The journey to becoming a “real” data analyst — When I began speaking at conferences about the importance of analytics, I found that convincing an audience of its value was the easy part. …

The journey to becoming a “real” data analyst — Let’s start with a quick summary of three common misconceptions about analytics: Analytics is statistics. (No.) Analytics is data journalism / marketing / storytelling. (No.) Analytics is decision-making. (No!) Misconception #1: Analytics versus statistics While the tools and equations they use are similar, analysts and statisticians are trained to do very different jobs (learn more…

The journey to becoming a “real” data analyst — There are some big differences between an amateur and a professional analyst. We covered the first 6 of 10 in detail in my previous articles [1] [2] and now we’ll dive into a huge one: realistic expectations. Data pro vs amateur difference #7 — Realistic expectations of data If you’re a professional analyst, you know that data doesn’t owe you anything…

The journey to becoming a “real” data analyst — At the start of this blog series, I set out to prove to you that you’re already a data analyst. Yes, you! If you’re reading this, you’re doing analytics right at this very moment. I felt it was important to start there not only for the inspirational message — you…

10 differences between amateurs and professional analysts — Previously, I introduced you to a few analytics tasks disguised as everyday activities to prove that you’re already a data analyst. For example, consider the image below. Digital photos are stored as a bunch of numbers (left) that make no sense to your brain until you open them with suitable…

Yes, you. — Do you think of yourself as “not a data person”? Or perhaps you’re eager to become a data analyst but you’re worried you’d need to take a course, or worse, a whole PhD degree, just to get started? I’d like to take this opportunity to prove to you that you’re…

Plain-language band-aids to fix gaps in your statistics knowledge — Got some gaps in your statistics knowledge? Or perhaps you’re here for tips on how to communicate data science concepts to beginners? Let me do my best to point you towards some to-the-point explanations! Note: Whenever there’s a link, it usually takes you to another article where I’ve explained a…

Tips to help you stick to your New Year’s resolutions — Happy 2022! As always, some resolutions might not go as planned, but this year, let’s get you set up for success with a few tips for hacking your motivation. I bet more than a few of you have made New Year’s resolutions in the classic categories: diet and exercise. You’ll…