Data Analyst Salary in India – For Freshers & Experienced

In today’s world, with every passing day to a minuscule second, we have a load of information in front of us. Scroll through social media for new trends, browse through the internet for the latest news, even your WhatsApp messages have in store for you some new funny joke never heard off. 

However, this bombardment of information is a luxury only when we exploit it effectively to our advantage and purpose. In layman terms, one should know all the what’s, why’s and how’s of this data or information in front of us for continuous growth. 

As more and more data is generated everywhere, more people and techniques are coming up to handle this data wisely. This brings into scope the concept of data analysis. 

You must be thinking that what would be the salary of a data analyst in India? Or is the job really reading through the data one procures? 

This article will help you understand what data analysis is and everything there is to know about a data analyst – skills required, job roles, data analyst salary for a fresher to an experienced employee, career path and the significance of the role. 

Let’s get started with this data analysis.

What is Data Analysis?

A comprehensive process of obtaining useful data and analysing it to make a more reliable decision-making process for a business or for the goal of organization is called data analysis. 

The process begins from gathering information to interpreting, analysing and lastly achieved by acting upon it.

There are different ways of analysing data to make an informed decision for your business. Every type of analysis has a different purpose and methodology. It can be classified into four categories:

• Descriptive Analytics: It is the method that focuses on quantitative data. It responds to the question of ‘what happened?’ For example, average articles that are written per employee in a month, poll regarding the favoured articles by the users or average number of likes per post. 
  

• Diagnostic Analytics: This method of analysis is a step further from the descriptive analysis that answers the question of ‘why?’ It also assists in determining the reason behind a negative or a positive outcome. 

Suppose in the scenario mentioned above, this analysis will determine why employees wrote only 5 articles when the target was 7 

• Predictive Analytics: This method of analysis allows you to use data and analyse it for your future. As the name suggests, you will predict the future tendencies, trends based on the data you procure to answer the question of ‘what will happen?’ 

For example, based on the previous data you predict the time taken by a writer to write an article and based on this information give the company a predicted number of articles for a month. 

• Prescriptive Analytics: This type of analysis is all about acting strategically for your business decisions backed by statistical information, clear facts and visual data. This form of analysis should not be based on intuition or observation. What makes it different from predictive analysis is, it requisites actionable methodologies and machine learning to reach a conclusive insight. It needs statistical algorithms instead of a prediction.

Who is a Data Analyst?

Some people are curious, but some people are keen to not just question but find answers to those questions. They procure a bunch of information, extract insights useful to them and find a solution to the problem. 

A data analyst is a keen person who gleans information (qualitative and quantitative) for the business industry and works towards making a strategic business decision. However, to analyse data is not just number crunching, or observing facts. To come to an informed, best possible solution, the process needs to be productive and efficient. 

Therefore, the process of working for a data analyst is delivered within five different steps. 

1. Classify: The first step in the analyst process is identifying the problems a business is looking to solve. The analyst will classify the queries like what’s, why’s, and how’s. 
   
   
2. Assemble: The second step is finding the data. To give justice to your questions, assembling data is important. For example, using primary resources like that of company data or collecting data from secondary resources like publications or news available on the internet etc. 
   
   
3. Clean: As every data requires proofreading, so does your collected data as well. You need to clean out the discrepancies, duplicates, or any irrelevant information from your collected data. 
   
   
4. Analyse: Before the final stage, dissecting or analysing the data is important. In this step, an analyst looks out for the trends, data patterns and correlated variables from the gathered data that could be transformed into making an informed decision. 
   
   
5. Interpret: The concluding step is to bring everything into action. It is the moment of truth wherein the analyst will form conclusions from the data procured, cleaned and analyzed. 

Data Analyst Salary in India

The structure of a data analyst salary could range from ₹342,363/yr to ₹1,750,000/yr.

As the rise in data has significantly increased as compared to previous years, the demand for a data analyst has improved. Therefore, a data analyst salary for a fresher could be a good start in India. It is to be noted that the salary of a data analyst depends upon many factors including, experience, skills, location, and employer. 

Factors Affecting the Salary of a Data Analyst in India

Data Analyst Salary: Based on Experience

Experience plays a deciding role in finalising the salary of a data analyst. One’s experience in the field depicts more extensive knowledge, practical solutions, agile working and leadership skills to train others. Therefore, an analyst in the industry for more than three years will have an increased payment than the salary of a data analyst for a fresher. 

Source

The average pay structure for data analyst based on experience is as following:

• Entry Level (> 1 yr of experience) – ₹342,363/yr
  
• Early Career (1-4 yrs of experience) – ₹422,408/yr
  
• Mid- Career (5-9 yrs of experience) –  ₹690,734/yr
  
• Experienced  (>10 yrs of experience) – ₹942,653 to ₹1,750,000/yr 

Data Analyst Salary: Based on Location

The salary of a data analyst for a fresher might be different if located in Mumbai from the data analyst salary in Bangalore. This is because the location is among one of the factors affecting the data analyst job salary.

Every city or state has a different cost of living and demand of the profession and accordingly the pay is decided. 

