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Elijah Butler shares his journey from data analyst to senior roles. We talk about the key skills and strategies that can help you advance while staying true to your career goals.
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β TIMESTAMPS
00:54 Differences Between Data Analyst and Senior Data Analyst
02:31 Elijah's Journey to Senior Data Analyst
09:16 The Importance of Soft Skills and Continuous Learning
12:42 Networking and Internal Promotions
16:47 Advice for Aspiring Senior Analysts
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Mentioned in this episode:
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00:00:00
Avery: A couple of weeks ago, I asked my
newsletter subscribers what they want me
00:00:04
to cover next in the data career podcast.
00:00:07
And a lot of people messaged and they
said, Avery, you helped me so much go
00:00:10
from zero to data analyst, but now what
do I do to become a senior data analyst?
00:00:15
And so that's what today's
episode is going to be about.
00:00:18
So I invited my friend, Elijah Butler,
who has over 200, 000 social media
00:00:22
followers and recently went from
data analyst to senior data analyst.
00:00:26
At Humana, a Fortune 50 company.
00:00:28
Elijah also just recently started
his own YouTube channel, where I
00:00:31
will be featured on there very soon.
00:00:33
So you can check that out in
the show notes down below.
00:00:35
Let's get into the episode.
00:00:37
Elijah, what even is
a Senior Data Analyst?
00:00:40
A Senior Data Analyst is a data analyst
that kind of bided their time for a
00:00:44
little while, learned some more things,
and eventually were given a fancy
00:00:48
Avery: title.
00:00:49
So what even like changes, like do
you get to wear a badge when you come
00:00:53
into work or what's the difference?
00:00:54
There are a bunch of differences whenever
you become a senior data analyst,
00:00:58
depending on the company of course,
because some data analysts do more than
00:01:02
senior analysts, but in my experience
you're expected to have a higher level
00:01:06
of technical skills, a higher level of
soft skills, and then you're also given
00:01:10
more ownership over all of your projects.
00:01:12
When you're starting as a data
analyst you're kind of just given
00:01:15
commands to perform analyses.
00:01:18
When you become a senior data analyst,
you should take more ownership over
00:01:21
the project so you can give suggestions
on what might be a better approach
00:01:25
or a better way of solving a problem.
00:01:28
Avery: So you're basically a data
analyst with more responsibility and
00:01:31
hopefully more capabilities at this point.
00:01:34
That's the hope.
00:01:35
Anybody that's worked with me
has been thoroughly let down,
00:01:38
but that's what they're trying
to do when they hire a senior.
00:01:40
Avery: There you go.
00:01:41
I like what you said though, that there
is quite a spectrum that even like some, I
00:01:45
don't know, non senior data analyst jobs.
00:01:47
Might be harder or more difficult or
even maybe like more responsibility
00:01:51
than some senior data analyst jobs.
00:01:54
Oh, a hundred percent.
00:01:55
There is no like threshold.
00:01:57
The government doesn't like force us to
name jobs properly or anything like that.
00:02:02
So I look at job openings all the time
because I spent a lot of my time helping
00:02:06
people get into data analyst jobs.
00:02:08
And I will see a senior data
analyst job that pays 70, 000.
00:02:12
And then I'll see a job that doesn't even
have a Senior in front of it for $190.
00:02:17
So don't what title be a big distraction.
00:02:20
It's obviously nice, it looks good
on LinkedIn, but there are a lot
00:02:23
of jobs that just say data analysts
where you're probably doing more
00:02:27
work than many senior analysts or
at least a higher level of work.
00:02:30
Great.
00:02:31
Avery: And, and you went from being an
analyst to a senior analyst recently.
00:02:34
How long have you been
a senior analyst for?
00:02:36
I've been a senior analyst
for about six months now.
00:02:39
I had been in data analytics
for just under three years.
00:02:44
By the time I got promoted to senior
analyst, I actually got referred
00:02:48
to a senior analyst position on a
different team at the same company.
00:02:53
And now combined, I've been an analyst for
three and a half years and just out there
00:02:58
analyzing every data that comes my way.
00:03:00
Avery: And most of that data is like
some sort of like healthcare insurance
00:03:04
data because you work for Humana, right?
00:03:06
Which is a pretty big company.
00:03:07
Oh yeah.
00:03:08
I obviously can't get too deep into it.
00:03:10
Humana does a million more things
than I would have thought coming in.
