How to earn more money as a Data Analyst
According to the November 2023 report from DataAnalyst.com, the salaries listed on their Data Analyst job openings ranged from $50,000 to $200,000 annually.
That’s quite a range! But what does it take to make a higher salary in this field?
Obviously, years of experience is a huge factor. But there is much more beyond that. What can you do to increase your salary potential?
Learn Advanced Skills
More advanced skills means more advanced roles which means more advanced salaries.
Data Analyst roles are looking for some combination of the following skills. This is listed from basic to more advanced, so the more skills from this list you can add, the more doors will open for advanced job opportunities. Learning the more advanced skills could also help you to qualify for opportunities as a Data Scientist, Data Engineer, or Analytics Engineer, all of which typically pay more on average than Data Analyst roles.
- Excel
- SQL
- Tableau or PowerBI
- Cloud services like AWS, GCP, Azure, dbt, Databricks, etc
- Python or R
- Statistical analysis (probability, experimentation, regression)
- Predictive modeling (machine learning)
Want a list of specific topics to target for each item above? Check out the list of specific technical skills I’ve used on the job.
Business Knowledge
It’s not enough to master technical skills though, you need to know how to apply which skill when to solve the problems you’re tasked with. Having good business knowledge helps you identify the problems to solve and the solutions to solve them.
How can you develop this knowledge? Attend industry events (in-person or virtual) and read trade publications and industry blogs to learn what problems companies face and how they are solving them.
Demonstrate that you have the knowledge to solve problems by doing projects relevant to the industries you’re targeting.
Another strategy is to get a job — any job — in your target industry. Often you can get your hands on data even if there is nothing “data” related in your job title. For example, I worked in marketing for years, doing data analysis along with strategy and content development, before I moved into a marketing analytics role.
Industry
Some industries pay higher salaries than others, so if you want to maximize your salary, target industries like tech, finance, and consulting. Keep in mind that jobs in these areas are much more competitive, so if you’re entry level, it’s going to be harder to land that first role if you’re targeting tech and similarly competitive fields.
Master Your Interviews
The reality is that a higher salary will attract more competition for a role and as a result, a company will have a very competitive interview loop. So getting an offer with a high salary means being able to master pretty tough interviews. This includes:
- Summarizing your past experience in an impactful way
- Behavioral questions — “tell me about a time you …”
- Technical challenges — live coding, takehome assignments, sometimes you’ll have to do both for one interview loop
- Case studies — given this hypothetical business problem, how would you solve it with data?
Many candidates who are able to land high-paying roles often spend significant amounts of time — 10+ hours per week for many weeks — just preparing for interviews.
Need more help? Check out my post on preparing for interviews.
Timing of the Market
This doesn’t really get talked about very much, but when you received your current job offer can impact your salary. For example, in 2021–2022, tech companies were hiring like crazy. It was a candidate’s market, meaning the conditions favored candidates. Which means high salaries. Any other company trying to compete for talent had to make similar salary offers to attract good candidates. So high salaries were common during that time.
In 2023, after layoffs flooded the market with highly qualified candidates, and tech companies significantly reduced open roles which meant a sharp decline in hiring, it switched to an employer’s market — the conditions favored the companies. There were fewer job openings and more candidates looking for them. Companies no longer needed to offer crazy high salaries to secure qualified candidates. Add in the absence of rapid hiring from tech companies, and the average salaries being offered were 10–20% lower than 2021–2022.
So someone who was job searching and landed a new role in 2021–2022 was more likely to receive a high salary than someone with the same credentials who landed a new role in 2023.
Your Previous Salary and Your Ability to Negotiate
Most people want to make more money when they leave their current job and accept a new one. Starting a new job comes with some risk, so you want to make sure it’s worth it. Companies know this, so they know they need to beat your previous salary, often by anywhere from 10–30% or more, for you to accept their offer. So the higher your previous salary, the higher your next salary.
Also, you’ll never have more leverage as an employee than you do when a company is trying to win you over. So this is the best time to try to negotiate your salary. Some folks are better at this than others, and if you’re good at making a case for why you are a valuable candidate — based on your experience, skills, education, etc — you can argue for more money.
Your Network
Having a great professional network can also pay off.
You can get a direct referral to the recruiter or hiring manager for your ideal next role.
Additionally, you can find out about job openings that fly under the radar (maybe they aren’t posted to LinkedIn, Indeed, etc) or find out about openings before they are posted publicly.
Need help with networking? Check out my complete guide to professional networking.
What else has worked for you to boost your salary? Drop a comment and let us know!
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