Junior Data Analyst
Career Path: From zero to job-ready in 5 months
Gain the skills you need to start a career as a data analyst. In this path, you will learn practical Excel, SQL, and Python skills. By the end, you will know how to analyze data, communicate insights, and make data-driven decisions.
- Beginner friendly
- 5 months (5 hrs/week)
- Self paced
- 19 Courses
- 15 projects
Path overview
Python skills you'll learn
- ✓ Importing, preparing, analyzing, and summarizing data with Excel and Python
- ✓ Exploring querying, and extracting specific sets of data using SQL
- ✓ Transforming data into informative visual insights
- ✓ Using foundational math and statistics to perform data analysis
Junior Data Analyst path outline
5 steps · 19 courses
Part 1: Introduction to Data Analysis with Excel [5 courses]
Learn how to analyze data with Microsoft Excel.
- Course 1
Introduction to Data Analysis in Excel
3hApply foundational data analysis concepts in Excel to organize information, interpret data, and support informed decision-making.
Course Objectives ▾
- Define, categorize, and evaluate data
- Identify ways data is used in business and everyday life
- Organize data
- Describe key steps of the data analysis process
- Course 2
Preparing Data in Excel
6hPrepare datasets for analysis by importing, organizing, cleaning, and consolidating data in Excel spreadsheets.
Course Objectives ▾
- Import data into an Excel spreadsheet from more than one data source
- Organize data into a spreadsheet using worksheets and tables
- Clean, manipulate, and modify the data
- Consolidate the data for analysis
- Course 3
Visualizing Data in Excel
5hDesign clear and informative data visualizations in Excel by selecting appropriate chart types and applying visual design principles for your audience.
Course Objectives ▾
- Visualize data using pie, column, histogram, line, scatter, and combo charts
- Select the appropriate data visualization
- Create charts using design principles
- Design visualizations for your intended audience
- Course 4
Exploring Data in Excel
4hExplore and summarize datasets in Excel by applying descriptive statistics and visualizations to uncover patterns and insights.
Course Objectives ▾
- Define descriptive statistics
- Identify the different types of descriptive statistics
- Identify when to use each descriptive statistic
- Apply and compare different descriptive statistics to a single column, to multiple columns, and to groups of data
- Create visualizations to explore and analyze data
- Course 5
Analyzing Data in Excel
5hAnalyze datasets in Excel using PivotTables, time-series analysis, visualizations, and regression to uncover business insights.
Course Objectives ▾
- Analyze data and discover business insights using PivotTables
- Identify trends over time in time-series data
- Summarize and visualize relationships between categorical and quantitative variables
- Confirm a relationship between an independent and dependent variable using linear regression
- Estimate the sensitivity of an output to given inputs
Part 2: Fundamentals of SQL [5 courses]
Learn about working with data in a SQL database.
- Course 1
Introduction to SQL and Databases
4hDevelop core SQL skills by writing queries to access, explore, and manipulate data stored in relational databases for common data analysis tasks.
Course Objectives ▾
- Define the structure of SQL
- Create basic queries to extract data from tables in a database
- Define databases
- Identify different versions of SQL
- Write good SQL code
- Course 2
Summarizing Data in SQL
2hSummarize large datasets by computing statistics, grouping records, and applying SQL aggregate functions to extract meaningful insights.
Course Objectives ▾
- Employ SQL to compute statistics
- Provide statistics by group
- Filter results over groups
- Course 3
Combining Tables in SQL
3hCombine and analyze data across multiple tables by applying SQL joins and set operators to produce comprehensive, query-ready datasets.
Course Objectives ▾
- Combine tables using inner joins
- Employ different types of joins
- Employ other SQL clauses with joins
- Join on complex conditions
- Employ set operators like UNION and EXCEPT
- Course 4
SQL Subqueries
6hWrite scalable, advanced SQL queries by nesting subqueries and using common table expressions to solve complex analysis problems.
Course Objectives ▾
- Nest a query inside another query
- Employ different types of subqueries
- Employ common table expressions
- Scale your project with complex queries
- Course 5
Window Functions in SQL
6hAnalyze data more effectively by using SQL window functions to compute running metrics, rankings, distributions, and offsets within queries.
Course Objectives ▾
- Set up a frame for window functions
- Compute running aggregations with aggregate window functions
- Explore rank window functions
- Apply distribution window functions
- Use offset window functions
Part 3: Introduction to Python [4 courses]
Introduce yourself to the Python programming language.
- Course 1
Introduction to Python Programming
2hDevelop foundational Python programming skills by writing code, working with variables, and processing numerical and text data.
Course Objectives ▾
- Write computer programs using Python
- Save values using variables
- Process numerical data and text data
- Create lists using Python
- Course 2
Basic Operators and Data Structures in Python
5hStrengthen Python fundamentals by using loops, conditional logic, operators, and dictionaries to manipulate data and construct frequency tables.
Course Objectives ▾
- Use for loops to repeat processes and conduct data analysis
- Implement if, else, and elif statements in programming logic
- Employ logical and comparison operators in Python
- Develop and update Python dictionaries for data manipulation
- Construct frequency tables using dictionaries for data analytics
- Course 3
Python Functions and Jupyter Notebook
7hCreate reusable Python functions and run analyses in Jupyter Notebook to organize code, debug logic, and complete portfolio-ready data projects.
