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
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 Science, Data Warehousing, Data Visualization, Analytics, Data Cleansing, Apache Spark, Data Lakes, Data Visualization Software, Microsoft Excel
4.8
Rating, 4.8 out of 5 stars
19K reviews
Beginner · Course · 1 - 3 Months
Status: Free Trial
Status: AI skills
Microsoft
Microsoft Power BI Data Analyst
Skills you'll gain: Power BI, Microsoft Excel, Data Analysis, Data Literacy, Data Visualization, Data Storage, Microsoft Power Platform, Data Collection, Data Quality, Business Analytics, Timelines, Advanced Analytics, Database Design, Statistical Reporting, Statistical Visualization, Business Intelligence, Data Integration, Data Storage Technologies, SQL, Data Manipulation
Build toward a degree
4.6
Rating, 4.6 out of 5 stars
8.2K reviews
Beginner · Professional Certificate · 3 - 6 Months
Status: Free Trial
Status: AI skills
Google
Google Data Analytics
Skills you'll gain: Data Storytelling, Rmarkdown, Data Literacy, Data Visualization, Data Presentation, Data Ethics, Data Cleansing, Data Validation, Ggplot2, Tableau Software, Sampling (Statistics), Presentations, Spreadsheet Software, Data Analysis, Data Visualization Software, LinkedIn, Dashboard, Data Processing, Interviewing Skills, Professional Development
Build toward a degree
4.8
Rating, 4.8 out of 5 stars
174K reviews
Beginner · Professional Certificate · 3 - 6 Months
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, Matplotlib, IBM Cognos Analytics, Excel Formulas, Professional Networking, Data Import/Export, Microsoft Excel, Python Programming
Build toward a degree
4.6
Rating, 4.6 out of 5 stars
95K reviews
Beginner · Professional Certificate · 3 - 6 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, Python Programming, Data Cleansing, NumPy, Data Visualization, 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
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 Science, Data Integrity, Information Privacy
4.8
Rating, 4.8 out of 5 stars
10K reviews
Beginner · Course · 1 - 3 Months

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Status: Free Trial
Status: AI skills
Meta
Meta Data Analyst
Skills you'll gain: Data Storytelling, Business Metrics, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), Data Management, Data Collection, Data Governance, Bayesian Statistics, Data Visualization, Descriptive Statistics, Statistical Hypothesis Testing, Information Privacy, Data Cleansing, Pandas (Python Package), Data Quality, Data Analysis, Data Visualization Software, Spreadsheet Software, Exploratory Data Analysis, SQL, Python Programming
4.7
Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
1.6K reviews
Beginner · Professional Certificate · 3 - 6 Months
Status: Free Trial
Google
Google Advanced Data Analytics
Skills you'll gain: Data Storytelling, Data Visualization, Data Ethics, Exploratory Data Analysis, Sampling (Statistics), Data Presentation, Data Visualization Software, Feature Engineering, Regression Analysis, Descriptive Statistics, Statistical Hypothesis Testing, Advanced Analytics, Data Analysis, Data Science, Tableau Software, Statistical Analysis, Machine Learning, Object Oriented Programming (OOP), Interviewing Skills, Python Programming
Build toward a degree
4.7
Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
8.4K reviews
Advanced · Professional Certificate · 3 - 6 Months
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, Microsoft Office, Data Mining
4.7
Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
4.3K reviews
Intermediate · Guided Project · Less Than 2 Hours
Status: Free Trial
Unilever
Unilever Supply Chain Data Analyst
Skills you'll gain: Data Governance, Descriptive Analytics, Data Storytelling, Supply Chain, Supply Chain Management, Demand Planning, Presentations, Data Visualization, Supply Chain Systems, Supply Chain Planning, Transportation, Supply Chain, and Logistics, Process Improvement, Data Management, Data Lakes, Predictive Analytics, Forecasting, Data Analysis, Data Analysis Software, Real Time Data, Problem Solving
4.7
Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
517 reviews
Beginner · Professional Certificate · 3 - 6 Months
Status: Free Trial
Google
Foundations: Data, Data, Everywhere
Skills you'll gain: Data Ethics, Data Analysis, Analytics, Data-Driven Decision-Making, Google Sheets, Business Analytics, Spreadsheet Software, Analytical Skills, Tableau Software, Data Sharing, Data Collection, Data Cleansing, Data Processing, Data Visualization Software, Data Visualization, SQL
4.8
Rating, 4.8 out of 5 stars
118K reviews
Beginner · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks
Status: Free Trial
Microsoft
Data Analysis and Visualization with Power BI
Skills you'll gain: Dashboard, Power BI, Data Storytelling, Data Visualization Software, Microsoft Power Platform, Data Visualization, Data Presentation, Advanced Analytics, Statistical Reporting, Interactive Data Visualization, Business Intelligence, Data Analysis, Data-Driven Decision-Making, Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, Time Series Analysis and Forecasting
4.7
Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
833 reviews
Beginner · Course · 1 - 3 Months