What is a data analyst?

A data analyst is a person whose job is to gather and interpret data in order to solve a specific problem. The role includes plenty of time spent with data, but entails communicating findings too. A data analyst gathers, cleans, and studies data sets to help solve problems. Read our career guide article about what data analysts do .

Why is it valuable to learn how to be a data analyst?

It is valuable to learn about how to be a data analyst because companies in almost every industry would benefit from the work done by data analysts. The insights brought forth by data analysts are extremely valuable to employers who want to learn more about customers, marketing trends, and future scenarios. Data analysts are responsible for the ground-level work of seeing trends and patterns that help businesses eventually decide to make major organizational moves.

What are typical career opportunities available for a data analyst?

Typical career opportunities for data analysts are in major insurance companies; large technology companies like Oracle, IBM, and Siemens; financial credit bureaus; consumer and B2B technology firms; financial firms; and cloud data companies. Data analysts can find jobs in a variety of roles in creative fields as well, as data is researched and used in the marketing, advertising, broadcasting, and film industries too.

How can taking online courses help me learn to be a data analyst?

When you take online courses to be a data analyst, you have the opportunity to learn how to use statistical techniques to acquire data from key sources. You might also uncover key data analysis concepts in Python programming, data science, pivot tables, data visualization, and more. Online courses can expose you to new insights on how to identify, analyze, filter, clean, and report on data that show trends or patterns that have been researched in complex data sets.

What are the benefits of taking an online Data Analyst course?

Online Data Analyst courses offer a convenient and flexible way to enhance your knowledge or learn new Data Analyst skills. Choose from a wide range of Data Analyst courses offered by top universities and industry leaders tailored to various skill levels.

What Data Analyst courses are best for training and upskilling employees or the workforce?

When looking to enhance your workforce's skills in Data Analyst, it's crucial to select a course that aligns with their current abilities and learning objectives. Our Skills Dashboard is an invaluable tool for identifying skill gaps and choosing the most appropriate course for effective upskilling. For a comprehensive understanding of how our courses can benefit your employees, explore the enterprise solutions we offer. Discover more about our tailored programs at Coursera for Business here .

Best Data Analyst Courses & Certificates [2025]

