What advice do you have for someone starting their data analytics career?

[JessL]

The Alteryx Community provides the space for working professionals and students alike to come together to solve problems, grow their skills in the field of analytics, and learn new ways to use Alteryx. The North America Fall semester is finishing up and the SparkED team wants to connect proud alumni and learners across the globe and provide space to share what the road to an analytics career looks like to you. 

Read Alteryx Cofounder, Libby Duane’s blog to learn more about the SparkED program and use this place to show pride for your alma mater by providing insight and guidance to the next generation of data workers.  The university or academic institution with the most representation in the four threads that are a part of this series will be eligible for SparkED swag and an opportunity to participate in a virtual career exploration event with an Alteryx executive, so make sure you include your alma mater in your reply to this thread! *Bonus points for photos of you showing your school pride. 

This week let us know in a reply to this thread, What advice would you give to someone who is about to embark on incorporating data analytics into their career? 

If you would like to reply to our question from two weeks ago about educational pathways to a career in data analytics, click here. 

If you would like to reply to our question from last week about data analytics in your day-to-day job, click here. 

[Luke_C]

My biggest advice would be to find a real-life project that you can apply any education/training to. Whether it's Alteryx or any other tool, I find that I always learn the most when I have a real life example to apply it to that is relevant to my day-to-day work.

For example, when I first started using Alteryx I went through numerous trainings both in person with Alteryx reps as well as through the community learning paths. I was able to really learn and develop by taking day to day items and putting them in Alteryx. I distinctly remember as a new staff fresh out of college I was tasked with emailing my team a table of data from a project management system at the end of each day. In my free time I discovered that the system had APIs, and I could in fact use Alteryx to pull the table, format it into an email, and notify the team (scheduled via Alteryx Server). 

Go Villanova 😺

[Kenda]

#NeverStopLearning of course! 

Find a company that supports you and your continued education. There are always opportunities to learn and grow. Once you have found what you're passionate about and work in a supportive environment, it becomes easier and more fun to incorporate data analytics into your career. 

[MarqueeCrew]

some tips from @MarqueeCrew  that you can agree to disagree with:

•  don't settle on your first result.  Test it another way.  you may find a better way to solve it and you may have errors. 
• celebrate your wins.  You own your brand marketing. Share credit and be a part of a winning franchise. 
• ask questions.  Try to understand the bigger picture of why your assignment has value.  Try to consult as opposed to doing tasks without understanding the client impact. 
• share your knowledge and teach others.
•  Be open to feedback. 
• be present and enjoy the journey. 
• go for a walk. 

cheers,

 mark

[DataNath]

Would definitely agree with all of the points above to start! Here's a little list from me:

• Ask, ask, ask! Make use of things like an internal Centre of Excellence (if you have one), the community forums, colleagues, friends etc - Even if they can't help with your exact problem, they may be able to explain what they would do with x tool which might help to inspire your own solution.
• Give back if you can - everyone starts everything as a total beginner and so once you've started to get a bit of experience under your belt, it's great to lend others a helping hand on their journey. Plus, teaching/helping people to solve their issues will only further cement your knowledge and keep you up to speed!
• Take part in extra initiatives. Things like the Alteryx Weekly Challenges, Workout Wednesdays/Makeover Mondays for Tableau, Frosty Fridays for Snowflake - these are all great challenges to help sharpen your skills and are often inspired by actual business issues!
• Grow your network! User groups, conferences and other events are all fantastic places to meet and chat with likeminded individuals that work in your field (or similar) and share a common passion!
• Similar to what others have said, create some personal projects! Have a sport that you love? Try making a cool dashboard that gives insights on games! Had a brainwave for a cool app that people could use? Build it in Alteryx, upload it to the gallery & shout about it on the community!