Career Overlap Transition record
RecordMove

Market research analyst to data analyst

A market research analyst already meets 30% of what the data analyst role asks for. The move turns on 25 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional
From market research analyst
30 % overlap
Distant match
To data analyst
20 You already bring
25 Still to learn
67 Skills in the target role2
Learning distance A rebuild

77.9/ 100

1 How much of what a data analyst is expected to do is already part of a market research analyst’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

Why this move works

A data analyst role treats 11 of its required skills as things a market research analyst already does. You would walk in with these on day one.

  • analyse big data
  • apply statistical analysis techniques
  • data quality assessment
  • digital data processing
  • establish data processes
  • information confidentiality

What stands in the way is 25 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.

Table 2

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 20 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 market research analyst background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held establish data processes working with computers
  • already held marketing analytics business, administration and law
  • already held database information and communication technologies (icts)
  • already held deliver visual presentation of data communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held data quality assessment business, administration and law
  • already held digital data processing working with computers

All 20 carried skills, including the 11 the data analyst role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 47 missing skills fall into 10 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.

Skill to pick up Tier
01 information and communication technologies (icts) 8 required, 7 supplementary
  • still to learn data mining required
  • still to learn data models required
  • still to learn information extraction required
  • still to learn information structure required
  • still to learn unstructured data required
  • still to learn data engineering required
  • still to learn data science required
  • still to learn data visualisation software required
  • optional, not held Hadoop optional
  • optional, not held cloud technologies optional
  • optional, not held data storage optional
  • optional, not held information architecture optional
  • optional, not held online analytical processing optional
  • optional, not held image recognition optional
  • optional, not held web analytics optional
02 working with computers 7 required, 3 supplementary
  • still to learn integrate ICT data 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
  • still to learn use databases required
  • optional, not held manage quantitative data optional
  • optional, not held store digital data and systems optional
  • optional, not held use spreadsheets software optional
03 information skills 4 required, 6 supplementary
  • 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
  • optional, not held make data-driven decisions optional
  • optional, not held report analysis results optional
04 social sciences, journalism and information 2 required, 1 supplementary
  • still to learn documentation types required
  • still to learn information categorisation required
  • optional, not held social network analysis optional
05 natural sciences, mathematics and statistics 1 required, 2 supplementary
  • still to learn business analytics required
  • optional, not held statistical modeling techniques optional
  • optional, not held game theory optional
06 arts and humanities 1 required
  • still to learn data ethics required

4 further areas in the appendix

Table 4

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.

Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.

Appendix

Appendix · The rest of the record

All 20 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held analyse big data skill
  • already held apply statistical analysis techniques skill
  • already held data quality assessment knowledge
  • already held digital data processing skill
  • already held establish data processes skill
  • already held information confidentiality knowledge
  • already held manage data skill
  • already held query languages knowledge
  • already held resource description framework query language knowledge
  • already held statistics knowledge
  • 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 database knowledge
  • already held deliver visual presentation of data skill
  • already held marketing analytics knowledge
The 4 learning areas not shown above
Skill to pick up Tier
07 business, administration and law 1 required
  • still to learn business intelligence required
08 management skills 1 required
  • still to learn define data quality criteria required
09 generic programmes and qualifications 2 supplementary
  • optional, not held multidisciplinary research optional
  • optional, not held research design optional
10 health and welfare 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held healthcare analytics optional
22 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to pick up Tier
  • optional, not held Hadoop optional
  • optional, not held cloud technologies optional
  • optional, not held create data models optional
  • optional, not held data storage optional
  • optional, not held gather data for forensic purposes optional
  • optional, not held healthcare analytics optional
  • optional, not held information architecture optional
  • optional, not held manage cloud data and storage optional
  • optional, not held manage data collection systems optional
  • optional, not held online analytical processing optional
  • optional, not held statistical modeling techniques optional
  • optional, not held game theory optional
  • optional, not held image recognition optional
  • optional, not held make data-driven decisions optional
  • optional, not held manage quantitative data optional
  • optional, not held multidisciplinary research optional
  • optional, not held report analysis results 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
52 held skills the data analyst role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role advise on market strategies skill
  • not needed by the target role analyse consumer buying trends skill
  • not needed by the target role analyse economic trends skill
  • not needed by the target role analyse external factors of companies skill
  • not needed by the target role analyse internal factors of companies skill
  • not needed by the target role analyse market financial trends skill
  • not needed by the target role analyse supply chain trends skill
  • not needed by the target role apply knowledge of human behaviour skill
  • not needed by the target role apply technical communication skills skill
  • not needed by the target role build predictive models skill
  • not needed by the target role business analysis knowledge
  • not needed by the target role collaborate in the development of marketing strategies skill
  • not needed by the target role conduct public surveys skill
  • not needed by the target role conduct qualitative research skill
  • not needed by the target role conduct quantitative research skill
  • not needed by the target role conduct research interview skill
  • not needed by the target role consumer goods industry knowledge
  • not needed by the target role customer insight knowledge
  • not needed by the target role customer segmentation knowledge
  • not needed by the target role customer service knowledge
  • not needed by the target role demography knowledge
  • not needed by the target role design questionnaires skill
  • not needed by the target role document interviews skill
  • not needed by the target role document project progress skill
  • not needed by the target role draw conclusions from market research results skill
  • not needed by the target role evaluate interview reports skill
  • not needed by the target role follow the news skill
  • not needed by the target role forecast economic trends skill
  • not needed by the target role gather data skill
  • not needed by the target role identify customer's needs skill
  • not needed by the target role identify market niches skill
  • not needed by the target role identify potential markets for companies skill
  • not needed by the target role interview techniques knowledge
  • not needed by the target role keep updated on innovations in various business fields skill
  • not needed by the target role make strategic business decisions skill
  • not needed by the target role manage database skill
  • not needed by the target role market research knowledge
  • not needed by the target role marketing department processes knowledge
  • not needed by the target role marketing mix knowledge
  • not needed by the target role marketing principles knowledge

12 further entries not listed here

26 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice

Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.

Skill to pick up Tier
  • still to learn business analytics required
  • still to learn data mining required
  • still to learn data models required
  • still to learn documentation types required
  • still to learn information categorisation required
  • still to learn information extraction required
  • still to learn information structure required
  • still to learn unstructured data required
  • still to learn business intelligence required
  • still to learn data engineering required
  • still to learn data ethics required
  • still to learn data science required
  • still to learn data visualisation software required
  • optional, not held Hadoop optional
  • optional, not held cloud technologies optional
  • optional, not held data storage optional
  • optional, not held healthcare analytics optional
  • optional, not held information architecture optional
  • optional, not held online analytical processing optional
  • optional, not held statistical modeling techniques optional
  • optional, not held game theory optional
  • optional, not held image recognition 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
Index

Other moves recorded from market research analyst

Full index of moves from market research analyst

FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can a market research analyst become a data analyst?

Yes, and it is a career change move. A market research analyst already covers 30% of what a data analyst is expected to do: 20 skills carry over, 11 of which the data analyst role treats as required.

What skills does a market research analyst need to become a data analyst?

25 required skills are missing, plus 22 optional ones. They fall into 10 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information and communication technologies (icts). The single most important is business analytics.

How hard is the move from market research analyst to data analyst?

Its learning distance is 77.9 out of 100, which is the career change band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.

Note

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.