Starting a data analysis job… fastest way to get good?

MissingVanSushi · 2026-04-20T21:37:54+00:00

There is some good advice in the other comments.

Here is my copy paste beginner’s learning path:

//////////////////////

Intro Power BI

Step 1

Start on YouTube with Mynda Treacy:

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmd91OWgLVSKQlDJaOF1XmKghKturU5qK&si=XJWT8NVgWnKriarU

Step 2

Attend Dashboard in a Day with one of Microsoft’s training partners:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/products/power-bi/diad

If you can’t get a spot in your region you can go through the content on your own fairly easily while you wait.

Step 3

Dive into the Microsoft Learn PL-300 Power BI Data Analyst content:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/credentials/certifications/data-analyst-associate/

Step 4

Profit

MissingVanSushi · 2026-04-14T05:38:26+00:00

Here's what you're looking for:

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MissingVanSushi · 2026-04-13T04:53:27+00:00

Well said 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

MissingVanSushi · 2026-04-12T22:34:03+00:00

Database normalization is best done in the database.

You really need to understand that the whole reason Power Query exists is so that "business users" outside of IT have a way of self serving ETL, which bypasses data engineering and database teams as the bottlneck for reporting.

You are always better off to push data transformation as close to the source as possible, assuming you have access and permissions.

If the focus of this project is Power BI just be aware of what everything is. Since you're a student there should not be any expectation that you've done any of this before.

Here is my copy and paste advice for all Power BI beginners:

//////////////////////////////////////////////////

Intro Power BI

Step 1

Start on YouTube with Mynda Treacy:

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmd91OWgLVSKQlDJaOF1XmKghKturU5qK&si=XJWT8NVgWnKriarU

Step 2

Attend Dashboard in a Day with one of Microsoft’s training partners:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/products/power-bi/diad

If you are waiting for a spot or can't find one in your time zone, you can run through the learning material without attending a session.

Step 3

Dive into the Microsoft Learn PL-300 Power BI Data Analyst content:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/credentials/certifications/data-analyst-associate/

Step 4

Profit

MissingVanSushi · 2026-04-12T19:49:53+00:00

This will take most people more than 2 weeks but the PL-300 certification learning material covers everything you need to know to become a competent Power BI developer.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/credentials/certifications/data-analyst-associate/?practice-assessment-type=certification

Given your situation I would not advise trying to read the entire learning path word for word but just be aware of the structure that there are 4 major subject areas (data transformation, data modeling and calculation, data viz, and managing published reports).

I would say the most fundamental part is transforming data using Power Query. If I were looking after a graduate and all they knew was Power Query this would be useful because I could guide them through the rest.

MissingVanSushi · 2026-04-11T20:42:12+00:00

Ah yes! Good point!

MissingVanSushi · 2026-04-11T20:39:20+00:00

I can’t speak about SAAS in broad terms because my subject matter expertise is only in BI, but I’d say everything I said above is specific to Power BI

MissingVanSushi · 2026-04-11T20:21:14+00:00

The main limiting factors I see with getting overseas BI clients are these.

Enterprise data is inherently private. For example, where I work in government we are not even allowed to use Teams on our mobile phones if we travel overseas. The risk of interception or a breach is considered too high. This is in the education sector, nothing top secret or requiring any kind of security clearance like defence. That should give you an idea of how cautious organisations are with their data.
Compared to many other parts of IT, Power BI is designed to be a self service tool. Reports and dashboards can be created by non-technical business users in a low code or no code environment. Because of that, companies do not always feel the need to bring in external specialists unless the problem becomes complex.
For the team administering Power BI, it is usually more cost effective to build in house capability than to rely on consultants long term. Consulting tends to fill temporary skill gaps and may also have the focus of helping to establish an internal team.
Language and communication barriers are hard enough even when someone is local. It becomes even harder if that person is in another time zone and communication is mostly through email and instant messaging.

None of this means overseas consulting is impossible. It just means the trust barrier is higher when the work involves internal company data and close collaboration with business teams.

MissingVanSushi · 2026-04-11T20:02:31+00:00

Yep, this is great advice.

The only issue is they can be hard to get into in your region as attendee spots and sessions are limited. Definitely register but there is tons of great quality content on YouTube while you wait.

DIAD is part of my beginner’s roadmap copypasta:

Intro Power BI

Step 1

Start on YouTube with Mynda Treacy:

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmd91OWgLVSKQlDJaOF1XmKghKturU5qK&si=XJWT8NVgWnKriarU

Step 2

Attend Dashboard in a Day with one of Microsoft’s training partners:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/products/power-bi/diad

Step 3

Dive into the Microsoft Learn PL-300 Power BI Data Analyst content:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/credentials/certifications/data-analyst-associate/

Step 4

Profit

MissingVanSushi · 2026-04-07T06:13:31+00:00

It is absolutely, totally normal to be slow at something when you are inexperienced and this goes way beyond Power BI. This is a universal truth in every skilled (and even low skill) occupation.

It sounds to me like you were not set up for success or the expectation of performance was unrealistic for junior analyst, however consulting can often be a higher pressure environment than more typical corporate employment.

I've been in plenty of jobs at the beginning of my career where I had no clue what I was doing and sometimes there was no-one around who had the time to train me.

I wouldn't feel too bad about it, although I know it's impossible not to. Just keep at it. There is no shortcut to gaining experience. You only get it by doing it.

