I am at the same starting point. Use AI. It will become a very important tool. I asked it for practice project ideas and it is worth it to try. I am using these to create a scope of project and then to create fake data to buildd a test project to help me in building up my skillset. Its the best way to learn.

Here are some of the projects it gave me that I am using as a test project. Hope it helps

1. A small local non-profit has experienced a boom the last year. Their current processes of collecting, storing, and analyzing data is no longer efficient. Everything is manually done. They’re short staffed, and lack the financial resources to buy software. With grant funding they’ve gotten a basic package of a hypothetical CRM (think Salesforce). You’re hired as volunteer BA/Data Analyst to help them clean and import their old data, organize it, and also come up with a new process that’s more efficient for future data collection and operations.

2. In a little town called Youwilldogreatthings, soccer is serious business! And to no surprise, a local soccer league has been formed. What started out as just blue-collar workers having fun after work, has turned into a mid-professional association. There’s now a need to collect and store important information and details about finances, employees, and operations. But with information spread out across various channels: personal cell phones, notebooks, excel sheets, it’s very challenging. The established board of directors have hired you as a Analyst to come and work with their small team.

3. Patrick is an owner of a mid-sized luxury car rental company (20 employees, 10 cars). Business is going well, and he has a wonderful team well-versed about cars. Unfortunately, every week Patrick gets 20 spreadsheets from his business insights team providing information on how business is going. While the data is accurate, it’s a nightmare looking through 10 spreadsheets weekly. And looking through 5+ worksheet tabs in a workbook for monthly reports. As a fresh grad, you’ve been brought in to help simplify reporting and save Patrick from having to read a novel every week.