00:03:14
So it's been various healthcare data,
business data, a lot of fun stuff.
00:03:18
Very cool.
00:03:19
Very cool.
00:03:20
And,
00:03:20
Avery: and so you were an analyst for,
you know, three years and then you
00:03:24
got promoted to the senior role, which
you've been in the last six months.
00:03:27
You mentioned you stayed within the
company when you made that transition.
00:03:31
You did change teams, but you
stayed within the company.
00:03:33
Is that right?
00:03:34
Yeah, that's correct.
00:03:35
I had been looking at senior
roles for a few months.
00:03:38
I just, I thought I was ready.
00:03:40
Also, as I had chances to interview for
a couple of different roles, it gave me
00:03:45
other things to learn and prepare for.
00:03:47
And I happen to have a connection on
LinkedIn, which I know you're going to
00:03:51
love this Avery that worked at my company.
00:03:53
And she shared a opening on
her team for a senior analyst.
00:03:57
And I was like, Hey, I'm currently
looking for a senior analyst role.
00:04:00
Would you mind to refer me?
00:04:02
And she did.
00:04:03
And I guess my former boss had said
good things about me, because obviously
00:04:07
if you're going to switch within
the company, they're going to ask
00:04:09
your current boss, how good you are.
00:04:11
And the rest was history and.
00:04:13
I'm so glad that it happened.
00:04:15
Even more than just the title
change and a little bump of salary.
00:04:18
I'm really enjoying the
kind of work that I'm doing.
00:04:21
So never discount that when you're looking
at what job you think is right for you.
00:04:25
Avery: And what's really changed for you?
00:04:27
Like on a day to day basis, like you
still go to the office at the same time.
00:04:31
Like what, what has
actually changed for you?
00:04:33
So I, I've always worked from home,
so I at least don't have to worry
00:04:36
about a different office schedule.
00:04:38
I think the biggest change
of pace for me would be the
00:04:42
ownership factor of my projects.
00:04:44
My boss, who I love, really pushes
me to take ownership, to ask all the
00:04:48
questions I need to, to give suggestions
whenever I think there is a different
00:04:53
approach that might work better, or
say we're looking at the wrong metric
00:04:57
for what we're trying to solve.
00:04:59
So I think that's the biggest thing
that has changed and As I've become
00:05:03
a senior, I'm still actively looking
to find different ways of analyzing
00:05:08
data that are better, that I can find
answers that I couldn't find before,
00:05:13
and part of that is I'm starting to
implement Python into my work for the
00:05:16
first time, and I'm just really getting
started with that, but that's always fun.
00:05:21
It's nice adding new
capabilities to your work.
00:05:24
It's nice to challenge yourself.
00:05:25
But again, overall, it's just
like, instead of just receiving
00:05:29
orders, you're a part of the team.
00:05:31
You help make the decisions.
00:05:33
Avery: That's good to know because I
think a lot of people who are looking
00:05:36
to land their first day at a job, they
often think, well, what if I don't know
00:05:39
what to do or like how to analyze it?
00:05:41
And I mean, that's always
going to be the case.
00:05:43
Even when you're like, A senior, senior,
senior analyst, like you, you're still
00:05:47
not going to know everything, but it's
important to recognize that like as
00:05:50
like a junior analyst or even like a
normal analyst, you're not expected
00:05:53
to know everything right off the bat.
00:05:55
Like you are expected to get
instructions from someone and then
00:05:59
kind of execute those instructions.
00:06:01
Versus a senior analyst, you
might start to come up with your
00:06:03
instructions on your own, if I
understood what you're saying, correct?
00:06:06
A hundred percent.
00:06:07
You're expected, like, the
expectations, again, you're
00:06:10
gonna have a little bit higher
expectations on your technical skills.
00:06:14
Like, whenever you're getting your
first job, you probably spent If the
00:06:17
job market was good, you probably spent
a couple of months learning skills like
00:06:22
SQL, Excel, Tableau, stuff like that.
00:06:24
Done a couple of projects, but
actually applying that will be your
00:06:28
first time doing actual application.
00:06:31
Whereas when you start as a senior data
analyst, I would expect that you're
00:06:35
much more comfortable with those tools.
00:06:37
It doesn't mean that you
have to be an expert.
00:06:39
You don't have to master it.
00:06:40
I know neither of us would say
that we've mastered anything.
00:06:43
We'll be mastering these
tools until we die.
