I know a couple of you guys are in the data analysis world. What programs do you use? Primarily excel/some database? And what are you doing exactly?
I'll try to explain the best I can but first I have to give background knowledge on why Data Analyst are needed...
Data Analyst usually analyze and make data easier to understand for information users within organizations (i.e. finance people, sales managers, buyers, etc.) . In large enterprises, you have what is called business intelligence (BI). BI is simply the process of taking raw data and turning it into useful information that end users can use to make informed business decisions (my definition). For example, managers at Apple may want to know the top selling products from their different sales channels (i.e. catalog sales, internet sales, store sales, and anywhere else Apple products can be purchased). The NBA may want to know at what time-frames during the year are ticket sales at its highest (or lowest). Local city government may want to know what neighborhood have the highest crime percentage based on total population of the neighborhood. Def Jam or Interscope may want a time series showcasing artist sales based upon the timeframe of when their first single is released and the actual release date of their album (can any correlation be found with this information?). But this is just the tip of the iceberg. Analyzing data isn't just for sales scenarios, all types data is analyzed in every industry whether it's NBA data analysts, analyst in science fields, medical research analyst, government analyst, weather; literally everything you can think of under the sun. Data Analyst jobs can be broken down into three huge roles...
Collecting Data
Now, where does all this data come from? Data can be stored in a million places. Flat text files, emails, excel spreadsheets, databases, on the web, etc. One of the jobs of an Data Analyst is to gather all of this data from wherever it may be stored and get it into one central location. Most likely a data warehouse (referred to as a OLAP system). A data warehouses are the opposite of your traditional databases as they are de-normalized for easier reporting. Major Technologies used here is some sort of ETL (Extract, Transform, and Load) tool. This type of tool does exactly what it says, extract data from different sources, transform (or massage) the data into the shape needed (such as changing the data types, etc.), and finally loading the data into a central repository, such as a data warehouse. Popular ETL tools are SQL Server Integration Services, SAS, Oracle WarehouseBuilder, Informatica, Teradata etc.
Analyzing Data
What story is you trying to tell from this data? This is where you build your calculations, KPI's, and aggregate your data (functions such as min, max, average, count, etc.). This is ultimately where you try to find trends and discoveries in the data. Data that is needed for the story you're telling is kept, data that isn't needed, you discard. Most popular technologies used here are SQL Server Analysis Services, Business Objects, IBM Cognos, etc.
Visualizing Data
Everyone wants their data to be pretty. No one wants to see a spreadsheet with a million rows of data or a SQL query with thousands of rows. People want to see instantly what story you are telling a what insight they can take from it. This is where you build your reports, dashboards, charts, tables, etc. Tools used here include SQL Server Reporting Services, Oracle Reports, Cognos BI, Crystal Reports, SAS, QlikView, Tableau, Excel, etc.
Additional info and Microsoft Excel
Excel is considered a self-service BI tool, not really used for enterprise level BI (although it is starting to make noise with PowerPivot but that technology is still young). Excel is a cool skill but if you want to make top market Data Analyst/Business Intelligence $$$, you need to get a hold of one of the enterprise-level technologies. You should have a good knowledge of SQL and relational database design because then you can understand how the data you will be using is put together. Also, you will need to dive deeper into the fundamentals of Business Intelligence because it is a BIG field. It is just as tricky as learning the fundamentals and sorting through all the technologies used for software development.
Top technologies for data analysis/business intelligence:
I'm gonna show them some of my personal projects too.
and my next term really could be anywhere but likely up north as well. Honestly I'm planning on throwing this in the bushes and moving back down south this time next year, looking at NC right now. My problem is, I'm getting some decent experience with this company..in a project mgt. role now, no idea what my next title will be, I've got a degree obviously, but no certs. In terms of looking to relocate, what kind of jobs might I qualify for? Mind you I'm not necessarily looking to make this a career, I've got aspirations beyond IT that I've been working on, on the side but I do need to make sure I stay employed with decent pay until i'm able to make that full transition and def. wouldn't leave here without having something else lined up. If it helps any I'm fairly people oriented and my business acumen far exceeds my technical skills.
boy oh boy. This software engineering degree is mine