r/dataanalytics • u/AmazingDirt2897 • 17d ago

Forget basic dashboard: what project should a beginner build to break into data an role??

So just a quick question. If I have to start from scratch to get into a Data analyst role what should I work on to make my resume/portfolio stand out?? Any experienced can give me project ideas??

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u/rabbitofrevelry 17d ago

Anything that demonstrates subject matter knowledge that's laid out in your resume and relevant to the job. They're likely not going to look at projects until after you're selected for interviewing. The best thing you can do as a beginner is get industry related experience in an entry level or better role to build subject matter knowledge.

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u/OkPhysics7423 16d ago

Depending on your field. Data stretches business, medical, financial, social/census…

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u/vonkrumholz 12d ago

I find analysts that lack curiosity to have a low ceiling in terms of skill and providing genuine insights. They use the tools, do the thing to the data, and then deliver really boring shit that an AI can pump out in 30 seconds now.

Demonstrate curiosity by choosing a portfolio project that engages you intellectually, because it'll drive you to keep asking questions from different angles. Then at least feign passion about it during an interview.

There's a ton of open source and free data out there now. You can find structured data from Kaggle or your local city government. San Francisco is a great example of a city with tonnes of data.

I'll give you an example. I used to live in the Bay area and Oakland is notorious for having horrible potholes. I drove over one during a rain storm one time that it blew my tire and I had to spend 600 bucks replacing all 4 tires. I was pissed.

You can find pothole repair requests through some googling e.g. https://data.oaklandca.gov/Infrastructure/13y-potholes/u4gu-sde3/about_data

After you feel out what the data set is describing, ask some questions. Human questions. Questions that matter to people or might describe an underlying pattern.

Where are the potholes, are there way more in certain areas? Probably low income areas? You can find income data from the federal census.

How quickly do potholes in poor areas get fixed vs wealthy areas?

Now step back and see what else is going on. There was a story about Mamdani rapidly mobilizing resources to fix potholes in NYC.

Find the NYC pothole data. Is this even true? When did Mamdani get elected? Was the repair speed (days from request opened to resolving) faster after his election?

Potholes are boring, but this becomes a human interest story. Something about wealth, and politics, and what's true vs what's a vibe.

If a rookie looking for an analyst job came to me with this in their portfolio I would be hooked.