The pathway
How you actually get there, here
How you become one varies far more by country than what one does. This is the UK route. Most people take one of these ways in; the right one depends on where you're starting from.
- 1
Senior Data Visualisation Analyst (L3)
3-5 years as a Senior AnalystSkills to master
- Mastering complex DAX/LODs, leading small projects end-to-end, beginning to mentor junior team members, and taking ownership of dashboard performance tuning.
You're ready to move on when
- Consistently delivers complex dashboards with minimal supervision and high accuracy.
- Proactively identifies and resolves performance bottlenecks in existing BI solutions.
- Successfully mentors 1-2 junior analysts, helping them grow their technical skills.
- Actively contributes to defining team best practices and technical standards.
- 2
Data Engineer (with BI focus)
5-8 years in Data EngineeringSkills to master
- Deep understanding of data pipeline construction, data warehousing, and SQL optimisation, now wanting to specialise in the 'last mile' of data delivery and user experience.
You're ready to move on when
- Has built and maintained robust data pipelines that feed BI systems.
- Demonstrates strong SQL and data modelling skills, with an eye for analytical use cases.
- Expresses a strong interest in user experience and translating data into actionable insights.
- Has some experience working with BI tools from a data preparation perspective.