1. Bangalore

The average data analyst salary in Bangalore is ₹516,455

According to the experience the average salary of data analyst in Bangalore is:

Source – Payscale

2. New Delhi

The average salary of a data analyst in New Delhi is ₹407,672

Based on Experience the data analyst salary in New Delhi is:

Source – Payscale

3. Mumbai, Maharashtra

The average base pay for a data analyst in Mumbai is ₹406,409

Salary of Data Analyst in Mumbai as per experience is:

Source – Payscale

4. Chennai, Tamil Nadu 

The average data analyst salary in Chennai is  ₹410,431

According to the experience the average salary of data analyst in Chennai is:

Source – Payscale

Data Analyst Salary: Based on Skills

A data analyst to secure a high paying job with less years of experience should look for mastering different skills required for a data analyst. He/she has to look towards upskilling themselves beyond just a degree in data analysis.

Some of the skill sets that affect the pay scale of a data analyst are:

Source – Payscale

Data Analyst Salary: Based on Employer

Different companies and employers have different requirements in mind while hiring a data analyst. Based on the company’s position in the market, the job role and skills required, the salary of a data analyst is affected by the company as well. 

Top 10 companies who hire Data Analysts in India.

• Flipkart
  
• Cognizant 
  
• Tata Consultancy Services
  
• Accenture
  
• Tech Mahindra
  
• Capgemini India Pvt ltd
  
• Infosys
  
• Genpact
  
• LatentView Analytics
  
• Novartis

The average base salary for data analyst in India based on employer is:

Source – Payscale

What do they do? Data Analyst Job Roles and Responsibilities

It is rightly said, “Information is the oil of the 21st century, and analytics is the combustion engine.” 

An analyst’s key role is to keep that engine or business running smoothly and efficiently. 

Some of the key responsibilities of a data analyst are as following:

• Defining the goals and data assets for the business 
  
• Creating and managing databases and data systems
  
• Digging for data from qualified sources and interpreting for the interested party like stakeholders, clients, owners. 
  
• Enhance and update existing reporting systems. 
  
• Devise a suitable methodology and processes for positive outcomes 
  
• Develop data mapping techniques for intricate business inquiries
  
• Conduct frequent analysis on consumer behaviour for the latest updates and trends
  
• Enhance your analysis process by interacting and communicating with the other team members like engineers, organizational heads and programmers. It gives a fresh perspective to an issue that you might be missing.  

If you have the right knowledge about the field of data analysis and suited for the responsibilities supporting it, then there are a wide range of areas you could work on:

Job Roles in Data Analysis

• Marketing Analyst
  
• Business Intelligence Analyst
  
• Research Analyst 
  
• Operations Analyst
  
• Risk Analyst
  

However, there are times when people overlap the roles of a data scientist and data engineer with a data analyst. Let us look more closely at the difference between the two in comparison to data analysts. 

Data Scientist

Data Scientists are the experts that are proficient in the field of programming, mathematics and statistics. They, with their influential learning of languages like Python, R, and Scala and SQL work on the overall business analysis. 

Data scientists can perform the task of a data analyst but for much more complex issues based on diversified training. They use their mathematical models, heavy algorithms and data inference techniques to procure information for future predictions. Unlike data analysts they heavily prioritize machine learning over just past data. 

Data Engineer

Data engineers’ expertise lies in the knowledge of software development and databases. They do not work on analysis and instead have their command over extracting, cleaning and maintaining the data related to databases.

Data Engineers with their command over many programming languages like Python, R, Java, and C/C++ or database systems SQL, Apache Spark, Hadoop and NoSQL allow them to make raw data extremely purposeful. They help make the pipeline for analysis more smooth and productive. 

After knowing the varied roles and responsibilities the question looms around that data analyst job salary. But before understanding the pay structure you need to know the skills required to be a data analyst as skills are one of the deciding factors in your pay. 

Data Analyst Skills Required

Hard Skills

1. Knowledge of Database Systems

Data Analysts have to handle ‘big data’ that is a collection of structured (data that is easy to analyse and conforms to a tabular format like name, address or contact info) and unstructured data( data that does not conform to a single format and is stored in formats other than Relation Database like audio files, videos, photos, etc). This heavy load of information is driven by a higher degree of volume, variety and velocity. For such intensified amount of data, an analyst should be proficient in database systems like SQL Server, Oracle, Excel and SAP to manage that data.

2. Understanding of Data Visualization

The interested parties could not understand the complex jargon of the data procured by the data analyst. Therefore, to present a simplified version an analyst needs to visualize and report the data clearly. For this purpose, an analyst should have an understanding of visualization tools. For example, Tableau, Business Objects, PowerBI and Jupyter Notebook. The more understanding of these tools the better the communication of data will be to the investors, clients and stakeholders. For example, to explain the data visually, a data analyst could use pie charts, graphs, presentations, etc. 

3. Programming Languages

Intermediate knowledge of programming languages like that of R or Python, Java, PHP, etc increases your efficiency in solving complex business queries and analysing the data. In addition to this, a skill like this could be a bonus to a data analyst salary for a fresher. It will make you stand out from the rest. 