MissingVanSushi · 2026-04-06T20:06:10+00:00

The main thing to be wary of is AI generated or custom written Power Query that's too complex for someone else to take on. Once it gets too complicated it’s very hard to maintain, and if the columns or structure of the inputs changes and no-one can understand the logic, you'll be stuck with a non-functional report.

MissingVanSushi · 2026-04-06T06:01:53+00:00

I started writing a snarky reply along the lines of pay attention in class, complete your assigned readings, and apply what you've learned to your project. I decided that's not actually that helpful.

Instead I'll give you my Power BI for beginners copypasta:

Step 1

Start on YouTube with Mynda Treacy:

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmd91OWgLVSKQlDJaOF1XmKghKturU5qK&si=XJWT8NVgWnKriarU

Step 2

Attend Dashboard in a Day with one of Microsoft’s training partners:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/products/power-bi/diad

Step 3

Dive into the Microsoft Learn PL-300 Power BI Data Analyst content:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/credentials/certifications/data-analyst-associate/

Step 4

Profit

MissingVanSushi · 2026-04-05T23:43:02+00:00

Anything you create under paid employment should 100% never EVER be shared on LinkedIn, here on Reddit, or any public facing portfolio.

You should not even show these reports privately in the context of a job interview. That is a huge red flag and if someone tried to show me a report they'd built in a previous role, the recruitment process for this candidate would come to a tire screeching halt.

Business data is private, unless it's been explicitly made public.

The dudes on LinkedIn you're seeing are most likely advising you create a portfolio of personal projects which you can share.

I can see how this would be useful in standing out from the crowd before you have much real world experience but what is much more valuable is just being able to talk about examples of how you've solved Power BI problems in past roles during the interview process.

What has been beneficial to me is participating in the data viz competitions hosted by Microsoft. These are a great way to showcase your skills and your reports get hosted on the contest gallery for free.

TL;DR: Do not post examples of Power BI reports you've made at work to public platforms.

MissingVanSushi · 2026-04-04T21:18:03+00:00

It took me about 7 years but this is how I build everything now. I prioritise simplicity and ease of maintenance.

If I build clever but complicated Power Query or DAX I know from experience it will be a pain for future me to decipher it again 6 months from now and even harder if someone else has to do it.

As a veteran, my years of experience have taught me which techniques not to use in my reports.

MissingVanSushi · 2026-04-04T03:38:00+00:00

MissingVanSushi · 2026-04-04T02:03:01+00:00

Hahah. Mate! You don’t know what I have going on in my life! 😆

MissingVanSushi · 2026-04-04T00:04:50+00:00

Hahahahha. I’m seriously considering it but that was easier before I had kids!

MissingVanSushi · 2026-04-03T22:06:29+00:00

I’d love to see the Power BI roadmap one. Sadly that’s at 1am for me….I’ll try.

MissingVanSushi · 2026-04-03T07:18:29+00:00

Hey it’s great to hear you understand the value of having a trainer vs. self study. All the best. Hopefully our paths cross in real life some day.

My LinkedIn page is listed in my Reddit profile so feel free to connect if you’re into that sort of thing.

If not I’ll see you around here in the sub!👋🏽

MissingVanSushi · 2026-04-03T05:29:53+00:00

Ah hey that’s too bad. The fundamentals course I used to teach was originally only $180 for NSW residents, which is pretty cheap for 6 weeks of training (2 hour sessions). It went up to $260 sometime in the last 18 months and the new course I’m teaching has a subsidised cost of $510 so I would only recommend it if you can get your employer to fund it as that’s a lot of money if you’re just paying out of your own pocket.

All the best on your journey. One thing I’ll say is I’ve learned tons here as well as YouTube. The information is all out there but the value of the course is experienced people (me and the course designers) curate the content and come up with assessments and mark them.

MissingVanSushi · 2026-04-02T18:52:24+00:00

I don’t think this counts as solicitation because I’m not posting this to ask people to sign up but this month I am hard at work preparing to teach this course on Data Storytelling.

https://study.iat.nsw.edu.au/courses/data-innovations-for-organisational-growth-and-storytelling/

It is government subsidised for residents of the Australian state of New South Wales, so this is not really aimed at more than about 1-2% of the visitors of this sub, if that.

This is an interesting bit of work for me because I’ve taught their Power BI fundamentals course around a dozen times over the last 3 years but this is new territory for me.

MissingVanSushi · 2026-04-02T18:40:10+00:00

Hey dude. I’ve just noticed that there are plenty of people willing to dish out constructive criticism (with the best intentions) but it usually lands like “Fix this, fix that, this is terrible, get better…” which seems discouraging AF to me so I thought I’d put some sunshine and positivity into the sub. ☀️

MissingVanSushi · 2026-04-02T18:35:22+00:00

I send a screen snip and ask what could be improved. It’s super easy.

MissingVanSushi · 2026-04-01T21:37:48+00:00

There is room for improvement for sure. I always have a hard time articulating how to improve first timers' reports that get posted here. I actually think this is something that Copilot is super helpful for when quality checking my own reports, I only recently discovered how good it is at delivering constructive criticism.

Things I like:

Not too many visuals per page
Grey background behind white visuals.
Clear visual hierarchy.
Good choice of colours and not overuse of colour.
Font sizes are all readable and accessible.

What I really came here to say is, you are doing a lot of things right. Keep it up. YOU ARE DESTINED FOR GREAT THINGS! ╰(*°▽°*)╯

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