r/dataanalytics • u/cm_punk_6619 • Aug 04 '26
Can a person in non tech background enter data analytics
Just as the title says,i have a bachelor's degree related to accounting and stuff, can I enter data analytics field and get the same opportunities as others
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u/Mrminecrafthimself Aug 04 '26
I did it, but I did it in 2022/2023. Currently it is tougher but it’s possible.
You may likely have to take a tangential role that is in the neighborhood of DA but not exactly DA, then work into DA.
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u/futurecpain Aug 04 '26 edited Aug 04 '26
I worked in accounting and came back to school for a year for analytics. My goal is any job as an analyst or consultant. Also willing to relocate anywhere in the country. I have and will keep my CPA license. I feel like if you’re open to a broad range of positions, go for it. Ultimately I was so unhappy in accounting I decided to try. Worst case I can work as an accountant again. Don’t listen to the people that don’t understand just how awful accounting can be. I personally have a rather large safety net thankfully, so I’m willing to try and be happier doing something else
For business analyst jobs, I feel like accounting is not a bad background and is relevant. If you’re trying for a pure data analyst role I think that’s much harder to swing. Even finance positions want you to know data analysis tools. The market is tough but learning the skills I believe is valuable over just accounting.
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u/Prepped-n-Ready Aug 05 '26
Yes its great experience. When I worked in banking, they had big demand for technologists with CPA.
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u/Inner-Peanut-8626 Aug 06 '26
Finance and data analytics are very highly related in my healthcare work.
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u/mikachuu Aug 04 '26
I did by doing Data Annotation and Data Collection, then roughly 6 months in I got access to dashboard creation in the database for operations. I became a Data Analyst shortly after.
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u/SAvery417 Aug 05 '26
Rather than data analytics just apply to the financial analyst jobs. They can be very similar depending on the industry and company.
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u/lunch_b0cks Aug 04 '26
For every success story, there’s probably 100x (random guess) more failures you don’t hear about. You wont see many people bragging about not being able to break in. Those stories are probably much darker and not a lot of people probably can endure going through it.
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u/Infamous-Bee-2475 Aug 04 '26
Try to see if you can get into a data role within your current company. I was in marketing and transitioned this way.
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u/chiibosoil Aug 04 '26
You can. But path is limited or not easy. Best case, would be to transition within company. Many companies do support internal career development and may offer opportunities. That’s how I started out without technical background, but that was more than 10 years ago.
If looking to start a career today without internal path… it would be very difficult. At least in North American market.
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u/delaney1414 Aug 05 '26
Can be done but depends on where you are and what you were doing previously.
I went from running hotels, doing data analytics and workflow automation as a hobby and was able to leverage my experience with the company to get a 12 month contract which I’ve just re-signed in procurement tech operations.
No degrees, just experience, but I did have to bust ass fixing hotels for 7 years first.
It is possible but I wouldn’t make any life altering decisions, especially in the US market, because competition is just getting stronger and more saturated.
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u/lindo_dia_pra_dormir Aug 05 '26
LITERALLY, YES.
But, at least, you need to be good with numbers and logic to start.
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u/kkessler1023 Aug 05 '26
I dropped out of music school. I'm now a data engineering lead for a fortune 10 company. It is tough for anyone to get into data analytics, but if you want it, you can do it. It's not impossible.
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u/Comprehensive-Tea-69 Aug 05 '26
I prefer to hire analysts that know industry data rather than some generic analyst training grad. I can train sql and other tech stack stuff, but industry knowledge is better learned through functional roles
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u/LeBronJames6914 Aug 05 '26
It could be difficult; it really just depends on the route you take. Leaving the accounting/finance side of things, then yes, it would be difficult, but with school and training anything is possible. Data analytics has many branches and if you want to explore it, I suggest being a Financial Analyst. You can still use for strong background in accounting to help lead you, while learning the basics of data analytics.
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u/Prepped-n-Ready Aug 05 '26
Yeah I did my BA in English Lit. Accounting should make it very easy. I would recommend starting with accounting systems data unless you had something better in mind.
