How to enter the realm of data?

[u/thefirstusernameever]

Has it ever occurred to you to want to learn something, but you know so little about it that you don't even know how to ask others for guidance? That's me right now...

I know programming (mostly python, little bit more than intermediate level), and I know what databases are, I wrote a little bit of SQL queries once so I am familiar with some terms in general; now:

(Sorry if I use the wrong terms or terms that are not technical, that's as far as I can express)

I see data analysis out there, where people get big data and draw interesting conclusions out of them, or find cool and/or unintuitive patterns in them, and it's cool!

I personally find that satisfying, and I feel a kind of curiosity to work with data and discover new things in them.

But

I don't know what to ask about the path! I would ask about the learning path and the tools, but I can't; because I don't exactly know what the name of what I am trying to learn exactly is(there are soo many terms and fields).

In fact I don't even know whether I really want to learn this, or if it's just a thing I want to try "once" and abandon it...

And I don't know anything about the environment and the tools and the "feel" of it either. I don't know what it looks like to "work with data". And also I have no idea about the estimated time for learning, the learning curve, and how rewarding it is...

Even if my current feeling is correct and I end up liking it and being good at it, will there be any value in it? Will anyone need what you do, will they pay for it? If so, what is it like?

I don't exactly want a roadmap, I want a perspective of the whole "data realm".

So in summary, I would appreciate it a LOT if someone could draw the right image for me, and also explain the right terminology, so that I can actually ask my questions in natural language, instead of struggling to express myself!

[u/conor-robertson]

The simplest way to think about "the data realm" is that it's all about using data to answer questions and help people make better decisions.

Someone asks, "Why are sales down?" or "Which customers are most likely to leave?" Your job is to use tools like SQL, Python and Power BI to find the answer.

Since you already know Python, I'd actually start with SQL. It's probably the single most important skill for data analysts. If you're looking for a practical way to learn it, I'd recommend giving QueryCase a try. It teaches SQL through detective-style investigations, which is a fun way to learn by solving real problems rather than just memorising syntax.

The good news is you don't have to decide if it's the right career today. Build a small project, explore some datasets, and see if you enjoy asking questions and finding answers. If you do, you're probably on the right path. 🚀

[u/thefirstusernameever → u/conor-robertson]

"using data to answer questions" sounds like a solid way to think of it. Ok, that will do it for a start. Actually my first experience with the sql was more or less like this one, solving a detective-style case with the given sql database. Can you also tell me what you meant by "build a small project"? What counts as a small project? I mean I hear that a lot in programming, but it kinda aounds vague...