BI Dev/Data Analyst/Data Science and Careers (Official Discussion Thread)

Macallik86

Macallik86

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Macallik86 said:
Jumping back in Power BI after a hiatus. My job requires me to make Cubes in Visual Studio and then import that to Power BI. Still wrapping my head around the entire process.
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If you are learning Power BI with a solid Excel background, please please please start with this book.

It's like 6 years old which is an eternity for Power BI, but they explain DAX Language in a way that Excel brehs can easily wrap your head around. The backend functionality hasn't changed as the heart and soul of Power BI (Power Query) started out in Excel, and the author used to work for Microsoft's Excel Dev team, so he gives insights on related functionality on a software I'm already decent at. Also, he gives more user-friendly titles to some parts of the product so that it's easier to understand what they do, like the fact that a dimension tables are called lookup tables because they wanted Excel users to think of a VLOOKUP( ) when they connected tables to visualize the data easier.

Instead of learning a new product, it feels like you are expanding your Excel knowledge into a new platform. Much recommended. You don't have to buy a copy either, I scooped one from the library without leaving my house thanks to online options my local library subscribes to. It's available on Libby as well as Hoopla for my local library
 
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Macallik86 said:
If you are learning Power BI with a solid Excel background, please please please start with this book.

It's like 6 years old which is an eternity for Power BI, but they explain DAX Language in a way that Excel brehs can easily wrap your head around. The backend functionality hasn't changed as the heart and soul of Power BI (Power Query) started out in Excel, and the author used to work for Microsoft's Excel Dev team, so he gives insights on related functionality on a software I'm already decent at. Also, he gives more user-friendly titles to some parts of the product so that it's easier to understand what they do, like the fact that a dimension tables are called lookup tables because they wanted Excel users to think of a VLOOKUP( ) when they connected tables to visualize the data easier.

Instead of learning a new product, it feels like you are expanding your Excel knowledge into a new platform. Much recommended. You don't have to buy a copy either, I scooped one from the library without leaving my house thanks to online options my local library subscribes to. It's available on Libby as well as Hoopla for my local library
Click to expand...

I just saw a comment for this book. Basically he said for beginners, he would get, in this order:
  1. M is for (Data) Monkeys
  2. Learn to Write DAX
  3. Power Pivot and Power BI: The Excel User's Guide to DAX, Power Query, Power BI & Power Pivot in Excel 2010-2016
 
Macallik86

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Focused on Power BI but has anyone used Google Data Studio before? Looks like a free alternative to Power BI that might be coming for the crown in a few years:


Maybe many of you have been waiting for this. Google Data Studio now also offers a connector to MSSQL servers — at least in the beta version. But you can already use it without any problems. For me this is a milestone and a direct attack on Microsoft Power BI. Because now Data Studio is again a bit closer to the top solutions like Power BI and Qlik or Tableau. In addition, you no longer have to use MS products or load the data into a data warehouse beforehand if they come from Microsoft servers. The advantage for Google’s solution is of course that Data Studio is free of charge.

Status Quo
Until now, Data Studio could not be directly connected to Microsoft databases. Either a solution such as the in-house product Power BI was used or the data had to be loaded into BigQuery via a data integration process. Only then was it possible to display the data with Google Data Studio.

How to Connect
Connecting to an MSSQL database is actually pretty straight forward. Under the menu item “Add data to report” you can then select the connection Microsoft SQL Server. After that you have to enter the host, port, username etc. similar to an MySQL and data sources.

Summary
Many companies have MSSQL databases, now the widely used and free Data Studio from Google also offers a build in connector for it. Often the right and better way would be to make the data available via a Data Warehouse or Data Lake. But especially for smaller companies with only a handful of MSSQL databases, this direct way via Data Studio is probably the most efficient. For me, however, it is primarily a step in the direction of larger solutions that have already been on the market for some time, and thus a free alternative like MS Power BI.
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Joe Blow Thee Lover Man said:
I don't have experience with the course, but having a background in math and statistics, I can say the following 2 books are all you need to get confident in Machine Learning if coming from a Software engineering background. The 2nd book is critically acclaimed, and rightfully so:
1. Mathematics for Machine Learning
2. Hands-On Machine Learning with Scikit-Learn, Keras, and Tensorflow: Concepts, Tools, and Techniques to Build Intelligent Systems by Aurélien Géron [ see spoiler :mjpls:]

Hands-on Machine Learning with Scikit-Learn, Keras, and TensorFlow | Aurelien Geron | download
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Macallik86

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Secure Da Bag said:
I just saw a comment for this book. Basically he said for beginners, he would get, in this order:
  1. M is for (Data) Monkeys
  2. Learn to Write DAX
  3. Power Pivot and Power BI: The Excel User's Guide to DAX, Power Query, Power BI & Power Pivot in Excel 2010-2016
Click to expand...
I've been reading this from the library and it is a good intro.
 
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