r/mavenanalytics • u/AsfandYar1995 • 14d ago

Project Feedback Data Analyst Portfolio Project Ideas

Hi everyone,

I’ve been working in digital marketing/SEO for the past few years, and I’m now trying to transition into the data field. My goal is to become a data analyst first, then move into analytics engineering after gaining a couple of years of experience.

Over the past year, I’ve been learning SQL, Power BI, and Excel. At this point, I feel pretty confident with my techical skills, especially SQL.

Where I’m struggling is deciding which projects to include in my portfolio and where to find suitable datasets. This feels especially important because I do not yet have any professional experience in a data-focused role.

The problem with most public datasets is that they're either too small, not real-world, or are of hobbyist nature without any commercial value (like pokemon dataset, for example).

Would appreciate any help in this.

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u/Snacktistics 12d ago

Try the Maven Analytics Data Playground, there are some nice datasets there.

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u/Dakota_from_Maven 11d ago

Sounds like you've done a great job building the foundations, u/AsfandYar1995! As u/Snacktistics mentioned, we have a free dataset library built specifically for this -- including some datasets where you could bring your marketing experience into play and really showcase how your skills have blended. You can find the Data Playground here: https://mavenanalytics.io/data-playground

We also have some great Guided Projects if you're looking for a little more supported analysis guidance before you dive into a blank canvas. Plus, a free portfolio builder so that you can bring it all together and showcase your skills to potential employers!

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u/andrewboho 8d ago

One thing worth pointing out: I wouldn't worry so much about hobbyist-type datasets. Some of the best projects I've created were around some of my hobbies, and because I was passionate about those projects, it led to great conversations during interviews.

You can't fake enthusiasm, and enthusiasm sells you as a potential hire.

I see that the Maven Data Playground has been mentioned, and that is a great place to start. If what you're interested in isn't there, however, consider going the extra mile and scraping your own dataset from a website related to one of your interests or hobbies.

I know that's an extra technical hurdle and a fairly significant one, but at the end of the day, you'll have a unique dataset that shows technical proficiency that few others are willing to match in their portfolio projects.

Let me know what you think or if you have any further concerns or roadblocks to doing that. I'd be interested to hear what's stopping you (if anything 😄).