Data analysis is a fantastic stepping point into the world of data.
It has a high growth and great salaries, but the question of course is how do you get started in this role?
Which is why in this guide, I'm going to break down a step-by-step roadmap to becoming a Data Analyst in 2026. The skills to learn, resources to learn them from, as well as why you need them and the most logical order to pick them all up.
So grab a coffee and let's get into it...
How to become a Data Analyst without a degree
This process I'm about to share here is a deep dive from our Data Analyst roadmap:
Become a Data Analyst
17 milestones 14 courses
Step-by-step roadmap where you'll learn to code and build a portfolio.
Curated curriculum of courses, workshops, challenges, projects, and action items.
Become a Data Analyst from scratch and actually get hired.
Earn on average per year:
$127,635
US salary data collected from Indeed, LinkedIn, and Web3.career 2026.
Feel free to keep reading this guide, as I’ll also give some relevant context as to why you should learn these things in this order. I’ll also share a running tally of how long each resource takes to learn, based on the average completion time of our students.
Optional step. Speed up your learning
Because you're going to be learning a lot of new skills, I recommend taking a slight detour and checking out this guide or better still, this course:
![Learning to Learn [Efficient Learning]](https://images.ctfassets.net/aq13lwl6616q/6VWcUgLgG0SU55ORlILe2S/e186361aeb48561bcd19ae6486577022/Learning_to_Learn.jpg?w=1200&h=672&q=50&fm=webp&bg=transparent)
Average time to learn: 5.5 hours
It will teach you how how to learn using concepts you've never heard of before.
Why care?
Because it'll help you learn faster, which will then reduce the total time it takes you to learn all these other skills you'll need. (It's kind of like stopping the car to fix a flat tire, because you know it will make the whole journey much quicker and smoother).
Then, once you’ve gone through that course and figured out how to learn faster, you can jump into learning all the skills to become a Data Analyst at a more accelerated pace.
Step #1. Build a solid math and coding foundation
Alright, let’s get into actual data analysis training now.
These first 2 courses will make up the core of what you'll be using for your career, so let's break them down...
Start by learning statistics with Python
Average time to learn: 42 days.
As you might guess, this course is not only going to teach you statistics, but it will also teach you the basics of the Python programming language, as well as how to use Python to perform statistical analysis.
No prior experience is required in either coding or even a math background, as you learn everything from scratch.
That being said, the course videos are around 25 hours in total, and include 6 projects to apply and practice (and add to a portfolio later). You may get these done faster, but 42 days is the average for our students.
Learn Business Analytics with Python
Now that you understand statistics and have the basics of Python, it’s time to learn Business Analytics (aka the field you’re training to be in).
This course will walk you through how to get started with this career, give you the core skills, show you how to analyze and visualize data, how to run tests, will further improve your Python skills for data analysis, and much more!
Average time to learn: 20 days.
Should you apply for junior roles now?
So, if we add those both up, you’re looking at around 2 months (62 days total) to understand the most important aspects for becoming a Data Analyst.
At this point, you can definitely start looking for Junior Data Analyst roles and apply if you want to. (You’ll be surprised how many will hire you already with what you know so far. Especially if you completed the project work from each of these courses).
However, you will need to continue to learn the skills in the next steps to understand everything for this role, so let's continue working through them. At the very least you need this next step done...
Step #2. Build a portfolio early
The really cool thing about working in tech, is you don't need a degree to get hired (most of the time).
However, you do need to prove you can do the work, and that’s where portfolios come in. You set one up and share your work there so that prospective employers can see what you’ve done and then possibly hire you.
Learn how to set up a portfolio site here, as well as some tips on how to make yourself far more hireable:
Average time to complete: 10 days
You can now use this portfolio to add projects that you complete from the following courses in this roadmap. (I recommend filling it with projects as you go. Otherwise you might forget to or forget details).
Another benefit of staying on top of it is you might even get offers from people who see what you've done so far.
Step #3. Learn additional Data Analysis tools
Now that you have the core skills under your belt, let’s look at some other common tools and more advanced Data Analysis skills that can help fast-track you to more senior positions and higher salaries.
Be warned though. This is where you’ll spend the bulk of your time, so be prepared to buckle in.
Learn how to use Excel for Basic Data Analysis
Average time to learn: 34 days.
I know what you’re thinking…
Why bother learning Excel?