00:06:46
But you're expected, like,
you should know how to build a
00:06:49
report in Power BI or Tableau.
00:06:51
You should know how to write basic
SQL query, like it's nothing.
00:06:55
And you could figure out more
advanced stuff with the help
00:06:58
of Google and Stack Overflow.
00:07:01
Avery: Very interesting.
00:07:02
And do you feel like your, your
journey of like three years is
00:07:06
pretty typical or is that faster
00:07:08
or slower?
00:07:08
I think it can vary a lot.
00:07:10
Again, remember that.
00:07:11
The job titles don't
always match experience.
00:07:15
So, but in general, from what
I've seen, I think for driven,
00:07:19
hardworking individuals, I definitely
think three years is reasonable.
00:07:23
A lot of people have to job hop
a little bit to make this happen.
00:07:27
And there's.
00:07:28
Definitely no shame in that.
00:07:29
I'm happy that I was able to be
promoted within my organization.
00:07:33
But I definitely think
three years is reasonable.
00:07:37
It may be on the shorter end, but also
don't let that hurt you or get you down if
00:07:41
it takes you longer than that to move up.
00:07:44
Because even if it takes you five or
more years, there's no shame in that.
00:07:48
There's
00:07:49
Avery: also a lot of growth opportunities
from the analyst role to the senior
00:07:53
analyst role that don't necessarily
reflect in the title, but there's
00:07:56
definitely a lot of growth that
I've seen individuals have just
00:07:58
like taking more leadership over a
project, getting promoted before you're
00:08:02
actually like getting a money promotion
before getting the title promotion.
00:08:06
So there's still a lot of like, I
guess the little mini milestones
00:08:09
on that way to the big one.
00:08:10
The one thing that I thought was
interesting that you mentioned is
00:08:13
you mentioned that you are using,
you know, Python, a new tool in
00:08:16
this senior role, but that doesn't
seem like it was a requirement.
00:08:19
Like you didn't have to know
00:08:20
Python to move into
the senior role, right?
00:08:22
A hundred percent.
00:08:23
It was not required of me.
00:08:25
Again, I think as I have before
00:08:28
Avery: you're actually like
getting a money promotion before
00:08:30
getting the title promotion
00:08:31
using SQL, you need to build
this report using Tableau.
00:08:36
Instead, it's more like you need to solve
this problem in the best way that it's
00:08:40
going to be to solve it and For a few of
the problems that I'm currently working
00:08:44
on, I think literally a simple linear
aggression would really help to find
00:08:48
the cause and effect of certain things.
00:08:50
So it was more of me taking that
initiative and being like, I think
00:08:54
Python would help me a lot with my work.
00:08:56
I think it would help us
think about problems better.
00:08:59
And.
00:09:00
Yeah.
00:09:00
It was pretty much me that was like,
I definitely think Python would help
00:09:04
our team and help us answer questions.
00:09:06
Avery: Very interesting.
00:09:07
So I think a lot of people would be
like, no, you have to, you have to
00:09:10
be like taking a, you're going to get
tested in SQL and then tested in Python.
00:09:14
And then that's how you get promoted.
00:09:16
But it seems like to me from your
experience is it's almost like as
00:09:19
much about your soft skills as it
is about your technical skills.
00:09:23
Exactly.
00:09:23
It's a lot more.
00:09:25
Critical thinking and problem solving,
especially like for the first few months
00:09:29
of this job, I hardly used SQL at all.
00:09:32
I'm now starting right now.
00:09:33
I'm going to be using it a lot more,
but it's using the tools that just
00:09:37
happen to make sense in the moment.
00:09:38
So it's been a lot of Excel and
Power BI and then Salesforce
00:09:43
because my current team uses.
00:09:45
Salesforce and then just being able to
communicate with others again to really
00:09:50
dig into the why of whatever you're
doing whenever someone comes to you and
00:09:53
just like, can you pull data about this?
00:09:56
You should always be asking why, like,
what question is this going to answer?
00:10:00
And then you can get into more
technical questions like, how
00:10:03
do you want the data to look?
00:10:05
What timeframe of data
are you looking for?
00:10:07
So.
00:10:08
Those soft skills of communication,
critical thinking, and problem solving
00:10:12
really come more into importance in a
senior role, at least in my experience.
00:10:17
Avery: Very interesting, because for those
who've listened to the podcast before,
00:10:21
you know, that landing your first day
at a job is not really about how skilled
00:10:25
you are or how many tech skills you have.