Explore the Data Analyst Course Catalog

Status: Free Trial
Status: AI skills
IBM
IBM Data Analyst
Skills you'll gain: Data Storytelling, Dashboard, Data Visualization Software, Plotly, Data Visualization, Predictive Modeling, Generative AI, SQL, Interactive Data Visualization, Exploratory Data Analysis, Data Wrangling, Data Analysis, Big Data, Jupyter, Matplotlib, Statistical Analysis, Pandas (Python Package), IBM Cognos Analytics, Excel Formulas, Professional Networking
Build toward a degree
4.6
Rating, 4.6 out of 5 stars
92K reviews
Beginner · Professional Certificate · 3 - 6 Months
Status: Free Trial
Status: New AI skills
Google
Google Data Analytics
Skills you'll gain: Data Storytelling, Rmarkdown, Data Literacy, Data Visualization, Data Presentation, Data Ethics, Interactive Data Visualization, Interviewing Skills, Data Cleansing, Data Validation, Ggplot2, Professional Networking, Tableau Software, Presentations, Spreadsheet Software, Data Analysis, Data Visualization Software, Stakeholder Communications, Dashboard, Sampling (Statistics)
Build toward a degree
4.8
Rating, 4.8 out of 5 stars
168K reviews
Beginner · Professional Certificate · 3 - 6 Months
Status: Free Trial
Microsoft
Microsoft Data Visualization
Skills you'll gain: Data Storytelling, Data Analysis Expressions (DAX), Data Presentation, Power BI, Data Ethics, Dashboard, Data Visualization Software, Data Modeling, Data Governance, Extract, Transform, Load, Interactive Data Visualization, Business Intelligence, Data Analysis, Statistical Analysis, Data Architecture, Correlation Analysis, Data Cleansing, Data Transformation, Database Design, Statistical Visualization
4.7
Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
67 reviews
Beginner · Professional Certificate · 3 - 6 Months
Status: New
Status: Free Trial
Status: AI skills
DeepLearning.AI
DeepLearning.AI Data Analytics
Skills you'll gain: Data Storytelling, Data Presentation, Web Scraping, Google Sheets, Data Visualization, Spreadsheet Software, Large Language Modeling, Dashboard, Tableau Software, Pandas (Python Package), Time Series Analysis and Forecasting, Probability & Statistics, Extract, Transform, Load, Statistical Analysis, Statistics, Statistical Modeling, Matplotlib, Data Visualization Software, Data Validation, Data Processing
4.7
Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
90 reviews
Beginner · Professional Certificate · 3 - 6 Months
Status: Free Trial
IBM
Introduction to Data Analytics
Skills you'll gain: Big Data, Data Analysis, Statistical Analysis, Apache Hadoop, Data Wrangling, Apache Hive, Data Collection, Data Mart, Data Warehousing, Analytics, Apache Spark, Data Cleansing, Data Lakes, Extract, Transform, Load, Data Visualization Software
4.8
Rating, 4.8 out of 5 stars
19K reviews
Beginner · Course · 1 - 3 Months
Status: Free Trial
IBM
Excel Basics for Data Analysis
Skills you'll gain: Excel Formulas, Microsoft Excel, Data Cleansing, Data Analysis, Data Import/Export, Spreadsheet Software, Data Wrangling, Data Quality, Pivot Tables And Charts, Google Sheets, Data Manipulation, Data Visualization Software, Information Privacy
4.8
Rating, 4.8 out of 5 stars
9.7K reviews
Beginner · Course · 1 - 3 Months
Status: Free Trial
IBM
Data Analysis with Python
Skills you'll gain: Predictive Modeling, Exploratory Data Analysis, Data Wrangling, Data Analysis, Data Import/Export, Pandas (Python Package), Statistical Modeling, Data-Driven Decision-Making, Data Manipulation, Scikit Learn (Machine Learning Library), Regression Analysis, Feature Engineering, Matplotlib, Data Cleansing, NumPy, Descriptive Statistics, Supervised Learning, Data Pipelines
4.7
Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
19K reviews
Intermediate · Course · 1 - 3 Months
Status: Free Trial
Status: AI skills
Microsoft
Microsoft Power BI Data Analyst
Skills you'll gain: Data Storytelling, Dashboard, Excel Formulas, Extract, Transform, Load, Power BI, Data Analysis Expressions (DAX), Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Copilot, Data Modeling, Data-Driven Decision-Making, Star Schema, Data Analysis, Data Presentation, Data Visualization Software, Spreadsheet Software, Data Validation, Interactive Data Visualization, Data Transformation, Data Cleansing, Data Storage
Build toward a degree
4.6
Rating, 4.6 out of 5 stars
7.3K reviews
Beginner · Professional Certificate · 3 - 6 Months
Status: Free Trial
IBM
Python for Data Science, AI & Development
Skills you'll gain: Jupyter, Automation, Web Scraping, Python Programming, Data Manipulation, Data Import/Export, Scripting, Data Structures, Data Processing, Data Collection, Application Programming Interface (API), Pandas (Python Package), Programming Principles, NumPy, Object Oriented Programming (OOP), Computer Programming
4.6
Rating, 4.6 out of 5 stars
41K reviews
Beginner · Course · 1 - 3 Months
Status: Free Trial
Google
Google Advanced Data Analytics
Skills you'll gain: Exploratory Data Analysis, Data Storytelling, Statistical Hypothesis Testing, Data Ethics, Data Visualization Software, Sampling (Statistics), Data Presentation, Regression Analysis, Feature Engineering, Data Transformation, Descriptive Statistics, Professional Networking, Data Visualization, Tableau Software, Data Manipulation, Statistical Analysis, Statistical Machine Learning, Object Oriented Programming (OOP), Data Analysis, Interviewing Skills
Build toward a degree
4.7
Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
6.3K reviews
Advanced · Professional Certificate · 3 - 6 Months
Status: Free Trial
Google
Foundations: Data, Data, Everywhere
Skills you'll gain: Data Ethics, Data Analysis, Data-Driven Decision-Making, Google Sheets, Spreadsheet Software, Analytical Skills, Data Sharing, Data Cleansing, Data Processing, Data Visualization Software, SQL, Data Management
4.8
Rating, 4.8 out of 5 stars
115K reviews
Beginner · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks
Status: Free
Coursera Project Network
Introduction to Data Analysis using Microsoft Excel
Skills you'll gain: Microsoft Excel, Excel Formulas, Spreadsheet Software, Pivot Tables And Charts, Data Analysis, Data Manipulation, Data Mining
4.7
Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
4K reviews
Intermediate · Guided Project · Less Than 2 Hours