What is a data analyst?
The data analyst collects, processes and analyses an organisation's data in order to draw insights that support decision-making. In sport, they work in particular with performance, ticketing and audience data to inform strategic choices.
What does a data analyst do?
They collect and clean data, run exploratory analyses to identify trends and anomalies, create visualisations and dashboards, prepare reports for senior management and automate certain recurring processes. They also make sure data privacy rules are followed.
The essential qualities and skills of a data analyst
- Command of statistical tools
- Rigour and strong organisational skills
- An analytical mind
- Command of languages such as SQL or Python
- Curiosity
Salary and career progression
A junior data analyst can expect a gross annual salary of around €47,000, or close to €3,900 gross per month. With several years' experience, pay often exceeds €55,000 gross per year, and some roles reach €100,000 in the largest organisations.
What should you study to become a data analyst?
A Bachelor's to Master's level qualification in statistics, computing or data science opens the door to this profession. Engineering schools, specialist data Master's degrees and business school courses with a data specialisation are the most common routes.