00:10:27
It's all about the SBN method, right?
00:10:29
The skills are just a third, the
portfolio ends up being a third, and
00:10:32
then networking ends up being a third.
00:10:34
And kind of similarly landing the senior
role sounds like it's a lot of, of
00:10:37
course, your skills have to be there.
00:10:38
Like you have to be able to
write some sort of a SQL query.
00:10:40
You can't just be SQL illiterate, but
then your soft skills play a big role
00:10:44
in terms of like, that's kind of like
networking in terms of like projects.
00:10:48
I'm curious here, obviously like
you're, you're not getting promoted
00:10:51
because you built a project outside of
side of work, but I would imagine that
00:10:55
the stuff you were responsible for.
00:10:57
In your previous role allowed you to
kind of show, Hey, look, I can take
00:11:01
responsibility and not totally muff it up.
00:11:04
You know, I can take a project, analyze it
and come up with some meaningful insights.
00:11:08
And that's kind of proof that I
should move into the senior role.
00:11:10
Was that your experience?
00:11:11
Yeah.
00:11:11
Especially again, moving up
within my organization, because
00:11:14
they're going to contact my boss.
00:11:16
So.
00:11:16
If I was clocking in three hours late
every day and I never got any work done,
00:11:21
that probably wasn't going to bode well
with me for moving up in the company.
00:11:25
But definitely the work that I was
currently doing made a big benefit
00:11:29
to me waiting that senior role.
00:11:31
I was able to go to my interviews.
00:11:33
I think I had three or four interviews
for my senior job and be able to
00:11:37
talk about the previous projects
that I'd done for work, but.
00:11:40
Honestly, some stuff outside of work
ended up playing to my benefit as well.
00:11:45
I'm a big, kind of, business nerd,
as weird as that might sound.
00:11:49
So, my knowledge of things like finance
and business operations, I think
00:11:53
that was a big selling point for me.
00:11:55
And then, Also, I always recommend
for really driven data analysts,
00:12:01
don't let your only learning
be what you do on the job.
00:12:05
If you want to really have a wide swath
of senior level roles that you want to
00:12:09
move up to, if your job only has you
working with Power BI and Excel, you're
00:12:15
really going to be limiting yourself.
00:12:17
So, if That is your case.
00:12:18
Make sure that you're spending a little
bit of time out of work working on SQL.
00:12:22
And maybe after you've got all
three of those downs, you could
00:12:25
add something like Python on there.
00:12:27
So I think the mix between my projects
that I did for work, my interests outside
00:12:32
of work, again, business, it kind of
gave me that domain knowledge as well as.
00:12:37
Spending time learning out of
work really are what propelled me
00:12:40
to move up as quickly as I did.
00:12:42
Avery: The, the other thing that
I think you're actually maybe
00:12:45
underselling, you mentioned briefly at
the beginning, was actually networking.
00:12:49
You know, networking is not only important
for your first day of the job, but for
00:12:52
your second, for your third, and for
your fourth, and so on and so forth.
00:12:54
Even when you're transferring internally,
In the company, like, like you did,
00:12:58
because you have a big presence on
LinkedIn, followers there and you post
00:13:02
useful, funny stuff on there quite a bit.
00:13:05
And that seemed like that was one of the
reasons, or at least you have a connection
00:13:10
within your company that kind of was
like, Hey, there's this job that you might
00:13:12
be a good fit for within our company.
00:13:14
You want to apply.
00:13:15
Oh, yeah, really for any job that you
want to want there any job that you
00:13:20
want to get in your life There are two
things that you need to do You need
00:13:23
to be good at whatever that job wants
you to be good at and you need to know
00:13:27
somebody Especially in this economy.
00:13:29
I really I would love to have the data
for how many jobs are by Referral over
00:13:35
like cold apply and every other thing.
00:13:38
It really has become of Like again, you
obviously got to have those skills, but
00:13:43
everybody that is trying to get into
analytics has some level of those skills.
00:13:47
So it's really about finding
an effective way to network and
00:13:51
it isn't just formal things.
00:13:52
It isn't just cold DMing on LinkedIn.
00:13:55
It isn't just career fairs.
00:13:56
This was just person that I
had on there for my company.
00:14:00
Never plan to.
00:14:01
Asked her for anything and then
just she happened to pop up that
00:14:05
her team was hiring for that role
and I was like, hey, no pressure.
