Analyst

Since the primary task of an operational analyst is to review the way the company works, it is essential to be a jack of all trades.

Standard requirements for becoming an Operational Analyst include:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration, Analytics or related field – There are no hardbound rules regarding this, as a candidate is expected to know how to adequately look out for the enterprise as a whole and any candidate who fits the bill is given a chance in this role.

• Work effectively with minimal supervision – This is a must-have skill as there would be times where an individual has to take and present facts that encompass different departments. This has to be done swiftly and cannot be held down by bottlenecks.

• Exceptional communication skills – Since there need to be decisions made collectively with different departments, communication skills are a must

Operational Analyst Salary

In the United States of America, an Operational Analyst earns $60,790 annually on average. (Source: Indeed)

Although this figure also depends on various other factors like demand and supply, your experience level, corporation size and nature of work.

Deciding On Becoming An Operational Analyst

If you have can manage work that is diverse, and you have the analytical skills to figure out what data means then you could try out this field of work.

Marketing Analysts

Expectations From A Marketing Analyst

• Knowledge of Consumer Behaviour – The job for a marketing analyst position requires an individual to study the different market and help the business. Deciding what markets to launch a product in, to the price that should be charged after looking at the reaction of the public to similarly placed products.
• Well versed with Social Media Trends – With the increasing use of social media such as Facebook and Twitter, there is a more immediate response to marketing campaigns. This means you have to identify trends and patterns of behaviour more quickly and efficiently and have campaigns that are not hurting anyone’s sentiment. The backlash on social media could lead to a considerable loss. For example, Pepsi had to withdraw its protest advertisement featuring Kendall Jenner.

Educational And Skill Requirements For A Marketing Analyst

Technical Knowledge

Practical knowledge of software such as Excel or SPSS would show skills of manipulating and handling data and transforming it into numbers.

Degree Requirements

Bachelors of Maths/Social Sciences/History/English can apply for the jobs provided they show the ability to analyse and interpret information.

Exceptional Written And Oral Communication Skills

Market analysts need to prepare a report, and every report should be coherent and make sense to the stakeholders.

Marketing Analyst Salary

In the United States of America, a Marketing Analyst earns $65,967 annually on average. (Source: Indeed )

Deciding On Becoming A Marketing Analyst

If you are interested in how humans interact with consumer goods in general and can predict from prior feedback, then you could try out this field.

Financial Analysts

The role of a financial analyst largely depends on the experience level.

A typical day could range from data gathering, financial modelling and spreadsheet maintenance to development of investment theses, collaborating with company management teams and other investors; all based on the experience level.

Expectations From A Financial Analyst

General Expectations

• Evaluate current capital expenditures and depreciation
  incurred on a product or by a company
• Explore investment opportunities in diverse portfolios like funds, bonds or insurance.
• Establish and evaluate profit plans

Fresher’s: 0-3 Years Of Experience

A typical day could range from data gathering, financial modelling and spreadsheet maintenance. This is done to provide a solid background with the way an industry works.

Also, this also helps junior analysts build strong networking skills which go on helping them in their future.

Senior Analyst: 3+ Years of Experience

With strong contacts in the industry, senior analysts tend to work more directly with the management teams and other investors.

Educational And Skill Requirements For A Financial Analyst

• Bachelor’s degree in finance, business or related field
• License: Analysts involved in regulated services, such as legal advising or selling stocks, bonds or insurance, might be required to obtain a license.
• Certification: Candidates with specific certifications, such as Chartered Financial Analysts (CFA) credentials stand a good chance of recruitment.

Financial Analyst Salary

In the United States of America, a Financial Analyst earns $67,243 per year annually on average. (Source: Indeed)

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