Stage 1 of 8 · 6 lessons · ~2 weeks
How analysts think
What analysts actually do, and the habits that come before any tool: asking a sharp business question, defining metrics precisely, knowing which kind of analysis you are doing and handling data responsibly.
Start: What a data analyst does all dayLessons· one lesson for each topic, in this order
Do this
- Read five real analyst job descriptions in your market and list the skills that appear in most of them.
- Write three vague business requests and rewrite each as a specific question tied to a decision.
- Define three metrics precisely, including refunds, test accounts and time zones where relevant.
- Classify ten questions as descriptive, diagnostic, predictive or prescriptive.
- Reshape one small report-style table into tidy form on paper or in a sheet.
- Write your personal rule for handling real data: what never goes into a portfolio or AI chat.
Keep handy
Also worth your time
Before moving on: A one-page analysis brief for a question you care about: the business question, who would use the answer, three metric definitions with edge cases, the type of analysis and where public data for it could come from.
Nobody hires an analyst for knowing a tool; they hire someone who asks the right question and gets the number right. Practise turning every vague request into one precise sentence and a written metric definition. It feels slow at first and it saves you days later.