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
Data Governance Analyst (L2)
2-3 yearsSkills to master
- Independently managing data catalog entries, taking ownership of routine data quality monitoring, supporting data lineage efforts, and effectively communicating basic governance concepts.
You're ready to move on when
- You're consistently delivering high-quality governance artefacts.
- You're proactively identifying minor data issues.
- You're starting to informally guide new joiners and are keen to take on more complex problems.
- 2
Data Quality Analyst
3-4 yearsSkills to master
- Deep expertise in data profiling, designing and implementing data quality rules, root cause analysis for data errors, and working with data engineers on remediation.
You're ready to move on when
- You've successfully improved data quality for several key datasets.
- You're confident in your SQL skills.
- You're looking to broaden your scope beyond just quality to include policies and metadata.
- 3
Business Analyst (with a data focus)
4-5 yearsSkills to master
- Translating business requirements into technical specifications, understanding data models, strong stakeholder management, and a good grasp of how data supports business processes.
You're ready to move on when
- You're often the one asking 'where does this data come from?' or 'what's the definitive definition of that metric?'
- You're frustrated by inconsistent data and want to be part of the solution.