Skills you'll need for Data Analyst — and how to close the gap
This page lists the skills the Data Analyst role relies on, in O*NET importance order, and points to a grounded way to build each one. Importance describes how central a skill is to the role, not pay or hiring odds.
Skills this role needs
Importance below is the O*NET role-skill rating recorded in our seed data (1-5). Build a skill through deliberate practice plus study; the skill page collects the grounded roles and cited resources for it.
| Skill | Importance | Build it via |
|---|---|---|
| Data cleaning | 5/5 importance (O*NET) | Data cleaning skill page · Google Data Analytics Certificate |
| SQL | 5/5 importance (O*NET) | SQL skill page · Google Data Analytics Certificate |
The cited credential above (Google Data Analytics Certificate) is a study path whose published objectives help build these skills. No credential or course guarantees a skill or a job.
If you're coming from another field
Our pathway data lists these career-changer backgrounds as common feeders into Data Analyst: Customer Service Worker, Military Veteran, Retail Worker, Unemployed / Career Changer. These are non-occupation starting points, so we do not assume what you already know. Whatever your background, the target skill set is the same one listed above — that is your gap to close.
For the full from-your-background view, see the feeder gap matrix, which lists each target role's required skill set per feeder background.
Sources
- Coursera and Google — Google Data Analytics Professional Certificate: https://www.coursera.org/professional-certificates/google-data-analytics
- National Center for ONET Development — ONET Database: https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html
Citation Ledger
| ID | Supports | Evidence | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| CIT-01 | Importance 5/5 for Data cleaning in Data Analyst | ONET role-skill rating (ONET role-skill data) | O*NET |
| CIT-02 | Importance 5/5 for SQL in Data Analyst | ONET role-skill rating (ONET role-skill data) | O*NET |
| CIT-03 | Google Data Analytics Certificate is a cited study path toward these skills | Role-certification mapping (RoleMath role mapping) | Google Data Analytics Certificate |
| CIT-04 | Career-changer feeder backgrounds for Data Analyst | Pathway feeder mapping | RoleMath pathway seed data |