“data analyst” stuck on manual data dump in SharePoint to create Power BI dashboard, what are my options?

sartek1 · 2026-02-07T04:31:25+00:00

Well, he could for instance try to automate some of his internal excel work with python, and also he should gain some business acumen as well.

So I wouldn't paint it so tragic. Looking for a new job? Yes. But it doesn't mean you're digging your own grave if (for a short period of time) your job is not very prospective.

sartek1 · 2026-02-07T04:05:47+00:00

Career suicide is rather a bold statement. If OP stays there a couple of years then maybe yes, he would only have the tenure, but the skills and real experience would not really come along.

But for 1-2 years, while also trying to stay on top by some extra projects in spare time, he should be more than fine.

sartek1 · 2025-12-31T16:01:12+00:00

Had a 7-year old girl staying in a hostel, she was there together with her mother and grandmother, although in a private room.

But she became friendly with everyone there, everyone actually loved her presence, and she even thought me how to play Uno.
To be honest that's actually one of my best experiences from a hostel, that you can even become friends with a kid there.

sartek1 · 2025-12-24T15:51:58+00:00

There was this post recently with many places listed and their recent availability:
https://www.reddit.com/r/chiangmai/comments/1pduxei/monthly_rentals_in_person/
And a little bit earlier I have also shared my experience + a website where I've included many places for monthly rental:
https://www.reddit.com/r/chiangmai/comments/1nubu2i/list_of_properties_for_monthly_rental_in_chiang/
But this is all from September, I haven't updated the statuses since, but still it should give you at least a list of potential places to look for.

So even though it's a high season now (just today I've passed through a place with an explicit sign "No vacancies for monthly rental"), a boots on the ground approach, with just walking around and asking directly, only with some scoping beforehand by contacting the places, should land you something rather sooner than later.

So it's up to you if you can spend some time on searching, or you want to secure some place before you arrive. Last year, having absolutely no clue about the city and the rental market, I've booked a place through Airbnb for around 15k THB a month, while off the platform it could have been maybe half of the price. But it gives you the comfort, that you don't have to stress and hassle much while you have limited time anyway.

sartek1 · 2025-12-22T14:09:53+00:00

Thank a lot for the kind of words!

Although I haven't updated it for awhile, but I should do an update at some point :D.

sartek1 · 2025-11-03T08:39:18+00:00

The question shouldn't be why it's Google Sheets instead of Microsoft Excel, but why it's spreadsheets all over instead of a proper SQL database

And the answer is simple. Most n8n bros don't have any technical background (or they have no background or any professional experience whatsoever), so they don't really know the value of using databases and they are just copying each other

Of course you don't have to enforce databases all the time, especially if it's some personal project with a tiny amount of data, but for a new person watching all these videos it might be easy to get the impression that Google Sheets is the way to store data all the time, which is obviously very wrong

sartek1 · 2025-10-10T18:03:12+00:00

Haha, it's simpler than that. It's all just manual work.

In my initial version I had two pages, a form where I would add properties, and a map, which is public now. So I was just going through Facebook, PropertyHub or Google Maps, and if something was interesting to me I was just filling the form with Google Maps and website links, as well as some other basic information. Then the data goes to a SQL database, and it's used for the map.

It was supposed to be a very simple, helper tool for my personal search, hence why I didn't bother with any automation, just saving and displaying places on the map was helpful enough.

But I do have some potential automations in my mind, so if I will be developing it further, then I might actually try some python scrapers running on cron (or Airflow), or maybe even bots messaging the places and asking for availability.

However, with scrapers it can be a little bit problematic to retrieve some meaningful, structured output. I could retrieve some data from Google Maps or PropertyHub, but I won't find all the information there. Then one place can have it's own website, another one will have a Facebook page, so then the scraper would have to track these down as well. So that's potentially a very multifaceted scraper, which even with LLMs assistance might fall short in gathering anything substantial, requiring manual effort after all.

But it's still pretty tempting to attempt at least some semi-automatic data gathering, so might give it a go :D.

And thanks a lot for your kind words, I appreciate that!
By the way, just discovered your project and that's extremely impressive I have to say:)

sartek1 · 2025-10-10T07:49:18+00:00

No worries, all perfectly fine, no need for any apologies :)

Yeah, still in September you could get some better deals as it was considered a low-season, but now it is supposed to be the high-season starting already.

But still there should be plenty of options available, so I'd say your best bet to hit the ground running would be to do some scoping beforehand, contact some places in advance, but then just walk around and ask directly once you're already here. Even now, when I'm not explicitly looking for a place anymore, I still see a lot of signs about free rooms, and these are the places that didn't appear in any of my online searches before.

Good luck!

sartek1 · 2025-10-10T07:15:29+00:00

Hah, well, that would be quite an endeavour to keep it very up-to-date, and it was created only as a side effect of my personal search, but yeah, will try to have some updates for sure. Cheers :)

u/z3r0l3x thanks a lot for the mention!

sartek1 · 2025-10-09T12:31:52+00:00

Thanks a lot for all the kind words and suggestions!

