Is Tableau enough to get a job?

 

Tableau is a software that is designed with non-programmers in mind, so adding it to your skill set is simple and quick. Learning is enticing because of the short learning curve. However, would mastering Tableau help you stand out to employers?

Tableau is insufficient to land a job. The programmer helps analysts and data scientists create simple and quick data visualizations. In order to succeed, a Tableau-specific profession still needs programming language Tableau training. A degree in data or computer science is typically necessary for Tableau jobs.

Tableau: What Is It?

From data inputs, the Tableau software package creates straightforward visualizations and dashboards. However, there are no lines of code needed to make the visualizations. These visualizations are made possible via VizQL, a programming language that runs in the background of Tableau.

The language, which is a descendant of SQL, converts expressions into interactive graphics. Users of Tableau may generate visualizations with a mouse click, in contrast to other tools that necessitates coding.

Tableau is restricted to the visualization of data. It is not in and of itself a programming language. Furthermore, it does not allow for minute detail tweaks in comparison to competitors like R Shiny. It compensates for these drawbacks, though, with accessibility.

Tableau does not only serve data scientists and programmers. Tableau dashboards are simple to view and comprehend for other employees in your firm. Decision-making at the company gains from this.

Additionally, the software promises flexibility. Tableau can read data that has been written in other languages, such as C++, R, Python, etcVizQL and It offers different licenses depending on employment position but is not free to use. That implies that a Viewer license can be purchased by a user who needs to view a dashboard. This license prevents any unintentional changes and the difficulties of navigating new software. 

However, a Creator license or an Explorer license is required if you want to work for Tableau. The user has the ability to create and distribute visualizations with a Creator license. These capabilities are only partially available with an Explorer license. In other words, Tableau jobs frequently go to creative types. Understanding how to read Tableau is insufficient. Even though you don't need to know how to code to design in Tableau, programming expertise is useful.

What Positions Are Open in Tableau?

Let's discuss the professions that frequently use Tableau now that you are familiar with what it is and how it is used. Even if some of these professions may not require Tableau, using it will help your resume.

Tableau Consultant: As implied by the title, a tableau consultant advises companies on how to use Tableau's products. These designers use Tableau Desktop, Tableau Server, and Tableau Online to provide automated visualizations.

Data analyst: A data analyst is a kind of data whisperer who can translate information into understandable numbers, statistics, and figures. In order to generate business insights that can guide decision-making, this function necessitates the collection, storage, and interpretation of data.

Business Analyst: It's always a wise option to base business decisions on data-driven facts. Making a decision and acting on that decision, however, are two distinct processes. By bridging the gap between businesses and IT, business analysts can assess the effects of these actions and maximize profits.

Business intelligence analyst: BI analysts look on areas that need to be improved to reduce loss, as opposed to business analysts who concentrate on raising profit. It needs a combination of IT, communication, and problem-solving skills to succeed in this multidisciplinary position. Many different trends must be compared between BI analysts' results after they have combed through a large amount of data. They then use this knowledge to make decisions.

Developer of business intelligence: The system of business intelligence is multi-layered and has several interfaces. Unstructured data is found in its most unprocessed form in the storage layer. The warehouse layer organizes this data. The reporting layer then visualizes the results from this data. A BI developer ensures the proper operation of these technologies by creating, deploying, and maintaining the various Business Intelligence interfaces.

Manager of Business Intelligence: Every team, including business intelligence groups, needs a leader, according to the business intelligence manager. A data analysis team is supervised, instructed, and led by a business intelligence manager to pursue data-driven risk analysis and assessment. Key executives from other firm teams are presented with reports that a BI manager has prepared based on the results of their group.

As you can see, Tableau might be advantageous in certain circumstances. Still, a Tableau consultant is the sole position that demands expertise. Since they act in the capacity of developers, consultants still need to understand the fundamentals of programming to offer suitable solutions.

The remaining positions on the list call for a variety of skills. These jobs' duties include data administration, translation, calculation, interpretation, and presentation. In addition, the ability to manage a group of data analysts is a requirement. Business intelligence is a major component of many of these positions, adding business education to the list of requirements.

What to expect when applying for a Tableau position

As was already established, if you want to work with Tableau, mastering the software is just the first step. Your goals will also benefit from a data science education, business expertise, and leadership abilities. Let's talk about what it may look like to apply for this kind of work and the abilities that will make you stand out.

Here is an illustration from data analyst Harry Ngo of Medium. 2019 saw Ngo earn a bachelor's degree in statistics, but he encountered opposition when applying for his first job. Instead of giving up, Ngo invested his free time in obtaining a number of certifications, including those for Tableau Desktop, Microsoft Azure/Power Platform, IBM Data Science Professional, and SAS Base Programming.

Ngo had to submit a "Analysis & Presentation" task as part of his application for the graduate position in data science and analytics he is currently working at. The employer will give you a scenario and some data to analyze for this assessment. You then offer a presentation based on the discoveries and inferences you made from the data. This presentation is being made by Ngo using PowerPoint.

Ngo began by calculating statistics in Excel using functions like AVERAGE and SUM. Excel proved suitable for doing this straightforward operation, although its graphical layout is unattractive. Ngo plugged his data into Tableau for that reason. Ngo used Tableau to produce visually appealing graphics for his presentation.

Ngo used screenshots of his experiences with interactive Tableau visualizations to present various findings from a highlight table.

In this procedure, numerous programmes were used. Ngo conducted his analysis using Tableau and Excel, respectively. Following that, he included screenshots of those visualizations to a PowerPoint presentation. Additionally, he earned numerous certifications in data science applications along the way to that application.

It is true that Ngo's application stood out from the competition because of his Tableau expertise. It was the cherry on top of a lot of other skills, though.