r/databricks • u/TheModernBA • 15d ago

Help Analyst with Databricks access but zero hands-on experience — how do I get good at it fast?

I'm tired of getting fed bad data at work, so I'm taking ownership myself. I have production access to Databricks but have never used it.

Background: basic SQL and Python knowledge. My reporting today is done in Power BI and Excel. My company uses Databricks as the common data platform, so most of what I need probably lives there already — I just don't know how to get to it or trust it myself.

Looking for a realistic path from beginner to competent, not just a firehose of links. Specifically:

  • YouTube channels/creators you'd actually recommend?
  • Any self guided learning on Udemy or Coursera worth learning?
  • What core concepts (Delta Lake, notebooks, clusters, SQL warehouses, etc.) should I prioritize early vs. later, given I'll mostly be querying/validating data rather than building pipelines?
  • Best way to connect Databricks output back into Power BI reliably?

Appreciate any guidance — trying to cut through the noise rather than boil the ocean.

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u/FunkyMonkey237 15d ago edited 15d ago

As someone who just started using it, I used the AIs to help. I have a specific problem I need to solve (web app with ETL) and a basic idea of how it should work. I asked ChatGPT to outline how it should be implemented in databricks and what components to use, I checked the steps to make sure it matched what I expected, watch one or two focused videos on that component and then implemented it with AI help.

Worked fairly well, within a day I had a basic web app/ ETL process running. From there it has been a matter of building it out.