![[Featured Image] A data scientist works on a desktop computer in an office.](https://images.ctfassets.net/wp1lcwdav1p1/1zPto5S1K55iCLiSWdlmKB/cc15e59dd1c8f3465e32f50e41d2a00f/GettyImages-1387361694.jpg?w=330&h=216&q=60&fit=fill&f=faces&fm=jpg&fl=progressive)
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What Does a Data Analyst Do? Your 2024 Career Guide
A data analyst gathers, cleans, and studies data sets to help solve problems. Here's how you can start on a path to become one.
December 16, 2020
Article
Start Your Data Analyst Career
As an entry-level data analyst, you’ll be gleaning insights from data to answer questions and solve problems that inform business decisions. Get started on this career path with the resources below.
![[Featured Image]: A woman wearing an orange dress, is sitting in front of two computer screens as works as an entry-level data analyst.](https://images.ctfassets.net/wp1lcwdav1p1/3LjO8mBEkdYJ7sbzRln26J/e033962579472555ee38bd1fa3f891af/GettyImages-1338373232__4_.jpg?w=330&h=216&q=60&fit=fill&f=faces&fm=jpg&fl=progressive)
![[Featured image] A data analyst sits at her desk in front of a laptop computer, looking at the camera.](https://images.ctfassets.net/wp1lcwdav1p1/3CkaYYRYdzir3oglOF6NKR/0dfa4d6e778b1b5508e4577f021b9804/how_to_become_a_data_analyst.png?w=330&h=216&q=60&fit=fill&f=faces&fm=jpg&fl=progressive)
![[Featured image] Three data analysts review data on several report sheets in a large white room with two other analysts in the background](https://images.ctfassets.net/wp1lcwdav1p1/6BtKlH0qNq5BCZMu1zUVrh/290e7f0d4e07615f247cc8a1c4997ea8/GettyImages-528309862__3_.jpg?w=330&h=216&q=60&fit=fill&f=faces&fm=jpg&fl=progressive)
![[Featured image] Woman in yellow dual-screen reviewing data analysis](https://images.ctfassets.net/wp1lcwdav1p1/3Z0opa9tMlModMNk65jmuv/ced51a1dda4b0ce95b3d916138cc544f/GettyImages-1338373232__2_.jpg?w=330&h=216&q=60&fit=fill&f=faces&fm=jpg&fl=progressive)
Learn the basics of data analysis
![[Featured image] A data analyst sits at their laptop smiling at the camera with a group of coworkers in the background.](https://images.ctfassets.net/wp1lcwdav1p1/3ExgLa4vYLV16Sb2IQdGux/c28fdf797ad6009052cd9c2d064ff5a7/Data_analyst_salary.png?w=330&h=216&q=60&fit=fill&f=faces&fm=jpg&fl=progressive)
![[Featured image] A woman sits on a couch, holding a white mug, as she types a data analyst cover letter on her laptop.](https://images.ctfassets.net/wp1lcwdav1p1/7agse4yADK1HUnExhzfe0x/b0adbb0a01920b1096e869887bd2d45a/Data_analyst_cover_letter.png?w=330&h=216&q=60&fit=fill&f=faces&fm=jpg&fl=progressive)
![[Featured image] A data analytics degree student works on his laptop in a university library.](https://images.ctfassets.net/wp1lcwdav1p1/1XR2cF08DJY1W2zv44848G/d9c1624fae91dbba0a559288a5f5f40b/Data_analytics_degree.png?w=330&h=216&q=60&fit=fill&f=faces&fm=jpg&fl=progressive)
![[Featured image] A woman sits on an outdoor patio with her laptop in her lap working on her portfolio](https://images.ctfassets.net/wp1lcwdav1p1/6n65wQIVMiBvUJG7u9rVtJ/265c1093d089f528e7f52c238d583fd3/data_analyst_portfolio.png?w=330&h=216&q=60&fit=fill&f=faces&fm=jpg&fl=progressive)
![[Featured image] A female business analyst interviews a female employee. Both have their laptops in front of them.](https://images.ctfassets.net/wp1lcwdav1p1/5vfQELyaDvsspcLpsigHEy/ec1810ecd32ac851a47d952a4f5d1e5d/dat_analyst_vs_business_analyst.png?w=330&h=216&q=60&fit=fill&f=faces&fm=jpg&fl=progressive)
![[Featured image] Two men sit in a living room, one working on data analysis on his laptop](https://images.ctfassets.net/wp1lcwdav1p1/2uwvgHERA0c0sPwlruetNc/42b13a63da8973b7d903887fb9a82973/data_analyst_skills.png?w=330&h=216&q=60&fit=fill&f=faces&fm=jpg&fl=progressive)
Data analysts collect, clean, and interpret data sets to drive better business decisions. They can work in many industries, including business, technology, finance, science, medicine, and government.
As an entry-level data analyst, you’ll be expected to know the basics of data collection, modeling, analysis, and visualization. You’ll need to know how to use software tools like Microsoft Excel, SQL, or Tableau to pull data sets and organize them before synthesizing the insights for a business use case and presenting them to stakeholders.
Similar roles include data scientist, business analyst, market research analyst, and business intelligence analyst.
Read more about entry-level data analyst careers and tips:
