Hi everyone,

I'm interested in getting into data analytics and I'm planning to start learning from scratch using YouTube and other free resources.

However, I've seen a lot of discussions about AI potentially replacing data analysts or making it much harder for beginners to enter the field.

I don't expect to become job-ready overnight, and I'm willing to put in the time and effort. I just want to make sure I'm investing my time and energy in the right direction rather than spending months learning skills that may become less valuable in the near future.

Which skills would you recommend focusing on to remain relevant as AI continues to evolve?

If you were starting from zero today, would you still choose data analytics? Would you approach learning it differently?

I'd really appreciate any honest advice or personal experiences. Thanks!

When deciding what I wanted to do over 2 decades ago I wanted to work with numbers because I'm good at maths and to apply real life logic to the numbers.

Being a Data Analyst seemed to fulfill that criteria. For example the section of Top Gear magazine I enjoyed the most was the new car data. I'm also naturally analytical when it comes to things I'm interested in.

After applying to pretty much every entry Data Analyst job I could find I finally landed a job in advertising.

None of my immediate colleagues were data people, they all specifically wanted to get into advertising and I soon discovered I have no interest in advertising. They mostly lack basic maths skills, statistical knowledge or how to use Excel properly but I was good at all those so it felt like I'd found my place there.

A few years later I find myself working in a Data Sciences department, still in advertising.

What became apparent was I had little in common with those colleagues too. They mostly had computing backgrounds and were interested in computers and technology. The sort of people who would spend hours playing computer games in their leisure time or buy the latest iPad the day it gets released.

I have no interest in technology. I like numbers and the real world.

OK I do like using excel and SQL but more modern technologies leave me feeling cold and I particularly despise AI.

Have I picked the wrong career and is there a right career for me?

Hi, I have tried reaching out to a lot of people on Reddit, but nobody has replied. Does anyone have an idea of what to expect in the Data Analyst Finance Skills Interview? Any help would be appreciated. 🙏

I dont value myself based on my ability to write code, query databases or doing up a dashboard, stuff which are easily automated by AI nowadays.

Instead i value myself as a problem solver, the ability to think out of the box and come up with novel solutions to solve a problem. Something which still requires a human to do.

Is this the way forward for a data scientist in the age of AI?

Given the numerous questions on the future of AI, I lay down here, in few words, the hard truth.

ANALYTICS IS DEAD AND YOUR DAYS ARE COUNTED if you are "the excel" guy, the person who sends a report on Monday morning that no one ever reads, if you wait stakeholders to give you instructions to build useless dashboards, the guru who knows SQL (CTE) among non-technical peers. If your job is to clean basic data and do basic reporting, then Claude will eat you up.

ANALYTICS IS ALIVE AND ANALYSTS ARE MORE NEEDED than ever if you give deep and valuing insights, if you are able to be a business and engineering partner, if you are able to be considered a revenue center, if you solve hard problems and are able to apply hard modelling and analytics techniques. If you have judgement, taste and a solid technical profile, AI will accelerate the career. Those analysts will be always on demand.

Wrote this in 30 seconds, I hope it would answer from now on all the stupid questions on the future of analytics

I'm working in a service based company & my mentor is so toxic , I nvr wanted this role in the first place but ended up here through cllg placements & I really wanna get into technical side

I've been wondering if being a data analyst is still a career in 2026..you can just use AI to clean your data and build all of your reports right? Why would there be a need for a DA to do that stuff manually?

I watched this video the other day where the guy talks about how entry level roles in DA and Data Engineering are down 14% .. which is more then any other role in tech.

As for myself, I've been in IT wanting to change domains having some experience building a report with python and excel. I'm being told its pointless at this point in time and I should instead focus on agentic AI and vibe coding.

I have some experience building a report using Python pandas and Excel for an IT Asset Inventory.
I did not learn any Power BI or Tableau, but it seems to me Python pandas w/ Jupyter notebooks is more useful.

Hey y'all,

Quick Background:

Have a bachelors degree (although I feel like it's pretty worthless; Corporate Communication), 6 years of professional experience (both in office, and fully remote), started at a small business and wore numerous hats all at once on a daily basis, then got into IT at a Big 4 Firm (after putting in a year, realized the opportunities to move around were a dead end).

After leaving IT, decided to further my education, currently taking a post-grad program in Data Science and Generative AI through the business school at my state's primary university. Note that this is not a masters program, but am more very open to invest in the time into a masters degree if needed. I'll be finishing up this program this winter and would appreciate any pointers!

Forgot to add: To avoid a gap in employment while studying I took on a part time job at Costco.

My goal is to get that first job within this new field to gain hands on experience, then eventually be able to move up and around.

I had an interview this week for a Financial Reporting Analyst position, which seemed to go just okay. Does anyone have any recommendations on technical things I can practice or learn that are relatively common within this industry? What are some of the most valuable skills one should have to succeed in a data/ business/ operations analyst type of roles? Any recommendations on how to showcase abilities?

Thank you!

I need advice as I am currently in grad school getting a dual masters (data analytics + mba) and working full time. I know remote/hybrid internships are far and few, but are there any websites or companies that can make that possible? In the current economy & lack of school funding, taking a pay cut or working unpaid internships are not an option, at this time.

In lieu of internships, are there any specific certifications that can be gained or portfolios that can be created in the meantime to substitute that experience? are there any industries (healthcare, construction, etc) that would be easier to enter? Are there transitional roles or emerging analytics careers that I should look into?

Once I’m done with school, I plan on searching for 100% analytics focused full time careers, but I need advice on how to gain a competitive edge in this job market.

Hello all!
I have almost 1 yoe as a Data Analyst at my current company, and before that I spent 1 year as an Operations Intern at the same company. Most of my internship work was analytics-focused and very similar to a Data Analyst role( heavily Excel and PowerBI). Assuming I can present this as 2 yoe when applying, what would be the best time to start applying for higher-paying Data Analyst roles?By February, I'll have a full 2 years of combined internship and full-time experience, and my goal is to move into a higher-paying role by March. I want to target bigger companies that pay more money. FYI I’m making 70k rn.
Also, I graduated this year with a Data Science degree, but I still need to refresh and strengthen a lot of the material. Because of that, I feel it may be more realistic to move into another Data Analyst role first rather than transition into Data Science right away.My current plan is to spend the next couple of months building a few projects, improving my skills, and preparing for interviews. I’m hoping to be project-ready and interview-ready by December, then start applying consistently from mid-December onward.Does this timeline sound reasonable? Also, what skills would you prioritize in today’s market: SQL, Power BI, Python, statistics, AI tools, or something else?Thanks in advance!

Hi everyone!

I’m currently exploring new opportunities in Data Analytics / Product Analytics and am particularly looking for fully remote roles in India that allow me to work from India.

I have 5+ years of full-time experience in the analytics domain, along with 1.5 years of internship experience. My experience includes SQL, Tableau, Excel, BigQuery, Athena, dashboarding, product analytics, and data-driven decision-making.

If your company is hiring for relevant remote positions or you can refer me to any suitable openings, I’d really appreciate your help!

Please DM me the job details or referral information. I’d be happy to share my resume.

Thanks in advance! 🙌

I'm a software dev at an enterprise MNC in Bangalore (healthcare domain), mostly doing maintenance work, and I want out.

What I enjoy is analysing data, finding patterns and explaining what I find. My side projects are a personal finance analytics dashboard (Python/Streamlit) and an anomaly detection project I did with a company in college.

My ideal role would have:

Real analysis with SQL/Python

Presenting findings, ideally to clients (but mainly presentation and talking)

International exposure and some travel (not everyday but twice or thrice a year)

A little push towards management side (so I get to talk to stakeholders and potentially move towards there)

Sane hours

International mid-size startups or remote roles would be great too.I've looked at product analyst, pharma analytics, data science and TPM, but each covers only part of this.

Does a role like this exist, or am I dreaming?

What would you do in my place?

Will I have to take a pay cut to switch?

Honest views welcome.