Data Analyst titles are starting to feel like the new Social Media Experts. Tech/Programming nerds tell me this is not the case at all. Analysts often have legitimate backgrounds in sciences, math and finance. Such advanced skill sets in analysis are much needed in deciding everything from healthcare policy to business expansion. Yet, I do see more people with broader experiences analyzing and creating graphical content for a surprising variety of industry.
Recently, I enrolled in Stanford's online course Introduction to Databases. The forum allowed introductions from students who often explained why they needed the course. Many were older professionals suddenly required to work with data. Thankfully, you don't need to be a programmer to manipulate data and you don't need to be a statistician to create accurate graphs.
photo credit: JD Hancock