Course Objectives ▾
- Write Python functions
- Debug functions
- Define function arguments
- Write functions that return multiple variables
- Employ Jupyter notebook
- Build a portfolio project
- Course 4
Intermediate Python for Data Science
8hStrengthen your Python data science skills by cleaning text data, working with dates and times, and applying object-oriented programming concepts.
Course Objectives ▾
- Clean and analyze text data
- Define object-oriented programming in Python
- Process dates and times
Part 4: Data Wrangling and Visualization in Python [3 courses]
Learn how to wrangle and visualize data in Python.
- Course 1
Introduction to Pandas and NumPy for Data Analysis
13hDevelop practical skills with NumPy and pandas to explore, clean, and analyze data efficiently using real datasets and guided practice.
Course Objectives ▾
- Improve your workflow using vectorized operations
- Select data by value using Boolean indexing
- Analyze data using pandas and NumPy
- Course 2
Introduction to Data Visualization in Python
7hApply statistical reasoning to visualization by combining Python plotting tools with sound design choices to communicate patterns, trends, and insights clearly.
Course Objectives ▾
- Visualize time series data with line plots
- Define correlations and visualize them with scatter plots
- Visualize frequency distributions with bar plots and histograms
- Improve your exploratory data visualization workflow using pandas
- Visualize multiple variables using Seaborn's relational plots
- Course 3
Data Cleaning and Analysis in Python
11hPractice cleaning and preparing messy datasets in Python by aggregating, reshaping, and combining data for efficient, real-world analysis.
Course Objectives ▾
- Employ data aggregation techniques
- Combine datasets
- Transform and reshape data
- Clean strings and resolve missing data
Part 5: Statistics Fundamentals for Data Analysis in Python [2 courses]
Learn statistics fundamentals for more robust data analysis in Python.
- Course 1
Introduction to Statistics in Python
8hPractice core statistical techniques in Python to sample data, analyze variables, and visualize frequency distributions for real projects.
Course Objectives ▾
- Sample data using simple random sampling, stratified sampling, and cluster sampling
- Measure variables in statistics
- Create frequency distribution tables
- Course 2
Intermediate Statistics in Python
8hDevelop practical skills to summarize distributions, measure variability, and compare values using core statistical tools in Python.
Course Objectives ▾
- Summarize a distribution using the mean, the weighted mean, the median, or the mode
- Measure the variability of a distribution using the variance and the standard deviation
- Compare values using z-scores
Python projects you'll build
15 hands-on projects across the path
Investigative Statistical Analysis - Analyzing Accuracy in Data Presentation
For this project, we'll step into the role of data journalists to analyze movie ratings data and determine if there's evidence of bias in Fandango's rating system. We'll apply statistical analysis skills using Python.
Exploring eBay Car Sales Data
For this project, we'll assume the role of data analysts for a used car classifieds service to explore and clean a dataset of car listings from eBay Kleinanzeigen, a section of the German eBay website.
Finding the Best Markets to Advertise In
For this project, we'll assume the role of analysts for an e-learning company that wants to promote its programming courses. Using Python and pandas, we'll explore survey data from new coders to determine the two best markets to advertise in based on the number of potential customers and their willingness to pay.
Clean and Analyze Employee Exit Surveys
For this project, we'll assume the role of data analysts for the Department of Education, Training and Employment and the Technical and Further Education institute in Queensland, Australia to analyze employee exit surveys and uncover insights about why employees resign.
Profitable App Profiles for the App Store and Google Play Markets
For this project, you'll be a data analyst at a company that builds free, ad-supported Android and iOS apps. To drive revenue, you'll analyze real app market data to find app profiles that attract the most users.
+ 10 more projects throughout the path
Earn your Junior Data Analyst Certificate
Add this Python certificate to your resume or LinkedIn to showcase your skills and stand out in job applications.
Enroll For FreeThe Dataquest guarantee
Dataquest has helped thousands of people start new careers in data. If you put in the work and follow our path, you'll master data skills and grow your career.
We believe so strongly in our paths that we offer a full satisfaction guarantee. If you complete a career path on Dataquest and aren't satisfied with your outcome, we'll give you a refund.
Master skills faster with Dataquest
Go from zero to job-ready
Learn exactly what you need to achieve your goal. Don't waste time on unrelated lessons.
Build your project portfolio
Build confidence with our in-depth projects, and show off your data skills.
Challenge yourself with exercises
Work with real data from day one with interactive lessons and hands-on exercises.
Showcase your path certification
Share the evidence of your hard work with your network and potential employers.
Grow your career with Dataquest.
Dataquest starts at the most basic level, so a beginner can understand the concepts. I tried learning to code before, using Codecademy and Coursera. I struggled because I had no background in coding, and I was spending a lot of time Googling. Dataquest helped me actually learn.
I liked the interactive environment on Dataquest. The material was clear and well organized. I spent more time practicing then watching videos and it made me want to keep learning.
I really love learning on Dataquest. I looked into a couple of other options and I found that they were much too handhold-y and fill in the blank relative to Dataquest's method. The projects on Dataquest were key to getting my job. I doubled my income!
Join 1M+ data learners on Dataquest.
- 1
Create a free account
- 2
Choose a learning path
- 3
Complete exercises and projects
- 4
Advance your career