Welcome! I’m the Well-Rounded Analyst.

Throughout more than ten years as a data professional, I’ve noticed that analysts often come to the field with excellent technical skills and lacking in the soft skills. Why are soft skills so important when the data is the data? Couldn’t analysts just hole up in a basement somewhere with their numbers and dashboards and be just fine?

Maybe.

But I think that the era of analysis in a vacuum is quickly coming to an end. We as a society are creating so many new data points as smartphone usage and IOT devices continue to proliferate. More and more, businesses are using data to give them the competitive edge.

Future trends

In the future, data should be leveraged[1] throughout the whole organization, not just in pockets here and there. Although data should be integrated into people’s day to day lives, that doesn’t remove the need for specialized data professionals who can act as guides to the business. To guide the business, we must have the skills to communicate with the business.

AI and machine learning advances mean that further down the line, our tech may be able to take over the heavy lifting of cleaning, preparing, and visualizing data for us – if they haven’t already. Do you want to stay in this field in the long term? If so, how do you protect yourself from automation?

Current trends

Today, coding bootcamps are pumping out thousands of graduates[2] who have reskilled to enter the job market as data professionals. Market projections seem to point toward a continued increase in bootcamp enrollment in the future[3]. Generally, these programs focus on developing a technical skillbase that can be used immediately at work.

If I were a new graduate today, I’d be wondering how I might set myself apart in an interview and at work. Our technical skills being equal, what can I do to stand out? Or if you’re like me and came from a business background with no coding expertise, how do I set myself apart as a leader in my organization?

Where does that leave us?

Here’s where I come in. I’ve started the Well-Rounded Analyst blog to spark conversations about the very important non-technical skillset I believe every excellent data professional should have.

In my experience, the analysts who thrive the most are comfortable with ambiguity, excellent storytellers, and skilled at relationship building. As a hiring manager, I seek out good conversationalists and people who can build rapport quickly. They understand how data is part of the mesh of our business, rather than existing in isolation. These are the skills that set them apart today and will serve them well in the future.

It takes time and effort to build non-technical skills. No one starts out knowing everything, and even for folks who have been doing this a while, learning is continuous.

I invite you to join me on my blog while I begin exploring these topics in more detail. I will always aim to share practical tips that you can try immediately in your work.

I want to go beyond the blog

Soon, I’ll be offering deep dive courses and resources specifically targeted to train data professionals on non-technical skills. I want to offer affordable training that can fit in to the average corporate training budget (and won’t be out of reach for those who don’t have access to these budgets).

If you’re in HR and are interested in corporate/group live online training, send me a message! I can offer customized training for data professionals and non-data professionals including:

·         Data Literacy for non-data professionals

·         Non-Technical Skills for Data Teams

·         Presenting Data Effectively

Follow me on the blog and on Instagram to stay up to date on my offerings. That’s all for now!

If you enjoyed this article, watch this space! I'm going to be posting more of my thoughts on developing soft skillsets for well-rounded analysts, along with practical tools that can help you in your day-to-day life.  

[1] https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/quantumblack/our-insights/the-data-driven-enterprise-of-2025

[2] https://bootcamp.berkeley.edu/blog/are-data-science-boot-camps-worth-it/#:~:text=This%20expansion%20is%20already%20evident,enrollment%20since%20the%20year%20before.

[3] https://www.marketwatch.com/press-release/coding-bootcamp-market-size-2022-analysis-global-industry-trends-segments-competitors-strategy-regional-analysis-review-key-players-profile-statistics-growth-and-upcoming-opportunities-2027-2022-06-21