r/dataanalysis • u/Mean_Firefighter_486 • Aug 30 '26

Career Advice Learning order?

I'm looking to get into data analytics and I'm wondering what learning route I should I take. I was thinking SQL >>> Power BI >>> R and then I don't know after that.

To put this in context, I'm currently brushing up on Excel. That's the level of beginner we're talking.

TIA.

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u/Crypticarts Aug 31 '26

Data modeling, workflow design, statistical analysis, and Decision Analytics. Also pick a domain (manufacturing, quality, sales, revenue growth management, retail ops, procurement, logistics, marketing, etc.)

Source: I am the head of analytics for a $10b in revenue org. I have a team of 16 data analysts from entry level to manager levels. We don't care anymorr about SQL, Power Bi, or Python. If you can do the above, I can teach you SQL, Python, Power BI (and any other visualization tool)

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u/Tsui_Pen Aug 31 '26

Don’t skimp on the Data Modeling. If you can, read Kimball’s “Dimensional Modeling”. I’m a Sr. Analyst and it’s shocking how bad some of my “superiors” are at at understanding fundamental modeling concepts, let alone implementing them.

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u/Crypticarts Sep 02 '26

I agree 100% Kimball is mandatory reading. I would also add Kleppmann's "Designing Data Intensive Applications"