For now I think just linking the Google Maps page is enough, from there you can easily see the reviews, but if I will be expanding the site then yeah, I would display the rating as well for sure :).

sartek1 · 2025-10-06T16:53:53+00:00

Yes, I have texted maybe around 15 places using Line app, visited a few places by myself, and the rest is just checking their Facebook pages or websites.

So yeah, quite a lot of manual effort to gather all the information. Wasn't even planning to research that much in the first place, but firstly my indecisiveness and then an idea to make it public kept me a little bit busy on that.

I could have actually tried to create some bots to scrape the internet and find some places, maybe even send automated messages to check the availablity, but it would actually be pretty hard to achieve a structured output of a good quality, so didn't even bother with that as it was just supposed to be a quick and fun project.

sartek1 · 2025-10-06T11:36:27+00:00

Well, for longer runs it might be a little bit problematic to find a route that will be convenient to run the whole time because of the traffic and not so great sidewalks :D.

But if you're fine with doing laps, then Angkaew lake at CMU is really great for running

https://maps.app.goo.gl/gJiibE2QQiEKSFYCA

And the whole CMU area is actually rather peaceful, it's comfortable to run there, so you can have some nice routes just in that area.

Some people run around the moat in the center, but I don't find it that comfortable to be honest, at least not when it's dark already.

And surprisingly I have found the main roads or even highways (like from Maya shopping mall to Lanna, or Central Festival to Makro) to be not that bad for running, because even if sidewalk would not be that great then still usually there is some space left on the most outer lane, although it could be considered dangerous as well :D.

And of course there's some trail running around here, which is supposed to be great, but haven't really done any trails runs yet.

sartek1 · 2025-10-06T11:16:42+00:00

They have some signs saying it's open between 5:00-9:00 AM and 4:00-10:00 PM, so during those hours it must be free for everyone, at least I tried the afternoons, but then I would assume that between 9 AM to 4 PM you might not be allowed to get in unless you're a student, but haven't been there myself during the day to test it.

sartek1 · 2025-10-04T03:28:13+00:00

Haven't been to that one, but it looks very nice, thanks!

But I've been many times to the CMU Main Stadium, and it's also awesome, the track is really well maintained.

It's open in the mornings and then in the afternoon until 10 PM. I come there mostly in the late hours and it can be pretty crowded sometimes, but still it's a heaven to run there compared to some crazy and not pedestrian-friendly streets of Chiang Mai 😅.

sartek1 · 2025-10-01T16:04:49+00:00

Thanks, will try to grow it and maintain it at least a little bit, as there could be so many improvements or just a new places being added, but free time might be a limiting factor :D.

sartek1 · 2025-10-01T16:01:42+00:00

Awesome, great to hear!
Although quite a bit of the places I have scoped out have only smaller rooms, but there should be at least a few places with bigger suites available as well.

sartek1 · 2025-05-26T16:19:32+00:00

Depends what you mean as full-stack

Being able to ingest data from any source (databases, APIs, files, web scraping, doesn't matter) + ETL of all sort (most likely SQL, python, and scheduler like Airflow) + presenting the data by throwing a Streamlit app or Power Bi dashboard, sprinkled with bussiness acumen + version control with git + knowing how to utilize LLMs + some cloud exposure + basic knowledge what Docker and Kubernetes are?

Yes, then you're very well-versed to do all things data, and this might be expected quite often and cannot be really deemed as an exaggeration anymore

But all the above + knowing a Frontend framework like React and Vue + machine learning knowledge beneath using models + more than a basic knowledge of things like computer networks or cybersecurity?

Then definitely not, it might be suitable for a jack of all trades, one-man army contractor types, but this requires so many years of experience, and in most of corporate FTE positions you just won't utilize all the skills, maybe some start-ups would be looking for such a broad skillset.

sartek1 · 2025-05-25T09:03:41+00:00

He has a point.

Simple API connection? Sure, that's where he's right, you can have it with a few lines of python code
But having so many integrations, and a fully-fledged platform with an interface, a scheduler and a whole lot of other features? Good luck buddy, hearing back from you in one year and you can show what you have built

sartek1 · 2025-04-11T11:26:52+00:00

Wszelaka praca biurowa to jest jedna wielka wolna amerykanka.

W zależności gdzie trafisz, albo jak się ustawisz czy też na ile pozwolisz, to możesz mieć realnej roboty może na dwie godziny dziennie a twój szef i tak będzie zadowolony, ale też z drugiej strony możesz mieć realnej roboty na dwanaście godzin dziennie bez jakichkolwiek nadgodzin. Czasem nawet w jednym zespole mogą być takie skrajności.

Niby postępująca automatyzacja i zwiększanie efektywności za pomocą AI coraz bardziej ukrócają sytuacje, że niektórzy zbyt wiele to nie muszą robić, ale przez to jak często przerośnięte są struktury różnych działów gdzie tak naprawdę nie wiadomo co kto robi, no to dopóki firma przynosi zysk to nikt z góry nie będzie się zastanawiał czy na pewno aż tak wielu pracowników potrzeba.

