Data analyst
Turn data into decisions across business, government and not-for-profit organisations.
Salary
Cited figures only: median full-time weekly earnings for the ANZSCO unit group Actuaries, Mathematicians and Statisticians (2241) from Your Career (Jobs and Skills Australia), and where available the QILT graduate starting salary for the matching study area.
| Figure | AUD | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Graduate starting salary | $80,000 | QILT (2026-08-31) |
What a data analyst actually does
Most data analysts spend the day moving between SQL editors, Python or R notebooks, and a BI tool such as Power BI or Tableau. A typical morning starts with a quick stand-up, then ticket-driven work: pulling a slice of data for a product manager, refreshing a stale dashboard, or debugging numbers that don't reconcile against finance. Afternoons often go to deeper analysis. Writing a query to answer a new question, validating the result against a second source, and packaging the finding into a short report or slide for stakeholders. Stakeholder catch-ups, data governance reviews and "why is this number wrong?" investigations slot in around the focused work. Most roles are hybrid with 2-3 office days, 38-40 hours per week, with peaks around quarterly reporting, board packs and end-of-financial-year analytics requests.
Typical tasks
- Build dashboards in Power BI or Tableau.
- Run SQL and Python analyses.
- Present findings to non-technical stakeholders.
Skills you'll use
- SQL for joins, window functions and CTEs
- Excel and Power Query
- Power BI or Tableau dashboard design
- Python (pandas) or R for ad-hoc analysis
- Cleaning and reconciling messy operational data
- Reading and writing clear analytical narratives
- Stakeholder interviews to scope the real question
- Basic statistics including descriptive stats and significance testing
How to become one
- 1Finish Year 12 with English and a strong maths subject (Methods or Advanced preferred for stats-heavy roles)
- 2Complete a 3-year Bachelor of Information Technology, Bachelor of Commerce with data analytics, Bachelor of Science, or Bachelor of Business Analytics
- 3Build a portfolio: 2-3 end-to-end projects using public datasets (data.gov.au, ABS, Kaggle) showing SQL, a Power BI or Tableau dashboard, and a short write-up
- 4Apply for graduate analyst roles in banking, government, telcos, retail or consulting, or start in a related role (finance analyst, operations analyst) and pivot
- 5Layer on certifications as you settle in: Microsoft PL-300 (Power BI), Tableau Specialist, or dbt fundamentals
- 6Pick a track after 3-4 years: business analyst, data engineer, analytics engineer, product analyst, or specialist domains like risk, marketing or fraud
Where you can work
- Big four banks and other ASX-listed financial services
- Federal and state government departments and agencies
- Telcos, large retailers and supermarket chains
- Consultancies including Big four advisory analytics teams
- SaaS and digital product companies
- Universities and research institutes
- Not-for-profits and health-services providers
Career progression
Typical stages and roles. Years of experience are a rough guide; pay at each stage depends on the employer, award or agreement.
- Graduate0-2 yearsTypical roles: Graduate data analyst, Junior analyst, Reporting analyst
- Mid-level3-5 yearsTypical roles: Data analyst, Insights analyst, Product analyst
- Senior6-9 yearsTypical roles: Senior data analyst, Lead analyst, Analytics manager
- Lead or principal10+ yearsTypical roles: Head of analytics, Principal analyst, Director of insights
Is this for you?
You might love this if
- You like getting numbers to reconcile to a defensible answer
- You can explain a chart to a non-technical executive without dumbing it down
- You're comfortable saying "I don't know yet, let me check"
- You're curious about how the business actually makes money
- You can sit with a messy dataset until it makes sense
This might not suit you if
- You want a job with no stakeholder management
- You dislike repetitive cleaning, reconciliation and chasing data owners
- You want to be told exactly what to build rather than scope it yourself
- You're not interested in the business problem behind the data
Ways in
Uni and TAFE routes for data analyst. We only list pathways that actually lead to this occupation.
University
Bachelor degrees that lead to this career.
TAFE / VET
Nationally accredited Certificate and Diploma qualifications.
No direct TAFE pathway to this career.
Sources
ExamExplained does not publish predictive salary figures. For current Australian earnings data check Your Career (yourcareer.gov.au) directly. Career classifications follow the ABS ANZSCO 2022 release.