00:14:09
I'm currently looking for a senior role.
00:14:11
Um, if you think that I might be a
good fit from it, you've probably
00:14:13
seen some of my posts on it.
00:14:15
I would love to interview for the role.
00:14:17
I'd love to hear more about it.
00:14:18
And.
00:14:19
That's just really all networking is.
00:14:21
And when I say all that networking
is, it can literally be at any forum.
00:14:25
Like literally one of my best friends I
met on LinkedIn because I was trying to
00:14:28
meet other data analysts in the area.
00:14:31
And now me and my wife go on double
dates with him and his wife all the time.
00:14:34
So within the
00:14:35
Avery: past I thought you were
talking about me there for a second.
00:14:38
No, you're, you're special too.
00:14:40
But, uh, shout out My best friend.
00:14:42
Avery: I
00:14:42
got to shout out my friend Clayton
if he is listening to this.
00:14:45
But literally like Uh, six months
ago, I got a new job through
00:14:49
LinkedIn just by being friendly.
00:14:51
And then like a year and a half ago,
met one of my best friends through it.
00:14:54
So, uh, don't just think that jobs are
all that you can get out of networking.
00:14:59
Avery: A hundred percent.
00:15:00
I love that.
00:15:01
And I also love that you stayed
internal within, within your
00:15:03
company for, for this role.
00:15:05
I interviewed Zach Wilson not
too long ago on the podcast.
00:15:09
We'll have his interview in
the show notes down below if
00:15:11
you guys want to take a listen.
00:15:12
But he was able to go from like, basically
like 40, 000 to like 600, 000 in like
00:15:18
six ish years because of job hopping.
00:15:20
And he was able to He, he was
in a different role, not like an
00:15:23
analyst role, more like software
engineering and data engineering.
00:15:26
And they had a little bit more, especially
software engineering has like a more
00:15:28
structured development process, but
she was able to do so from job hopping.
00:15:33
And I often see that's, that's a way
that people kind of land the senior role.
00:15:36
So you can at least know that
you have the two options.
00:15:38
You can, you can follow.
00:15:39
You know, the job hopping method of like
landing these promotions through other
00:15:43
companies, a lot of the times, for some
reason, other companies are more willing
00:15:47
to invest in you than your current
company, but I'm glad to see that Humana
00:15:50
was willing to invest in you and saw, saw
your brilliance and was like, yeah, we got
00:15:53
to keep Elijah let's, let's promote them.
00:15:55
But it's just good to know that, that
both options are there and available
00:15:58
to, to people who want to do this.
00:16:00
100 percent and the important thing
to remember overall obviously salary
00:16:06
and all over compensation is really
important But keep in mind things like
00:16:11
stability how much you enjoy your job
How much you enjoy your co workers
00:16:15
and that with all of those reasons?
00:16:17
Were really big on me trying to
stay at humana before I worked
00:16:21
elsewhere And that's definitely
the case on my current team.
00:16:23
My current team has Just
incredible chemistry.
00:16:26
I love the people that I work with.
00:16:28
So make your money.
00:16:30
Don't get cheated out.
00:16:31
Like if I were to, I don't know,
fall off a cliff tomorrow, it isn't
00:16:36
going to hurt Humana's bottom line.
00:16:38
So always be looking out
for you and your family.
00:16:40
But sometimes it can make
sense to just try to climb the
00:16:43
ladder at your current company.
00:16:45
If that works for you.
00:16:46
I love that.
00:16:47
Avery: Okay.
00:16:47
What other advice would you give,
you know, young Elijah or someone
00:16:51
that's looking to, you know, become.
00:16:53
I'm more senior analyst in
the next 12 months or so.
00:16:56
I think it's just all about learning and
you can even include your boss in on that.
00:17:01
Like if you say, Hey, I really
want to grow in this role.
00:17:05
I really want to, however long it takes
eventually lead to that senior role.
00:17:10
I really want to take on more
responsibilities and get a lot better.
00:17:14
And a lot of becoming a senior
data analyst is just learning and
00:17:18
becoming a better data analyst.
00:17:20
So you got to improve
your technical skills.
00:17:23
So that's going to happen
naturally somewhat on the job.
00:17:26
But again, I highly recommend
spending a little bit of time.
00:17:28
It can even be on company time, uh,
working on your technical skills.
