Data Quality Analyst Job Description, Skills, and Salary
Are you searching for a data quality analyst job description? Get to know about the duties, responsibilities, qualifications, and skills requirements of a data quality analyst. Feel free to use our data quality analyst job description template to produce your own data quality analyst job description. We also provide you with information about the salary you can earn as a data quality analyst.
Who is a Data Quality Analyst?
A Data Quality Analyst ensures the accuracy and quality of data a business utilizes to make wise decisions. Data quality analysts work with database developers to enhance systems and database designs and analyze complex data to increase the effectiveness and caliber of data collection. The responsibility for verifying the accuracy and consistency of the data within a business falls on data quality analysts. They frequently work with different forms of data, including client information, lists of available products, financial information, and more.
As a data quality analyst, you will develop procedures to increase the correctness and integrity of the data in an organization. You will perform data analysis, work with database engineers to enhance the processes for gathering and storing data, and create reports based on your findings.
Data quality analysts use a range of procedures to guarantee the reliability of the data; this can include personally going over each entry or comparing information from several sources. Assuring that their firm has access to high-quality data is the main objective of data quality analysts. They work with enormous amounts of data to prepare them for analysis, artificial intelligence, or machine learning within their company. Data patterns, errors, and abnormalities are looked for by a data quality analyst, who then fixes them. To prepare the data for use across the enterprise, they will also carry out data validation, standardization, and enrichment processes.
Data quality analysts should be well-versed in data analysis methods and have experience in the position to succeed in the role. A top-tier data quality analyst is someone whose proficiency in data analysis produces reliable information for business executives.
The demand for high-quality data will only increase as firms become more dependent on data-driven decisions. As the experts who can guarantee that company data is correct and dependable, data quality analysts will be in great demand. Data quality analysts might benefit from this trend by becoming specialists in data quality assurance. They can then put their knowledge to work by helping businesses ensure the data they rely on is accurate and trustworthy. They can therefore help firms make wiser judgments and raise their bottom line. Data governance becomes more crucial as data grows increasingly significant to the business. It refers to making sure that data is accessible and structured in a simple way.
Data quality analysts make a substantial contribution to data governance by ensuring that data is reliable and consistent across systems. They can also help with policy creation and practices for data management. Security will be more in demand as firms depend more heavily on data. Data quality analysts need to be aware of how to protect sensitive data.
Data quality analysts should concentrate on honing their data encryption and, data masking skills to stay ahead of the curve. It helps to prevent unauthorized people from accessing sensitive data. Then, as most organizations commonly want sophisticated data quality software when recruiting a new Data Quality Analyst, you’ll need to familiarize yourself with it.
Next, you need to comprehend the significance of data quality standards and measures so that you can assess the quality of the data and determine where improvements are most needed. You may then infer the effect on the firm and develop a business case for improvement once you have completed the data examination. Many data analysts lack this skill, which necessitates root-cause analysis usage since building a business case for improvement requires an understanding of both the impact and the cause. Make sure to continually demonstrate the value you’ve made as you improve your data quality skills. One of your most desirable qualities to a potential employer will be this.
A significant portion of the Data Quality Analyst’s job is process improvement. Strong communication and political skills are necessary as you work to assist the organization in maturing or changing some aspect of its technology, processes, or organizational structure because the causes of poor data are frequently diverse.
Data quality analysts work in places, such as businesses, governmental organizations, and educational institutions. During regular business hours, they typically work full-time, though occasionally, they may need to work late into the night or on the weekend to fulfill deadlines. Data quality analysts collaborate with other analysts, statisticians, and computer programmers to achieve several goals. Additionally, they could communicate with managers and executives who use the data quality analyst’s findings to guide organizational decisions. Data quality analysts must be able to perform efficiently under deadline pressure. Additionally, they must be able to explain their finding to non-statisticians and non-computer scientists.
Data Quality Analyst Job Description
What is a data quality analyst job description? A data quality analyst job description is simply a list of duties and responsibilities of a data quality analyst in an organization. Below are the data quality analyst job description examples you can use to develop your resume or write a data quality analyst job description for your employee. Employers can also use it to sieve out job seekers when choosing candidates for interviews.
Data quality analysts perform various duties that may slightly differ, depending on the company and industry. Here are their primary responsibilities that may cut across several organizations:
- Analyze the system’s functionality and design and its impact on data integrity.
- Collect data from primary or secondary data sources to find and understand trends.
- Examine, query, and handle data following established business rules and procedures.
- Find the underlying source of data quality issues and suggest solutions for long-term fixes.
- Improve the processes for data collecting and storage by working with database engineers.
- Inform management of data analysis results to help them prioritize information system needs and make business decisions.
- Identify the extent of business damage caused by poor data quality.
- Follow industry standards for data gathering and analysis.
- Keep data records and document processes.
- Monitor changes and trends in data quality analysis.
- Run statistical tests to assess the integrity and quality of datasets.
- Work with programmers to correct data quality issues.
