What is the Data Analyst Career Outlook and Opportunities?

by Alex Morgan · October 24, 2023

Data analytics is a career that’s taking off quite well in the past few years. It has become the go-to option for those who like big data and want to work in an ever-growing industry. So, what do the opportunities look like for data analysts? And is becoming a data analyst a good career? And what is the job outlook for them? Let’s find out.

Who Is a Data Analyst?

A data analyst is a person who focuses on making decisions based on data. In most professional cases, decisions are made based on experiences and past records. While the data analyst might not be someone who is an expert in a particular field, they can still make the right decision using data.

That’s why data analysis has a vast application in various industries. For instance, a bank requires business data analysts the same way a football team does sports analysts. They both need someone to interpret information and make use of big data to generate insights.

Any data analyst job description will focus on being able to comprehend data and turn valuable information into actionable intelligence.

What Does A Data Analyst Do?

There are a few things that a data analyst must do in their day-to-day routines. As the name suggests, most of the time they’ll be drowning in data sets and working on strings of information. But the job of a data analyst also depends heavily on the industry that they’re in. Now most data analysts work in IT, finance, government, and various other sectors.

So, They will be required to do things such as:

Collect and organize important company data;
Interpret data to formulate key information;
Use data analytics to predict outcomes;
Help the company make informed decisions;
And interpret statistics to evaluate performance.

These are some of the basic tasks that a data analyst will be required to perform in any industry or niche. And though the basics remain the same, there are a few things that might change. It also depends on the type of degree that a data analyst has.

For instance, financial data analysts will only crunch numbers to make financial decisions or influence changes in specific areas. Whereas someone who has data analysis expertise and works in sports, might have different priorities.

Let’s say a data analyst works for a sports team, then they’ll be required have a sports analyst degree have and focus on:

Interpreting data of the team from previous games;
Focusing on making decisions that work in the favor of the team;
Establish data sets and regulations to help the athletic division;
Help the finance department make decisions;
And influence the sports organization/team with data driven insights.

Now this is just a vague assessment of a data analyst’s job but you might get the gist of their responsibilities. Once again, it depends entirely on the expertise of the data analyst as well as their degree or industry.

Are Data Analyst Jobs In Demand?

The short answer is, yes, they are quite high in demand. One way to look at it is to understand the things around us. There are plenty of things around us that dictate data-driven decisions. In fact, most of what we do depends on data.

The phones we use collect data, and so do our computers and other smart devices like TV, etc. This is just one way to look at things, as data-driven methodologies are becoming quite common in all of businesses. And who handles it? A good data analyst who knows how to decipher said data.

That’s why, data analyst jobs will be 25% more than they are now, by the time 2029 rolls around. In a research by Statista 65% of the 803 companies that responded to the research, said that big-data analysis have had a major/positive impact on their business.

Now, that’s an indication of the growing need for people who can interpret and decipher data. But, it also requires people who are experts in various areas, as data analysts have various job titles. Here are the titles next to what they do:

Job Title	Job Description
Data Analyst	Data analysts collect and decipher key information to create analysis. This includes various business, finance, and marketing situations.
Data Scientists	Discover data patterns, and analyze trends through big data. They often responsible for creating advanced algorithms.
Data Engineer	Design as well as optimize data use in a company or organization. They also maintain and manage data collection.
Data Architect	Visualizing data for easier consumption. They are ideally working for companies that require simplified version of complex data.
Database Administrator	DBAs create, maintain and manage databases. These are usually people responsible to create data sets that are analyzed by Data Analysts.
Business Intelligence Analyst	This data analyst studies and examines data to improve a business. They are usually contractors hired to improve marketing or financial situation of a company.

These are some of the top job titles for data analysts and their requirements. That’s why this industry generated around 59,000 jobs in the United States in 2023 alone. This also means the annual growth rate for job outlook for data analysts is around 35%!

Which is way more than any other industry as of today. But, it’s also important to understand that these data analyst jobs have different salaries. A data scientist earns the lowest of around $58,000 while highest salaries are in the $175,000 territory.

-Source: BLS Occupational Salaries

U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics also suggests here are some of the leading data analyst jobs with top salaries include:

Scientific research – $118,000
Management of companies – $106,000
Computer system designs – $106,000
Insurance carriers – $102,000
Management and technical consulting – $101,000

-Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics

This tells us the basic data analyst salary that one should expect. We also looked at how data analyst job outlook 2023 stands, which is quite high.

Is Data Analyst A Good Career Choice?

While there’s no data on how many data analysts are there in the world by the time you read this, there are around 93,000 active data analysts in the United States as of this writing. So, the answer is yes, a data analyst career is a very good choice and here are a few reasons:

Data analyst careers are constantly growing and in demand;;
It has job positions in almost all of the industries today;
It’ll be highly in demand in coming years;
The data analyst career has a high job outlook of 35%;
It has high-paying salaries in all industries;
And it’s an always evolving industry.

That’s why going towards business data analyst as a career is a good choice. But it’s also important to understand that there are different data analyst careers, in particular the business sector, which requires a lot of professionals in the business data analytics field for decision support.

How To Become A Data Analyst

The process to become a data analyst is quite straightforward. Whether you want to become a business analyst or data scientist, formal education is a must, but so is the love for numbers and making decisions. It requires you to earn a bachelor’s degree where the focus of the degree is on either of the two:

Statistical skills

Analytical skills

Now there are plenty of data analyst degrees that offer both or at least one of these qualities.it surely depends on the individual too, and their prowess with numbers and decision making. That’s why, the first few steps towards becoming a data analyst include:

Learning the basics of data analysis through a bachelor’s degree;
Building analytical skills like data visualization, coding, etc.;
Use various type of data analysis and tools;
Focus on various industries—especially those you wish to work in;
And find universities that offer great programs.

Now it’s important to find a few good programs from leading universities to jumpstart your data analyst career. It all depends on your state or if you would like to enroll into an online or on-campus program. However, it’s essential to find the right university and degree. Here are top five universities and data analytics programs in United States:

Carnegie Mellon University – Statistics and Data Science Bachelors
University of Washington – Bachelor of Science (major in Statistics)
George Washington University – BS in Data Science
Louisiana State University – Online Technology & Data Analytics Degree
Tufts University – Bachelor of Science in Data Science

These are some of the top options that students in the United States have. And here are top-3 options for those looking to earn a master’s in data science:

Georgia State University – M.S in Data Science and Analytics
Indian University Bloomington – Online Master’s in Data Science
The University of Chicago – Master’s in Applied Data Science

These top options will get any student up and running on their way towards becoming a data analyst or scientist. Therefore, focusing on these degrees is essential to get a right start in your data analyst career.

Conclusion

There you have it, folks; all that you need to know about data analyst’s career and opportunities. It’s a blooming industry that serves almost all of the industries today. It has jobs and opportunities in almost all of the facets of life, including business, government, entertainment, and even sports.