4. Strong Statistical and Mathematics Skills

To arrive at the best possible solution from the provided data an analyst has to be efficient in creating methodologies and statistical algorithms to work properly. To arrive at an object-oriented decision,error-free solutions an analyst should be well-versed with numeracy skills, a strong grasp on mathematical equations and statistical approaches. 

5. Clear Understanding of your Industry

As mentioned above, an analyst can work in different industries from marketing to finance, or operations to sales. To understand the data adequately, and come up with the best possible solution, a data analyst should have complete knowledge of their industry. From the external factors affecting its day to day working to internal factors that are small yet have a significant impact on the company must be in a data analyst’s knowledge. 

6. Analytical Skills

This goes without saying that an analyst should be an expert in analysing the data. A data analyst should be up to date over the latest trends, patterns, news for solutions to specific problems. In addition to this, a fundamental knowledge of working with analytical tools such as Google Analytics, Adobe Marketing Suite, Google 360 and Google Tag Manager will assist in enhancing your analysis.

Soft Skills

Soft Skills also play a role in projecting your work ethics. Therefore, for every different job description, there are a certain set of soft skills an employer looks for in an employee. Below are mentioned some of the soft skills required for a data analyst

1. Good communication skills to transmit your ideas and insights. 
   
2. Attention to detail as the smallest piece of information could affect your industry
   
3. Time Management to never lose an opportunity just because you miss a trend. 
   
4. Intuition Skills play a key role in data analysis to predict a solution for the company. It plays into account your understanding of the domain. 
   
5. Multi-tasking is significant to support the iterative process of data analysis i.e. to glean, clean, analyse and interpret data. 
   
6. Leadership Qualities is a requisite for a data analyst to be influential while analysing and communicating the data to the interested parties. Also, to be affirmative in your problem solving and decision-making, an analyst should possess leadership skills. 
   

Data Analyst Salary: Based on Other Countries

Career Scope of Data Analyst

If you have already completed your degree in data analysis, then you should know that this is just the first step towards achievement. 

Data Analysis is a booming field with many possibilities to grow and explore your career opportunities.

It all depends on your willingness to upskills yourself. As mentioned above, you can move beyond the field of data analyst to data scientist as well which is a much more complex position but also demands a specific skill set and a detailed understanding of programming languages, statistical algorithms.

Career scope for a fresher in data analysis could move towards Business Analyst to a higher advancement in Data Science. 

Key Reason to Become a Data Analyst

Explore some of the reasons why the role of a data analyst is an important career opportunity in today’s time. 

1. High in Demand: Everywhere we look there is data. Plus, it is the need of the hour for such a significant amount of data as for every query requisite a different solution which in terms needs the information or data to rely upon. And therefore, data analysts are quite in demand in present years.
   
   
2. Learn to live with challenges: A job as competitive as data analyst requires daily based challenges of coming up with new solutions, strategies and configuring new data every day. This increases your potential to fight challenges with pragmatic solutions rather than just sitting behind the computer worrying.
   
   
3. Growth is obvious: The daily test of your patience, problem-solving skills, analytical, visual skills – you learn new things every day in this field. Plus, there is so much scope for an advanced career path through learning more complex languages and database systems that make growth a complimentary part of this position.
   
   
4. Pay that makes you stay: A data analyst salary might not be as high as of other roles in different sectors. However, there is a potential growth in pay with the level of experience and skills you acquire. That potential of increment allows one to stay and work in this field more and more. 
   

Takeaway

If you are looking for a gradual increase in pay with time and upskilling yourself, data analyst is the right role for you.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q.1: How much money do data analysts make?

Ans: The average base salary of a data analyst in India is in the range of ₹300k – ₹1m/yr. However, many factors play a key role in deciding this salary structure inclusive of experience, location, company, and skills you acquire. 

The average data analyst salary in the United States and Australia is considered to be among the highest-paid job roles. 

Q.2: Do data analysts get paid well?

Ans: The salary of a data analyst for a fresher could be a minimum of ₹300k per annum in India but that could vary on the location as well as your skill set. Data Analysts who are in this field for about 4-5 years with a basic knowledge of statistical and technical skills could get pay for approximately ₹500-700k/yr

Q.3: What are the top 3 skills for a data analyst?

Ans: The top 3 skills required for a data analyst are

• SQL 
• Technical Skills like programming language Python, R, 
• Data Quality Skills

Q.4: Is Data Analytics a good career?

Ans: Yes, data analytics is a good career choice as data has become a significant part of any industry to make strategic and informed decisions. This increases the demand for data analysts thereby making it one of the best career choices. 

Q.5: Do data analysts work from home?

Yes, data analysts could work from home as their role is responsible for procuring, cleaning, interpreting and communicating data for meaningful insights. But, working remotely increases the meeting time for clearer communication. 

Q.6: Do data analysts code?

No, coding is not essentially a part of a data analyst’s job. However, a basic knowledge of programming languages could help in managing complex issues more efficiently.

Additional Resources

• Data Analyst Interview Questions
• Data Analyst Resume
• Data Analyst Skills