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
Status: AI skills
Google
Google Data Analytics
Skills you'll gain: Data Presentation, Data Storytelling, Data Cleansing, Data Visualization, Data Validation, Rmarkdown, Data Integrity, Interactive Data Visualization, Data Ethics, Dashboard, Ggplot2, Data Quality, Stakeholder Communications, Data Literacy, Data Visualization Software, Data Analysis, SQL, Interviewing Skills, Analytical Skills, Applicant Tracking Systems
Build toward a degree
4.8
Rating, 4.8 out of 5 stars
172K reviews
Beginner · Professional Certificate · 3 - 6 Months
Status: Free Trial
Status: AI skills
IBM
IBM Data Analyst
Skills you'll gain: Data Storytelling, Data Wrangling, Data Visualization, SQL, Extract, Transform, Load, Pivot Tables And Charts, Matplotlib, Exploratory Data Analysis, Relational Databases, Data Manipulation, Data Analysis, Data Import/Export, Data Cleansing, Data Ethics, Dashboard, IBM Cognos Analytics, Microsoft Excel, Web Scraping, Interviewing Skills, Python Programming
Build toward a degree
4.6
Rating, 4.6 out of 5 stars
94K reviews
Beginner · Professional Certificate · 3 - 6 Months
Status: Free Trial
IBM
Introduction to Data Analytics
Skills you'll gain: Data Storytelling, Data Visualization, Extract, Transform, Load, Data Analysis, Statistical Analysis, Big Data, Data Wrangling, Data Processing, Data Mining, Analytics, Data Warehousing, Data Science, Data Cleansing, Data Lakes, Data Collection, Relational Databases, 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, Datamaps, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Power Platform, Data Analysis, Data Visualization, Data Collection, Business Intelligence, Data Integration, Data Pipelines, Application Deployment, Database Design, Data Manipulation, Data Security, Microsoft 365, Timelines, Business Modeling, Data Mapping, Business Analytics, SQL
Build toward a degree
4.6
Rating, 4.6 out of 5 stars
7.9K reviews
Beginner · Professional Certificate · 3 - 6 Months
Status: Free Trial
IBM
Excel Basics for Data Analysis
Skills you'll gain: Data Cleansing, Excel Formulas, Data Quality, Data Analysis, Business Analytics, Microsoft Excel, Analytical Skills, Data Manipulation, Spreadsheet Software, Pivot Tables And Charts, Data Entry, Data Science, Data Integrity, Information Privacy
4.8
Rating, 4.8 out of 5 stars
10K reviews
Beginner · Course · 1 - 3 Months
Status: Free Trial
IBM
Data Analysis with Python
Skills you'll gain: Data Wrangling, Exploratory Data Analysis, Data Manipulation, Data Import/Export, Data Transformation, Predictive Modeling, Data Analysis, Data Cleansing, Regression Analysis, Pandas (Python Package), Data-Driven Decision-Making, Scikit Learn (Machine Learning Library), Statistical Analysis, Supervised Learning, Machine Learning Methods, Python Programming, NumPy, Data Visualization
4.7
Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
19K reviews
Intermediate · Course · 1 - 3 Months

What brings you to Coursera today?

Start my career

Change my career

Grow in my current role

Explore topics outside of work

Status: Free Trial
IBM
Python for Data Science, AI & Development
Skills you'll gain: Web Scraping, Object Oriented Programming (OOP), Data Analysis, Python Programming, Pandas (Python Package), Data Collection, Data Structures, Data Manipulation, Programming Principles, NumPy, Application Programming Interface (API), Data Import/Export, Jupyter, File Management
4.6
Rating, 4.6 out of 5 stars
42K reviews
Beginner · Course · 1 - 3 Months
Status: Free Trial
Status: AI skills
Meta
Meta Data Analyst
Skills you'll gain: Data Management, Business Metrics, Data Storytelling, Data Collection, Descriptive Statistics, Matplotlib, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), Bayesian Statistics, Spreadsheet Software, Data Governance, Statistical Hypothesis Testing, Data Visualization, Data Quality, Dashboard, Data Cleansing, Data Storage, Data Analysis, Pandas (Python Package), SQL, Python Programming
4.7
Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
1.5K reviews
Beginner · Professional Certificate · 3 - 6 Months
Status: Free Trial
Google
Google Advanced Data Analytics
Skills you'll gain: Data Storytelling, Exploratory Data Analysis, Sampling (Statistics), Statistical Hypothesis Testing, Regression Analysis, Statistical Analysis, Data Ethics, Statistics, Unsupervised Learning, Data Presentation, Data Visualization Software, Data Visualization, Data Analysis, Machine Learning, Data Manipulation, Data Science, Tableau Software, Interviewing Skills, Python Programming, Advanced Analytics
Build toward a degree
4.7
Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
7.6K reviews
Advanced · Professional Certificate · 3 - 6 Months
Status: Free Trial
Google
Foundations: Data, Data, Everywhere
Skills you'll gain: Data Ethics, Data Analysis, Data-Driven Decision-Making, Data Literacy, Analytics, Spreadsheet Software, Business Analytics, Data Cleansing, Exploratory Data Analysis, Data Collection, Data Processing, Query Languages, Data Visualization Software, Data Visualization, SQL
4.8
Rating, 4.8 out of 5 stars
117K reviews
Beginner · Course · 1 - 4 Weeks
Coursera Project Network
Introduction to Data Analysis using Microsoft Excel
Skills you'll gain: Pivot Tables And Charts, Microsoft Excel, Spreadsheet Software, Excel Formulas, Data Analysis, Data Mining, Document Management
4.7
Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
4.2K reviews
Intermediate · Guided Project · Less Than 2 Hours
Status: Free Trial
Unilever
Unilever Supply Chain Data Analyst
Skills you'll gain: Analytics, Data Governance, Supply Chain Management, Data Storytelling, Data Presentation, Data Analysis, Supply Chain Planning, Business Analytics, Presentations, Demand Planning, Supply Chain Systems, Data-Driven Decision-Making, Descriptive Analytics, Forecasting, Data Quality, Inventory Management System, Inventory and Warehousing, Business Technologies, Data Visualization, Problem Solving
4.7
Rating, 4.7 out of 5 stars
493 reviews
Beginner · Professional Certificate · 3 - 6 Months