Chief data officer to data analyst
A chief data officer already meets 52% of what the data analyst role asks for. The move turns on 17 required skills not yet in the profile.
60.3/ 100
1 How much of what a data analyst is expected to do is already part of a chief data officer’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the data analyst role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A data analyst role treats 19 of its required skills as things a chief data officer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- business intelligence
- data engineering
- data ethics
- data mining
- data models
- data quality assessment
What stands in the way is 17 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 34 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A data analyst role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a chief data officer background worth leading with.
- already held data ethics arts and humanities
- already held integrate ICT data working with computers
- already held online analytical processing information and communication technologies (icts)
- already held image recognition information and communication technologies (icts)
- already held information categorisation social sciences, journalism and information
- already held make data-driven decisions information skills
All 34 carried skills, including the 19 the data analyst role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 33 missing skills fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn digital data processing required
- still to learn establish data processes required
- still to learn normalise data required
- still to learn perform data mining required
- still to learn implement data quality processes required
- still to learn perform data cleansing required
- still to learn use data processing techniques required
- optional, not held manage quantitative data optional
- optional, not held store digital data and systems optional
- optional, not held use spreadsheets software optional
- still to learn analyse big data required
- still to learn apply statistical analysis techniques required
- still to learn collect ICT data required
- still to learn execute analytical mathematical calculations required
- still to learn handle data samples required
- still to learn interpret current data required
- optional, not held create data models optional
- optional, not held gather data for forensic purposes optional
- optional, not held manage cloud data and storage optional
- optional, not held manage data collection systems optional
- still to learn business analytics required
- still to learn statistics required
- optional, not held statistical modeling techniques optional
- optional, not held game theory optional
- still to learn data visualisation software required
- optional, not held Hadoop optional
- optional, not held web analytics optional
- still to learn documentation types required
- optional, not held social network analysis optional
- optional, not held multidisciplinary research optional
- optional, not held research design optional
2 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a data analyst role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 business analytics study this
- 02 digital data processing practise this
- 03 documentation types study this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 34 skills that carry over
- already held business intelligence knowledge
- already held data engineering knowledge
- already held data ethics knowledge
- already held data mining knowledge
- already held data models knowledge
- already held data quality assessment knowledge
- already held data science knowledge
- already held define data quality criteria skill
- already held information categorisation knowledge
- already held information confidentiality knowledge
- already held information extraction knowledge
- already held information structure knowledge
- already held integrate ICT data skill
- already held manage data skill
- already held query languages knowledge
- already held resource description framework query language knowledge
- already held unstructured data knowledge
- already held use databases skill
- already held visual presentation techniques knowledge
- already held LDAP knowledge
- already held LINQ knowledge
- already held MDX knowledge
- already held N1QL knowledge
- already held SPARQL knowledge
- already held XQuery knowledge
- already held cloud technologies knowledge
- already held data storage knowledge
- already held database knowledge
- already held deliver visual presentation of data skill
- already held image recognition knowledge
- already held information architecture knowledge
- already held make data-driven decisions skill
- already held online analytical processing knowledge
- already held report analysis results skill
The 2 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held marketing analytics optional
- optional, not held healthcare analytics optional
16 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held Hadoop optional
- optional, not held create data models optional
- optional, not held gather data for forensic purposes optional
- optional, not held healthcare analytics optional
- optional, not held manage cloud data and storage optional
- optional, not held manage data collection systems optional
- optional, not held statistical modeling techniques optional
- optional, not held game theory optional
- optional, not held manage quantitative data optional
- optional, not held marketing analytics optional
- optional, not held multidisciplinary research optional
- optional, not held research design optional
- optional, not held social network analysis optional
- optional, not held store digital data and systems optional
- optional, not held use spreadsheets software optional
- optional, not held web analytics optional
27 held skills the data analyst role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role CA Datacom/DB knowledge
- not needed by the target role DB2 knowledge
- not needed by the target role Filemaker (database management systems) knowledge
- not needed by the target role IBM Informix knowledge
- not needed by the target role Microsoft Access knowledge
- not needed by the target role MySQL knowledge
- not needed by the target role ObjectStore knowledge
- not needed by the target role OpenEdge Database knowledge
- not needed by the target role Oracle Relational Database knowledge
- not needed by the target role PostgreSQL knowledge
- not needed by the target role SQL Server knowledge
- not needed by the target role Teradata Database knowledge
- not needed by the target role apply change management skill
- not needed by the target role apply information security policies skill
- not needed by the target role business processes knowledge
- not needed by the target role coordinate technological activities skill
- not needed by the target role database development tools knowledge
- not needed by the target role database management systems knowledge
- not needed by the target role decision support systems knowledge
- not needed by the target role define technology strategy skill
- not needed by the target role develop information security strategy skill
- not needed by the target role implement ICT risk management skill
- not needed by the target role information security strategy knowledge
- not needed by the target role manage ICT data architecture skill
- not needed by the target role manage ICT data classification skill
- not needed by the target role manage business knowledge skill
- not needed by the target role utilise decision support system skill
13 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn business analytics required
- still to learn documentation types required
- still to learn data visualisation software required
- still to learn statistics required
- optional, not held Hadoop optional
- optional, not held healthcare analytics optional
- optional, not held statistical modeling techniques optional
- optional, not held game theory optional
- optional, not held marketing analytics optional
- optional, not held multidisciplinary research optional
- optional, not held research design optional
- optional, not held social network analysis optional
- optional, not held web analytics optional
Common questions about this move
Can a chief data officer become a data analyst?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A chief data officer already covers 52% of what a data analyst is expected to do: 34 skills carry over, 19 of which the data analyst role treats as required.
What skills does a chief data officer need to become a data analyst?
17 required skills are missing, plus 16 optional ones. They fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by working with computers. The single most important is business analytics.
How hard is the move from chief data officer to data analyst?
Its learning distance is 60.3 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.