How I become a data analyst | Canadian work experience

With the rise of Big Data, the demand for Data Analyst data analysts from different companies has been increasing in recent years, making data analysts one of the most popular jobs in Canada. Below I will share my experience of switching from a liberal arts major to a Marketing major and successfully transitioning to become a Data Analyst.

What are the requirements to become a data analyst?

Data analysis is a very popular industry in Canada, and the entry threshold is relatively high. If you are considering finding your first data analyst job, you can refer to the following requirements for Entry Level positions:

Education requirements for data analysts

A bachelor's degree from a university is a must for data analysts, preferably related to information technology, business, statistics, mathematics, economics, etc. In recent years, many universities have even begun to set up data analysis and Big Data-related majors. For short courses or degree courses, you can first plan in which industry you want to develop your data analysis career in the future, and then carefully compare the tools and content taught in each course to choose which courses to enroll in.

Although the data analysis industry does not have any restrictions on major programs in college, I have met colleagues who majored in pharmacy in college and were able to successfully switch to Data Analyst in the end. But if you are like me and your Bachelor Degree is not related to data analysis, it is best to study for a Postgraduate Certificate or Master Degree to lay a solid foundation.

Professional skills requirements for data analysts

Data analysts have high requirements for technical skills. Academic qualifications are not enough. They also need to have a certain understanding of different programming languages, software tools and business knowledge. However, the specific tools used will vary according to the requirements of the industry and company, and different tools will be eliminated over time. Therefore, for Entry Level, general technology and Soft Skills are more important.

Among them, for Data Analyst, the most important tool must be Microsoft Excel. Many advanced software and tools for analyzing data are evolved from the basic concepts of Excel. Some data analysts use Excel so well that they don't even need the help of other tools. In addition to being proficient in Excel, it is also important to master languages ​​such as Python, R and SQL, and be familiar with data visualization tools (Data visualization Tools) such as Tableau, Power BI and Google Data Studio.

If you want to learn these skills systematically, many companies offer online courses, and some even offer certificate courses with certain recognition. Unlike the courses provided by colleges and universities above, these online courses are not subject to degree qualifications. Certification, however, will focus more on practical skills and tool operations than theoretical and academic knowledge, and will be closer to the needs of the real workplace. And the tuition is not expensive. It is highly recommended to master the basics of Data Analytics through these courses. Putting some professional certificates in your resume will also make it easier for you to pass the screening of the HR system and make the job search process smoother.

Read more: How to write a resume that can secure an interview in Canada?

English proficiency requirements for data analysts

Data Analyst’s English Proficiency Requirements Data Analyst is a position with higher English requirements among IT-related jobs, because most of the time you will be in meetings with different stakeholders, or with the company’s decision-makers. When making reports to management, you must not only be fluent in English and be able to communicate professionally, but also have certain Storytelling and Presentation skills, you will be able to work more smoothly.

Data Analyst - Sharing the Road to Further Education

Because I majored in advertising in college and worked in the Digital Marketing industry, I set my employment goal at a Data Analyst position related to this industry. When I came to Canada, I enrolled as an international student in Centennial College’s Marketing Research and Analytics course.

To be honest, this less than one-year course did not teach me a lot of in-depth Data Analytics knowledge, but it did become a stepping stone for me to find a job, and it also helped me establish the direction of self-study, so I later passed the Google Data Analytics Professional Certificate and IBM Data Analyst Professional Certificate.

Read more: Google Data Analytics Certificate Experience | Are Google courses and certificates useful?

After graduation, I did not start working as an Analyst. Instead, I first worked as a Digital Specialist in an advertising company. About 60% of my job content was related to data. I needed to collect data from different advertising channels and create dashboards for reports. , making reports with clients, etc., and the remaining 40% is meetings with different departments (such as designers, IT department), and work related to Media Planning. About half a year later, I switched jobs to another advertising company as a Data Analyst, and my job became 100% dealing with data. I enrolled in the Post Grad course in 2022 and found a job as a Data Analyst in 2023. It took about a year to officially change my job. I hope that through my story, it can help you who are interested in this industry. If so, If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at any time.