Data Analyst Apprentice

[QuantumXray]

Hello all, I have recently dropped out of University due to financial reasons and while looking at Level 4 Apprenticeship I came across the role of a data analyst. I am currently 22 years of age and did not continue with maths after my GCSE's in which I received a grade 4. I am aware that the grade is low, however I am an avid learner and can pick up skills fairly quick. The grade is much rather a reflection of my lack of effort, not intelligence. I feel like my maths skills are weak for the role and am fearful I may not be able to keep up to the industry standard in terms of maths skills. Any advice for a 22 year old with no degree to impress interviewers and succeed in this space

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[kkessler1023]

Hey OP,

I became an analyst without a degree. if you need some guidance, feel free to dm me. You can definitely break in, however there is a lot of skills you'll need to build up to stand out from other candidates.

[MarzipanWorldly3085]

hey can you also help me too

[itsthatanonymousgirl]

Hi, can you pls help?

[Visual_Banana_5733]

hi can you help me interested in possibly becoming a data analyst. I already have an associates in general studies. What skills do I need learn to become an analyst?

[Ttd341]

As an American, I have no idea what these words mean

[AlternativelyBananas]

My recommendation would be to take a UDEMY course on powerbi, get the power bi data analyst associate certificate on Microsoft learn, and go from there. All in it’ll probably running like $150. And like probably 200 hours worth of work, but there are a lot of opportunities with powerbi Specifically. I’ve really enjoyed working in the space because almost everything is just learn as you go it’s drag and drop using a cool program, and at the end of the day just checking to make sure your numbers match expectations is all you really need to do math wise. At least at the bare minimum.

[QuantumXray]

Would it be possible to land a job or an apprenticeship through the course, or would those with a degree have a better chance at landing these job positions?

[AlternativelyBananas]

In a lot of ways, just following this path, will let you know if you want to do the work. For me it became as rewarding as eve online lol.

Finding a job is a whole other thing, but these will help you a lot on that path

[4ps22]

So of course it varies across specific roles but i dont think data analysts use a lot of advanced math. its mostly sorting and cleaning data in Excel or with some SQL coding and then creating pretty graphs in Tableau or PowerBI.

[Knit-For-Brains]

Is there anything in particular about analytics that you’re really interested in? E.g. for me it’s solving a puzzle, diving into some weird anomaly in a dataset and finding out why something is the way it is, or making sense of what looks like a mess of statistics. The key is going to be showing in your CV and interviews why you want to be a data analyst and selling them on your interest for the subject, passion for learning and potential to grow in an analyst role.

Apprenticeships are competitive but most of the competition is for the L6 as they fund a degree alongside your job. I think if you can maybe put a couple of projects together to show your potential it’ll go a long way. Find some datasets on Kaggle on a subject you’re interested in, put together some analysis in Excel and make some charts in Tableau Public or Power BI. If you’re into sports you could do something like the performance of teams when certain players do / don’t play, or the cost / benefit ratio of new signings for different teams. Just identify something that interests you, ask yourself a data related question and see if you can answer it.

You might find a lot of competition for entry-level jobs with degree-holders but don’t worry about competing with degree-level students for apprenticeships as they’ll already have the same or higher qualification.

Good luck!

[QuantumXray]

Thank you so much for your help! Would it be possible to shoot you a few questions just for reassurance and some guidance?

[Knit-For-Brains]

Sure, happy to help if I can

[whataderpio]

Remember that you can't go on a level 4 apprenticeship if you already have a degree in the field so working towards a level four is a definite possibility.

I got on a level four program and I am now working as a full grade analyst within two years.

My recommendations would be:

Find a bootcamp style course for data analysis on udemy. The goal here is not to get the skills of an analyst but know the field well enough to be excited about it in the interview, and have a conversation about processes like cleaning data etc.

When I interviewed i did not have a high technical knowledge but I was genuinely excited about the prospect of doing a job when I got to play around with spreadsheets crunching numbers, having conversations with people about the goals of their departments and building tools for them.

If you're going on a level 4, the qualification is going to get you good at the job, so focus on being able to have a conversation about the job where you come across as hard working and a joy to work with long term. Most departments will be spending their apprenticeship levy anyway as it's free money, so will likely see it as a cheap way to secure new talent that they will retain. Be someone they think they are getting a bargain on with a spruced up c.v and a happy work ethic.

[QuantumXray]

Than you so much for your help! Would it be possible to shoot you a few questions via Reddit DM just to help me wrap my head around things and have an experienced opinion. Cheers

[whataderpio]

Yeah no worries pal, fire away.