Data & Analytics
Hire Data Analytics Experts
Data analytics covers everything from a one-off analysis to dashboards and the pipelines behind them. This guide helps you work out which specialist you need.
The role
What data analytics experts do
Most analysis involves pulling data from databases or tools, cleaning it, working out what it says, and presenting it so someone can decide something. Some analysts lean toward engineering, such as pipelines and data models; others toward statistics or business reporting.
Typical deliverables
- Dashboards in Power BI, Tableau or Looker Studio
- Cleaned and documented datasets
- SQL queries and data models
- One-off analyses with written findings
- Automated recurring reports
Tools you will see
- SQL
- Excel and Google Sheets
- Power BI
- Tableau
- Looker Studio
- Python or R
Choosing
How to choose data analytics experts
What to look for
- Examples that start from a business question and end with a recommendation.
- Readable queries and formulas someone else could maintain.
- Care with data quality: duplicates, missing values and inconsistent definitions.
- Charts that are easy to read rather than decorated.
- Questions about how the results will be used.
Questions to ask
- 1What would you want to know before building this dashboard?
- 2How do you check the data is correct?
- 3Which tools would you use with our current systems?
- 4How would someone keep this updated after you finish?
- 5Can you show an analysis that changed a decision?
Planning
Before you post the job
Define the question
A clear question or a short list of metrics produces a far better result than a request for a dashboard of everything.
What drives cost
The number and messiness of data sources, access to systems, and whether reports must refresh automatically.
Access to data
Arrange read-only access before work starts. Waiting for access is a common cause of delay.
Hiring on Open Lance
- Posting a job and reviewing proposals are free.
- Each milestone is funded into escrow before work starts and paid when you approve it.
- Hire fixed-price, hourly, as a monthly Dedicated Hire, or buy a packaged Drop-In.
- Client fees are shown before you pay and added on top of the work.
FAQ
Questions about hiring data analytics experts
Data analyst or data engineer?
An analyst answers questions and builds reports. An engineer builds the pipelines that move and store data. If your data is scattered and unreliable, start with engineering.
Which dashboard tool should I use?
Usually whichever fits your existing systems: Power BI for Microsoft setups, Looker Studio for Google, Tableau for heavier analysis.
Can an analyst work only in spreadsheets?
Yes. Plenty of useful analysis and reporting is built entirely in Excel or Google Sheets.
Related
Related skills
Post a job for data analytics experts
Describe the work and compare proposals. You only fund the first milestone once you have chosen someone.