Isn’t this about becoming a full fledged Data Analyst with all fancy tools?
And that’s correct. However the fact of the matter is, that literally millions of companies around the world use Excel, so you need to learn how to use it effectively for Data Analysis.
That’s why we have 3 different resources that you need to learn. This first one will teach you the fundamentals of Excel for Data Analysis, including formulas, macros and more.
Learn Advanced Excel for Data Analytics and Business Intelligence
Average time to learn: 15 days.
Now that you have the basics covered, it’s time to dive into more advanced Excel features and skills. Commonly referred to as Excels ‘power suite', you’ll learn Power Query, Power Pivot Tables, the DAX formula language, data modeling and more.
Not only that, but you’ll get to apply these across a real-life project to see how they work. (You will need to have covered the previous Excel course to understand this one).
Learn VBA for further Excel Data Analysis
Average time to learn: 14 days.
VBA, or Visual Basic for Applications is a programming language developed by Microsoft that is integrated into Microsoft Office applications such as Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and Access. It allows you to automate tasks and create custom functionality within these Office applications, and as you might have guessed, this is great when we’re using Excel for Data Analysis.
Any time you can create a one click automation for a repeatable task that will save you literally hours and hours of time per year, is worth its weight in gold!
You’ll not only learn how to streamline and automate your Data Analyst tasks, but you’ll also learn further tips and tricks to enhance your current skills.
Learn SQL + Databases
Average time to learn: 45 days.
SQL is the standard language for interacting with relational databases. As a data analyst, you'll often need to extract data from said databases to perform analysis.
SQL also allows you to write queries to retrieve specific data sets based on your requirements, as well as provides powerful tools for manipulating data within databases, such as filtering, sorting, aggregating, and transforming data before analyzing it further.
This ability is essential for preparing data for analysis and generating meaningful insights. You can also use it for data validation and quality checks within databases, making it a key component of a robust data quality framework.
Learn Power BI
Average time to learn: 25 days.
Power BI is a robust data visualization and analysis tool that helps Data Analysts to make sense of complex datasets through interactive reports and dashboards.You can connect it to various data sources, integrate disparate datasets, and then create some awesome visualizations to help present and explain your data.
The good news is this is the last tool you need to learn for this role!
Like I said up top, this section is the biggest step in this roadmap, but it also gives you the expanded suite of tools and skills you need to get hired as a Data Analyst, and possibly skip the junior positions.
Total combined time to completed everything I've outlined here will be 4-6 months, but it will set you up for higher pay and more experienced roles right out of the gate. Speaking of which...
Step #4. Apply for Data Analyst jobs
It's time to start applying for jobs!
With that in mind, I HIGHLY recommend you check out Andrei's course on getting hired at your dream job.
Estimated Time Required For This Step: 12 days.
He covers the entire application and interview process in detail, including with his technique where he gets a 90% interview success rate!
Trust me, you'll never feel 100% ready but if you've followed along so far, you are ready to start working in the real-world.
If you're anxious then understand this: The simple truth is that you don't need to know every detail about everything to get hired. In fact, you'll pick up a lot of skills and experience simply by doing the job. It's about having the requirements to get started, and you already have that so start applying already!
Start your Data Analysis career today!
So there you have it. The entire roadmap to becoming a Data Analyst within the next 12 months, or sooner.
Data Analysis is a fantastic career to get into right now, with high demand, a great starting salary, and interesting topics to learn. Sure it’s not easy, as you do have to do the work to pick up these skills, but it’s definitely worth it, and is the perfect jumping in point for a Data focused career.
Simply follow this guide, learn what I recommend, do the work, and get hired! That’s all there is to it. You’ve got this!
P.S.
Every course that I’ve mentioned in this guide, is included with any ZTM membership. This means that if you become a member, then you have access to all of these courses right away and will have everything you need in one place, for a single membership.
Plus, as part of your membership, you'll get to join me and 1,000s of other people (some who are alumni mentors and others who are taking the same courses that you will be) in the ZTM Discord.
Ask questions, help others, or just network with other Data Analysts, Scientists, Engineers and other tech professionals.
Make today the day you take a chance on YOU. There's no reason why you couldn't be applying for Data Analyst jobs just 6-12 months from now if you just follow the steps I outlined and put in the hard work.
So what are you waiting for 😀? Come join me and get started on becoming a Data Analyst today!
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