What is a lead data analyst and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted Expert

Joseph Byrum

A lead data analyst is an individual who specializes in organizing and analyzing complex data sets to help businesses make strategic decisions. They work with large amounts of data and use statistical analysis and predictive modeling to identify patterns, trends, and insights. Lead data analysts also manage a team of data analysts, ensuring that their work is accurate and timely. A lead data analyst must have strong analytical and problem-solving skills.

What general advice would you give to a Lead Data Analyst?

Joseph Byrum

Chief Data Scientist, Principal

The next revolution will happen when every aspect of a business, from top to bottom, is designed with AI and OR in mind. Call this new construct the intelligent enterprise. A joint cognitive system view is the first step in creating the intelligent enterprise - a large, complex organization with global distribution of its resources and processes run by people who make consistently excellent adaptations to rapid changes in the world. They also share the execution of these rapid adaptations seamlessly across the entire organization without loss of consistency and coherence.

ScoreLead Data AnalystUS Average

Salary

7.5

Avg. Salary $96,584

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

5.3

Growth Rate 9%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.3

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.19%

Asian 20.42%

Black or African American 10.10%

Hispanic or Latino 10.90%

Unknown 5.00%

White 53.40%

Gender

female 37.03%

male 62.97%

Age - 42

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 42

Stress Level

5.3

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

8.5

Complexity Level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

4.8

Work Life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

What are the pros and cons of being a Lead Data Analyst?

Pros

High demand for data analysts in various industries
Opportunities to work with cutting-edge technology and tools
Competitive salary and benefits
Opportunities for professional development and upskilling
Possibility to lead and mentor junior analysts

Cons

Potential for stress and burnout due to high expectations and workload
The possibility of errors in data analysis leading to negative consequences
Interpreting data can sometimes be subjective and open to interpretation
May require working with incomplete or imperfect data sets, making analysis more challenging
Often requires working with sensitive or confidential data, requiring strict security measures.

Key steps to become a lead data analyst

Explore lead data analyst education requirements

Most common lead data analyst degrees

Bachelor's

66.3 %

Master's

19.9 %

Associate

7.9 %

Start to develop specific lead data analyst skills

Skills	Percentages
Analytics	12.49%
Python	8.96%
Power Bi	7.85%
Data Analysis	6.89%
Visualization	5.87%

Complete relevant lead data analyst training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New lead data analysts learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a lead data analyst based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real lead data analyst resumes.

Research lead data analyst duties and responsibilities

Manage the transition of the EDI system from GENTRAN to B2Bi.
Manage the operations and financial accounting team activities relating to the securities trading life cycle.
Accomplish at designing dashboards and data summaries for technical and non-technical audiences and facilitating implementation of business strategies and missions.
Create pilot reports that introduce JavaScript through imbed HTML tags.

Get lead data analyst experience

Generally, it takes 4-6 years to become a lead data analyst. The most common roles before becoming a lead data analyst include data analyst, consultant team lead and business analyst.

Prepare your lead data analyst resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your lead data analyst resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a lead data analyst resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Lead Data Analyst Resume templates

Build a professional Lead Data Analyst resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Lead Data Analyst resume.

Apply for lead data analyst jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a lead data analyst job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do lead data analysts rate their job?

-/5

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Lead Data Analyst reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on May 2019

Cons

Sometimes work is light. I do not like that aspect of it.

A zippia user wrote a review on Apr 2019