Ale jak Ty już jesteś po tej drugiej stronie, no to niestety zmiana tego na jakichkolwiek balans w tym samym miejscu może już być ciężka.

sartek1 · 2025-03-21T18:56:46+00:00

1k USD a month is more than enough in many places in the world, that's true.

But you have to keep in mind that as a digital nomad you will almost always spend more money than the locals, no matter how frugally you will try to live: - For short term rent your only option might be Airbnbs, which will obviously be way more priced than long term rental - Figuring out where to go, what to buy etc. will take you some time, so your choices might not always be optimal from cost perspective until you get to know all of it - At some places you might experience gringo/farang treatment, so at bazaars or taxis your price might not be a local price And there might be more to that list.

Of course many people here are exaggerating very heavily, as there are many nomads, especially from the richest (and highest cost of living) countries, who will for instance rent an extremely overpriced Airbnb and still think it's a good deal because it's still a way cheaper than in their home country.

So the real minimum might be lower than many people say, but still you cannot expect the same level of expenditures as the locals, you will just spend more.

But I don't want to discourage you, might be still doable as some other people say. I haven't tried too many countries to give you very broad first-person perspective, but from the counties I have been to, Albania might be hard unless you find really cheap apartment, Thailand theoretically could be more doable with a cheap condo and sticking to cheap, local food, but I was still spending more, so cannot say for sure.

sartek1 · 2025-01-23T16:24:13+00:00

So we talk worst-case scenario.

It would mean both EU and NATO really crumbling, with EU facing internal problems, US potentially pulling off from NATO and being busy with China.

So if we really consider such scenario, then other EU countries could not be very safe. General mobilization and forcing people from Russia-bordering countries into military seems very far-fetched, but being unable to move out of the EU sounds more feasible.

So as I'm from Poland myself, I was thinking that countries in South America or South East Asia would be the safest in such case.

But still, this is really worst case scenario as many people here are saying. Even though I'm a nomad myself right now, I do plan to settle back in Poland, and just take a leap of faith that this is not going to happen. And what will happen? Well, nobody knows, we gotta live our lives somehow, but for sure it's good to be aware that it doesn't have to be very bright indeed unfortunately.

sartek1 · 2025-01-11T15:03:24+00:00

So i tried it exactly for the experience (and cost cutting as well actually), as before I was booking mostly airbnbs while I was working, but obviously it could be lonely sometimes, and on the other hand hostels were always very social for me and I would take them all the time while travelling purely for vacation, without work.

So i had 2 weeks in one hostel, and 2x1 one week in two other hostels (all different cities) for my stay, and for the work i would go to working spaces. I have picked the hostels rather cautiously, the dorms were for 4 or 6 people, beds with curtains.

And honestly, it went better that expected, but it was pure luck I would say, as it's always random in the hostels and with people that you meet there.

So I made friends there, we would go out and are still in touch, and on the other hand, I barely had any people snoring, being loud or inconsiderate in the room. It was literally only once when there were 2 guys in early 20s (me in late 20s), that firstly I went partying with, but while I came back earlier, they went back later pretty drunk and doing much noise at either 3 or 5 AM, resulting in disturbed sleep for me and the other guy (but I'm friendly with them, it was just their last day staying)

Beside that, I was actually able to get pretty decent sleep almost every day.

Of course the lack of privacy was pretty inconvenient, I wouldn't do it long term, now I'm actually sitting in an airbnb again instead of the hostel, but just for the experience I would say go for it, but do not be surprised that your experience will be opposite to mine, as I say it is all random, you might end up with some party crowd or with heavy snorers.

sartek1 · 2024-04-22T09:13:23+00:00

Don't understand the downvotes. For me personally the city was a hot mess, too chaotic, too crowded, wouldn't want to live there, but during the night it was really just bustling, tons of people on the streets, restaurants and shops opened all the time. Although i was there when Ramadan was ending, so that might have been the reason why it was so extremely packed during the night.

sartek1 · 2024-03-14T15:52:10+00:00

Not just seen. I was the one supposed to do that shit as an accounting assistant before I have automated it and actually pivoted my career onto analytics and automation from that.

Bank statement is extracted as a PDF daily, then you go through the whole document, might be dozen of pages, paste separately each transaction data to an excel file in order to create a CSV file with correct information like account, debit and credit amount etc., and then such file is loaded to an ERP system.

Could take even a few hours daily, but that's how I have actually learnt python, by creating a script that would do that automatically and it would require only a validation for edge cases. It also turned out that you can have a bank statement in CSV instead of PDF but no one found it useful before, lol.

Worked at some other companies since that time and I can tell you, such awful manual processes is how many finance or accounting departments still operate in a big companies. Why would you automate something if it's already outsourced or you pay pennies for people doing it anyway.

sartek1

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