Charting out a successful career in data analytics

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Charting out a successful career in data analytics

Welcome to the world of Data Analysis! Ashish Kumar introduces us to the world of Data Analysis and tell us how successful it is a career path.

Can you give me a brief introduction to data analysis?

Hello my name is Ashish Kumar.I am from Patna, Bihar. I did my schooling from Kendriya Vidyalaya. I was part of the famous Super 30 in Patna where I did my coaching for IIT entrance. I pursued my B.Tech from IIT Chennai. I was interested in liberal arts too so I went on to do Young India Fellowship from Ashoka University. I worked in social start-ups for a year. Later on, I was engaged in Business analytics and I realised my interests primarily lie in Data analytics. I joined in Tiger Analytics, which is an international firm having two offices in US and one in Chennai.

Can you tell me what data Analytics is?

We are interacting with lot of digital devices in our daily life. As you interact with social media, pay bills online, buy thing from online retailers, etc a lot of data is being created. As the world is becoming more and more digital more data is being generated. What can we do with his data? There is lot information hidden in this data. We can use this data to solve many problems, to improve your business strategies. This we can do by analysing data. Analysing the past data to predict the future outcomes. This find a lot of application in Business also the Governments analyse data to find answers and solve the problems. A lot of government departments use data. For example, I will give a simple explanation for your understanding: There is a lot of data generated in the parliament, this can be used to answer questions like what kind of questions have been raised? How many questions have been answered? etc. If you analyse these data you can see how the government works, what are their agendas etc.

You are a basically a biotechnology engineer? How did you come to learn about data analytics?

I studied Biotechnology for my B.Tech. But I was also engaged with a lot of work of the Management department of IIT Chennai.  IIT gives you the choice to take one major and minor degree. My Major was biotech and minor was Operation Skills. Operation Skills is a course in which includes a lot of data analytics. Then I did a couple of projects in data analytics from the department of Management. That is how I am introduced into the world of data and realise my interest. In Biotechnology also have a subject called Bio Statistics which uses a lot of data. I liked these courses and did well in it. So a lot of course had data science.  When I went to Young India fellowship I had a course on data. I also had the opportunity to work with data in social sector. In the start-up I worked, I was primarily a business analyst and but I also had to work in many capacitates because in start-ups it’s is like that. That was an advantage for me. Working there I did a small course in data. I realised that I need to acquire hard-core analytical skill that is how I ended up in Tiger Analytics.

What is the most fascinating aspect for you in Data Analysis?

When you are data analyst you are actually like a detective: you are given a problem and you have to find a solution. For example, in a business if the sales go down and you have no clue why it happened, data analysis will be able to give you the answer for that. When you have the data of past sales and when you analyse, you will reach into so many hypotheses in your mind, next step is you try to check-one-by-one. One of them will be true and thus you will identify the problem and can be solved. So it is like a detective solving a murder case and is very exciting. In today’s world, data is becoming very important. Data is being created in every field, in business, in government, in social sector, in science. Harvard Business Review called data analysis” the sexiest job of 21st century”. There is so much data and its analysis become necessary and it you will get answers for a lot of answers. It also has a lot of scope in today’s time and also in future.

What are the skills that are required to become a data analyst? How do we acquire these skills?

Data analysis is a multi-disciplinary field. It involves four things:

  • Computer Skills:( you just need basic to know basic programming language)
  • Business Acumen
  • Mathematics
  • Statistics

You need to have these four skills to become a data analyst. There are a multiple channels through which you can learn data analytics skills. A lot of free content are available online and many people are not aware of that. If you have some basic computer and mathematical skills you can easily learn data analysis through these sources. I have learned data analysis on my own. I think that is most amazing thing about data analysis. Anyone can learn if you have a mathematical inclination and interests in analysing data. There are also many training academies which offer only data analytical skills like Jigsaw Academy, Edvance etc. And also many Universities in India and Abroad are offering Masters Programme in Data Science where they will teach you analytical and data skills.

I have learned that you have written and published a book?

The book happened last year. I got a request from a Publisher last year through linked in requesting me if I could write a book on data analysis. I also have a flair for writing. I have written some articles for an online newspaper called Youth Ki Awaaz. This was in profile, so I have analytical abilities and a flair for writing may be that is why they requested me to take up this challenge. I feared whether I would be able to give commitment. But they asked me to write a few chapters. I started writing and found out that I could easily manage my time during weekends or in the evening after getting back from work. So I went with the flow and was able to finish it .I started in June last year and was able to finish by December. We did the editing in January and the book was published in February this year. The book is a basic text about a data analytic domain called predictive analysis in which we analyze historical data and create mathematical models which will predict future outcomes. It is available in Amazon online store and is called Learning Predictive Analysis with Python.

What are the job prospects in India and abroad for data analysis?

The scope of data analysis is very vast that you go crazy. As I told you data is very important in any field and analysis becomes very important and necessary. If you have one or two years experience in data analysis you will get offers from hundreds of big companies. And also you are getting very good pay. Anyone who has an interest in this can easily become successful. There is a shortage of people in this field because it is a relatively new one. So there is a big demand. You just need a small training and you can get started-off working as a data analyst

What do you have to say to aspiring data analysts?

Data analysis is an amazing work field. It has got so many opportunities in India and abroad. The best thing is that you can also learn on your own if you are ready to give commitment. You can very easily become an expert in this field and work in multinational companies and get good pays too. It is definitely something to consider. If you think you need some more training, go to some training company. Most of them offer online courses also so you can manage during your free time. Data Analysis is very successful career.

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