Qualifications
- A Bachelor’s degree in computer science, statistics, or a related field
- Proficiency in programming languages, including JavaScript and Structured Query Language (SQL)
- Comprehensive understanding of statistical procedures and tests
- Extensive knowledge of statistical software programs like MS Excel, SAS, and SPSS
- Knowledge of data analysis.
Essential Skills
Data quality analysts inside an organization place a greater emphasis on the data itself than on the decision-making procedures. Consequently, they must also possess the following specialist abilities to handle their duties effectively:
- Analytical
Data quality analysts must evaluate, and interpret patterns and information because they work with big and frequently complex data sets. They use large and intricate data sets, apps, workflows, and systems. As a result, analyzing and interpreting patterns and insights requires excellent analytical skills.
- Communication
Data quality analysts must be able to convey their conclusions to executives and stakeholders. Data quality analysts frequently interact with other employees of a firm, including teams from marketing, IT, and customer support. Additionally, they speak with clients to clarify the data quality procedure and respond to inquiries regarding the data. Data quality analysts should be able to communicate orally and in writing clearly and straightforwardly.
- Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving
Data quality analysts must be able to think critically to troubleshoot and solve problems on a broad scale because this is a vital job function in which they must identify faults or ways to improve systems already in place. Data quality analysts can locate and resolve issues that impact quality by using their problem-solving abilities. They might use problem-solving skills to detect and fix problems with data sources, data collection techniques, and data storage.
- Data evaluation
Data quality analysts find and fix data errors with data analysis. To recognize issues and provide solutions, they draw on their understanding of data quality standards, data sources, and data formats. Data analysts must pay close attention to every detail to spot and address even the smallest problems. The ability to critically assess a situation and come to a judgment based on the available data is known as critical thinking. You can be in charge of solving data problems as a data quality analyst. It can entail identifying the problem’s root cause, analyzing the evidence, and choosing a course of action.
- Market knowledge
With so many tools available, a data quality analyst needs to be aware of the market’s competitive environment and the place where their particular product fits.
- Organization
Another crucial trait for data quality analysts is organization. They must maintain track of all the data and information they frequently work with in quantities, including tracking the data sources, the data, and related information. Additionally, it entails monitoring the data as it progresses through the various data quality analysis.
- Personality traits
Good interpersonal and communication skills are essential for this position because it requires collaboration with many departments and teamwork. If you have a terrible personality, it can affect the workflow as you need to interact with your colleagues regularly.
- Technical knowledge
Strong computer skills are essential, so data quality analysts should quickly pick up new programs and techniques as technology advances. This position heavily relies on the use of various software programs. Data quality analysts must be technically proficient and able to work with data models and mining tools because they frequently interact with statistical packages and programming codes. It involves several technical aspects, including knowledge of data profiling, data discovery, information chain analysis, root cause analysis, exception management, cost-benefit analysis, ROI detection, etc. In addition to becoming specialists in data quality, data management, and data governance are also relevant skills for analysts. To evaluate data and inform stakeholders of their results, they should be fluent in computer languages, data reporting tools, and statistical packages.
How to Become a Data Quality Analyst
There might not be a well-defined path to becoming a data quality analyst, but the following could help you get the role faster. Here is a route to consider if confused about how to start your journey of becoming a data quality analyst:
Education: A high school diploma or GED is often required for data quality analysts. A bachelor’s degree, specifically in computer science, information technology, or a closely related course is preferred by some firms. These days, not all data quality analysts have a degree in computer science or related discipline. Some organizations care more about the skills you offer and may overlook not having a degree at all.
Training & Experience: On-the-job training is customary for data quality analysts. During your first several weeks on the job, you may learn the specific software and computer systems that the organization use. You might also receive instruction on the policies and practices of the business. If you have relevant training and internship experience, it will be helpful in your career pursuit if you do not have a technical background.
Certifications and licenses: Certifications demonstrate a person’s abilities to potential employers. Data quality analysts can obtain certificates to enhance their career opportunities, evaluate their professional abilities, and receive practical knowledge of their everyday duties. Additionally, as a data quality analyst, you need proficient statistical skills and a solid understanding of programming languages, particularly SQL and Javascript. Being current with technological, software, and analytical improvements is essential for this position, as continuing education is necessary.
Where to Work as a Data Quality Analyst
Data quality analysts can work in various places, as most organizations work with data. The evolution of technology has also aided the need for data quality analysts. Here are some of the places they can work:
- Corporate organizations
- Finance companies
- Government agencies
- Healthcare industry
- Technology companies
Data Quality Analyst Salary Scale
Data quality analysts’ salary structure differs as several factors determine the figure. Different countries have different salary structures and figures for careers. Below is the salary scale for data quality analysts across three countries.
In the United States
The average income for data quality analysts in the US is $73,555, with salaries ranging from as low as $32,890 to as high as $280,200 or more.
In the United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, a Data Quality Analyst may earn salaries ranging from £24,350 – £85,325 annually, with an average of £37,605.
In Canada
In Canada, the average compensation for a data quality analyst is $66,110 per year. Most experienced ones earn up to $96,637 yearly, while entry-level ones start at an average of $45,592 annually.