The work of a data analyst, especially in web analytics, requires a number of skills that don’t often, or ever, get called out in job postings:
– The ability to translate business and marketing requirements into tagging plans or solution design references, technical specifications, and user stories that are legible and usable by developers.
– The ability to translate developer feedback on feasibility and limitations back into business and marketing language that can be understood.
– The ability to get stakeholders to open up and talk about their pain points and reporting needs in a requirements gathering session, as well as to get them to focus on what metrics would really show them whether or not their efforts are successful, rather than just the same old fluffy vanity metrics everyone else asks for.
– The ability to estimate not only your own level of effort in performing technical implementation tasks, but also that of the developers who are implementing your data layers and wiring up the dimensions/context values.
– The ability to quickly learn the ins and outs of a new industry, often from scratch, and then be able to advise clients on what key performance indicators are most valuable in that industry.
These require an unique and interesting blend of technical, social, and strategic skills that I honestly feel make analytics such an interesting field to work in!
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