Founder of DataFrenchy I Linked[in] Instructor I Sr. Analyst at Spring Health I Helping underpaid & unappreciated professionals break into data analytics
For anyone who’s starting their data career journey, I’d give them this exact advice: Don’t try to be good at everything. Lemme explain that. When you are starting out, you’ll probably want to create a million dashboards, query some data, make some presentations, etc. But if you try and be good at everything, you’ll never excel at anything. I’d rather someone focus on a couple or few things, with business knowledge being the top one. I’d rather be the go-to person for a specific topic or be the Excel person than just be another person who is ok with a bunch of stuff. If you truly want to make an impact and grow, focus on being a subject matter expert and thinking of how you can learn the business inside and out. PS I’m doing a free live intro to SQL class in a couple of weeks! Check it out in the comments.
Omer Faizal
2w
Great advice Chris French. I still would say important to have a basic understanding of all topics to stay versatile. That one thing you spent years studying might end up not exactly what you expect to build your career on, so versatility keeps your options just a bit more open.
Will this be recorded?
this is great advice. I started to burn out quick when I was trying to complete my data courses and learn another new skill at the same time. Recently, I've made more progress focusing on ONE skill versus trying to learn all of them within a short period of time. I know some people like the "fast track" in life, but I do feel the same as you, that you can't be good at everything, and complete everything super fast. You'll burn the candle out quick, leaving you with no room to learn and grow. Thanks for sharing again. :)
Finding on what not to focus on is hard, maybe that's what we try to figure with experience.
Andy Werdin
2w
Well said! Don't try to cover every tool at once, but become good at the one most relevant for your current career level and focus more on the surrounding soft skills that will enable you to have a real impact on the business.
This makes perfect sense once you're in a role, but what about when you're applying? I literally got a certification called "Excel Ninja" but this sort of expertise doesn't always translate
also need to share your work so people know you're the expert!
I totally agree! Being the expert in 1 or 2 tools is better than being mediocre at 5 🤷♀️
Founder of DataFrenchy I Linked[in] Instructor I Sr. Analyst at Spring Health I Helping underpaid & unappreciated professionals break into data analytics
2wLink: https://analyticsacademy.trainercentralsite.com/session/intro-to-sql-1393102091