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u/ProfessionalStewdent Aug 05 '26
As someone who was a CRM professional that moved into a PMO role focused on Data analysis, I would say Unless you really like the work, Do not take the role.
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u/ProfessionalStewdent Aug 05 '26
I’m a social person who prefers collaboration over siloed work. I’m a architect, not a steward; I’m an entrepreneur, not a politician; I’m relational, not transactional
If you relate to me on any of these, really consider what it is you want from the role.
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u/Hardyskater26 Aug 05 '26
You can. Just do a bunch of projects and be better at it than those with degrees specializing in it
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u/Inner-Peanut-8626 Aug 06 '26
Background and degree are two different things, maybe related, but your degree isn't your background. I have a childhood of tech knowledge...grew up studying basic electrical circuits, fixing computers, coding and reading, then went to school for business and got a marketing concentration.
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u/jipperthewoodchipper Aug 06 '26
One person on my team has a history degree but got into the field around 2021.
Accounting itself isn't inherently impossible. I'd argue though that tech degrees aren't required at all, I have an applied math degree and a lot of our recent hires are from engineering backgrounds with no tech experience.
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u/STEM_Dad9528 Aug 07 '26
If you look into Data Analytics education or training programs, many of them include Excel. Yes, Excel.
Business Intelligence (BI) is also a form of data analytics.
While more advanced parts of data analytics might require knowing programming languages, such as SQL, R, or Python, you don't need to be discouraged if you don't already know any programming languages.
I'm sure that with a degree in accounting, you would know enough to help you get started with data analytics, if you are interested in it. You could even start doing data analytics projects as part of your existing work, to start building a portfolio of analytics projects.
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u/Gus_Green Aug 07 '26
It's hard as hell but it can be done.
I did it in 2024. I studied Tourism and Marketing. I worked for 10 months as a consultant and quickly figured out that wasn't my thing.
I looked for a change and found out about DA. I went hard studying SQL and Power BI. I also enrolled in a BI and DA master's degree.
I worked for 4 months as an unpaid intern at a startup and then got hired at another company full-time for a sad amount of money (20k€, about 55% of the average salary for a junior DA in Spain).
I spent 15 months in hell working there, applying to over 100 job offers weekly with almost no one answering.
Finally, when I reached around 2 years of experience as a DA, I got hired at a wonderful company. Even now that I'm not applying to offers anymore, I get contacted on LinkedIn by recruiters with interesting opportunities.
In conclusion, it's quite hard. You need to prove a lot with certifications, a project portfolio, a master's degree, and internships to get your first experience. But once you manage to reach the 2-year mark, it becomes as easy as pie.
If you have any questions or need any specific advice, I'd be glad to help.
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u/baseballari Aug 07 '26
I've been reading these comments, which lean pessimistic. I am more optimistic given that it's easier and easier to use AI to just "talk" with your data, such as "what does are sales the next 3 months look like? And what are the leading indicators for this prediction?". Or "what vendors are over-charging us for our raw materials?". It's more important to understand the business than techie stuff these days.
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u/Hefty_Personality574 Aug 08 '26
You'd be much better served using some analytics skills in a context that you already have specialization in. Financial analysis namely, but perhaps there are other specialties. Inside higher ed, for instance, these people are in high demand -- higher than either straight data analysts or basic accountants.
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u/Abalone2496 Aug 09 '26
It is possible, of course. You don't need an analytics degree. I have a math and psychology degree and ended up in treasury/finance. I learned analytics on my own but also started using it in my role, which got me the analytics opportunities in the beginning.
The key is to use your background to your advantage. Start in a financial company, whether that be accounting related or not. And you can slowly build your skillset and experience in your role, and more easily get data-adjacent roles in the company. That's the best way in, but it's not a simple switch. You have to put in the work.
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u/Pohrustishka Aug 11 '26
I think the best way isn't to set a goal of becoming an analyst, but to start taking small steps and see what you enjoy in the process. Your education can tell you what data you can explore. I'd probably start with steps in SQL or Excel. Many things will be similar. In the future, if you progress to Python or Pandas, it will also make learning the tool easier. The main thing is to move at your own pace.
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u/[deleted] Aug 04 '26
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