00:17:32
Like if you're taking courses outside
of work, that's also going to benefit
00:17:36
your work because you're figuring out
better ways to do things, learning
00:17:39
how to work with stakeholders better.
00:17:41
So managing stakeholder.
00:17:43
Expectations.
00:17:44
Learning the good questions
to ask when a report comes in.
00:17:48
Really try to become more of a
suggester than just an order taker.
00:17:53
I think that is incredibly important,
but again, I just can't overstate enough.
00:17:58
Learning every day is It's gonna
benefit you so much in life, even
00:18:02
if it's just 20 minutes a day.
00:18:04
Doesn't even have to
be just data analytics.
00:18:06
Read some good non fiction books, read
Atomic Habits or something like that.
00:18:11
If you spend a little bit of time
learning every day, spend a little time
00:18:14
trying to get healthier every day, those
habits are just gonna compound, and if
00:18:19
you don't even focus on that end result,
just focus on your process, and you're
00:18:24
just gonna see leaps in your life that
you wouldn't have thought possible.
00:18:27
https: TheBusinessProfessor.
00:18:27
com
00:18:27
Avery: Totally agree with that.
00:18:28
Uh, I, I love that you also mentioned
that like, you can, you can upscale
00:18:32
on work's time, one of my students who
just landed a data role, she may have
00:18:36
landed it over a year now, she just
messaged me and she's like, my boss is
00:18:40
giving me 10 hours a week to upscale.
00:18:42
I was like, Holy crap.
00:18:43
That's a lot.
00:18:43
Usually people don't get that much,
but the point is you probably have
00:18:47
or can take like one to two hours,
at least a week in upscaling she has
00:18:51
10, which I think is fantastic, but.
00:18:53
Like every company is going to
want their employees to improve.
00:18:57
And they, like you said,
reap the benefits of that.
00:18:59
So don't be like, Oh, I'm
going to go to this job.
00:19:01
And as soon as I'm there, I'm never
going to learn anything again.
00:19:04
You're going to, they're
going to help you learn.
00:19:05
And that's, that's one of the cool things
is when instead of paying to learn,
00:19:09
you're getting paid to learn at that
point, which is such a cool feeling.
00:19:11
Oh, 100%.
00:19:12
Literally today, my boss was encouraging
us in a team meeting to make sure that
00:19:17
we're spending even just a little bit.
00:19:18
One to three hours a week.
00:19:20
I'm sure we could spend more than that
if we needed it, had the time for it.
00:19:23
But I really liked that
she encouraged us to learn.
00:19:26
Something that I had
been doing for a while.
00:19:28
I've kind of fallen off the past
couple weeks was I start work at 8am.
00:19:33
And if I'm honest, 8 to 9am, I'm
still waking up a little bit.
00:19:37
So responding to Teams DMs,
I'm responding to emails.
00:19:41
And I also spend like 30 minutes
just working on something.
00:19:45
Learning that's going to
help me do my work better.
00:19:47
So recently that's been a Python course
and a pandas course within Python.
00:19:53
So yeah, just learning a little bit
every day really just goes so far.
00:19:57
And I would say the one other thing I
would add, as long as it's something that
00:20:00
is at least tangential to your work, like.
00:20:02
A social media creator.
00:20:04
So I wouldn't spend time on the clock
personally, like working on LinkedIn
00:20:09
strategy course or something like that.
00:20:11
But anything I'm doing that has to
do with statistics or SQL or Python,
00:20:15
that's going to benefit my job.
00:20:17
So I, if they ever discouraged
me from learning, I'd be like,
00:20:20
that's only going to hurt you.
00:20:22
Yeah, hopefully.
00:20:24
Yeah.
00:20:24
That's a little bit of a red
00:20:25
Avery: flag at those, at that point.
00:20:26
Um, but yes, of course, make sure
it's, make sure it's related.
00:20:29
Now, now I'm curious though,
Elijah, you're a senior analyst.
00:20:32
You've been there six months.
00:20:33
You're in no rush to go anywhere else.
00:20:35
But like, what is next
after a senior analyst role?
00:20:38
Like, are you a senior analyst
for the rest of your career?
00:20:40
Um, you
00:20:41
could be, honestly, like there are
some very high paying senior analysts.
00:20:45
A lot of companies after senior, they
might expect you to go into management.
00:20:50
And if you can still get
some salary increases.
00:20:52
Increases you don't necessarily
have to go into management.
00:20:55
Some people won't like managing people.
00:20:57
Some people honestly won't be good
managing people and I've yet to
00:21:01
know because I've yet to try it yet.
00:21:03
So there is no specific path.
00:21:06
You could stay a senior analyst.
00:21:08
I would say within my company, it
would probably need to eventually
00:21:11
move up to a lead analyst, which
it has lead in the title, but that
00:21:16
can vary based on what I've seen.
00:21:18
I think it would It would be
a title and salary change.
00:21:21
I would probably take a little bit of
management, be kind of like a side manager
00:21:25
to people, but not be like they're direct.
00:21:27
So right now I'm incredibly
happy on my company and my team.
00:21:31
So the most likely thing for me would
be moving up there, but I'll always look
00:21:36
into every opportunity if I, there was
ever something crazy that came my way.
00:21:41
I would always look into that.
00:21:42
I will.
00:21:42
At some point, probably at least take
a educational deep dive into data
00:21:47
science and data engineering to see
if any of those interests me more than
00:21:51
data analytics, but as far as I can
see, I love the team that I work on and
00:21:55
hopefully I can make an impact big enough
that would warrant an increase or just.
00:22:01
It's just stay in there and being happy.
00:22:02
Avery: Love that.
00:22:03
Yeah.
00:22:03
Lead, lead analysts, I
think is a great option.
00:22:06
Management, like you
said, is a great option.
00:22:07
And then, yeah, of course there's
the offshoots of data science.
00:22:10
There's the offshoots of data engineering.
00:22:12
There's this new thing
called analytics engineering.
00:22:14
That's like halfway data analysts,
halfway data engineering that I
00:22:17
think, uh, is a big opportunity
for a lot of people to grow.
00:22:20
I guess to, to sum that up is.
00:22:22
There's lots of options.
00:22:23
There's, there's lots of different
directions you could go based off
00:22:25
of what your interests are and maybe
what they will become down the road.
00:22:29
Once you try to experiment
with all of that.
00:22:31
A hundred percent.
00:22:32
It's just literally whatever
you're interested in.
00:22:34
And that's overall, what's
going to guide me down my path.
00:22:38
I think at least for right now,
I again, really enjoyed business.
00:22:41
I really liked being a part
of the business decisions.
00:22:44
I feel like data engineering is.
00:22:46
It's kind of between data and
software engineering, so I feel
00:22:50
like it's less on the business side.
00:22:51
But if you're like, I literally
don't care what I'm doing.
00:22:55
I literally just want to make
as much money as possible.
00:22:58
That isn't me currently, but like
you can make some stupid money in
00:23:02
data engineering and data science.
00:23:04
So it's good to always look at those.
00:23:06
But even if you're making a ton of
money, if you hate your job, if you're
00:23:09
making 500, 000 as a data engineer.
00:23:12
You're having to work 60 hours a
week and all 60 hours are miserable.
00:23:16
I promise you would be, I almost
promise that you would be happier in
00:23:20
a much lower paid job that you enjoy.
00:23:22
Totally agree with that.
00:23:24
Avery: I love that.
00:23:24
So to summarize for all of you, Asa.
00:23:26
Aspiring senior data analyst, you
guys can follow Elijah's example.
00:23:30
He made sure that he had a good baseline
of skills and had been in the industry
00:23:33
for a while, but then it was really his
personal skills and what he was doing
00:23:36
outside of work that allowed him to
transition within his company from the
00:23:40
analyst role to the senior analyst role.
00:23:42
Now, of course, that's one
path that Elijah is showing us.
00:23:45
But there's so many more you could job up.
00:23:47
You could do so many different
things, but regardless, you
00:23:49
always got to keep learning.
00:23:50
Like Elijah said, it's
not going to hurt you.
00:23:52
And then just make sure you're
doing the soft skills at your job.
00:23:54
Elijah, thank you so much for joining us.
00:23:56
You guys can check out
Elijah's own YouTube channel
00:23:59
in the show notes down below.
00:24:00
I'm going to be on there soon.
00:24:02
So you guys know that it's
going to be good, right?
00:24:04
Elijah.
00:24:04
Oh,
00:24:05
I'm so excited about that video.
00:24:07
Avery shares a ton of specifics
about building a portfolio.
00:24:10
I know that's kind of one of
the most stressful parts about
00:24:13
getting into data analytics.
00:24:14
So if you want all of the deep down
dirty secrets of how to build a great
00:24:19
portfolio, be sure to tune into that.