Did you also fall in love with Power BI when you saw its visualizations and data-gathering abilities? There are jobs I can do and those that I want to do. Power BI is a playground for data analysts, so it makes sense that you might want to turn this cool tool into a career.
This article will examine Microsoft Power BI features, salaries, and job market opportunities. You will learn whether Power BI is the right career path for you.
TL;DR:
- Power BI is a Microsoft data visualization tool.
- Power BI allows you to create powerful visual reports.
- It is a Business Intelligence tool that helps you predict your next steps in the market.
- Salaries for Power BI data analysts range from $105K to $150K+.
- Power BI analysts must specialize in Python programming and Microsoft Azure operations.
Microsoft Power BI Education: Is it Worth It?
Microsoft Power BI is a powerful business intelligence platform that allows users to connect to various data sources, create visually appealing reports and dashboards, and gain valuable insights into their business data.
Salaries for Power BI developers start at $105,000 per year and are often quoted above $150,000. If you learn this tool, you might make a lot of money.
I researched Power BI careers and found that this job from BAE is typical of what you’ll find.
Power BI Salaries
BAE is looking for a Power BI Developer (which they call a Data Engineer).
The job pays between $109,120 to $185,460 a year.
To qualify, BAE expects you to have a degree or experience as follows:
- Bachelor’s degree in Data Science, Database Development, Software Engineering, or Computer Science
- and 2+ years of applicable experience
- or a Bachelor’s degree in any field
- and 4+ years of experience
They seek candidates with skills in:
- SQL
- Alertyx
- Python or R
- Power BI or Tableau
- testing
- version control
Power BI as a career choice
Choosing a career in Power BI can be a rewarding decision.
The demand for Power BI professionals is rising as organizations rely more and more on data analysis for decision-making.
Power BI offers various career opportunities in business intelligence, data analysis, and visualization.
Power BI Skills You Need for a New Career
To pursue a career in Power BI, certain skills are essential.
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills are required to analyze and interpret data effectively.
Proficiency in data visualization tools and techniques is crucial for creating impactful reports and dashboards.
Knowledge of SQL and database fundamentals is also beneficial in working with data sources and building data models.
Best Skills for Power BI Analysts:
- analytical and problem-solving skills
- SQL
- relational database fundamentals
- analytics problem solving
Power BI Career Paths
I gathered job names from help-wanted boards across the internet. Some of these job titles overlap, but this tool has four basic job skills: analyst, developer, administrator, and manager.
In career terms, these jobs are:
- Power BI Developer
- Business Intelligence Analyst
- Data Analyst
- Data Visualization Specialist
The administrator maintains the Power BI desktop and server instances, distributes licenses, and downloads free or connects to Saas (software as a service) Power BI tools.
A business analyst researches use cases and end-user requirements. The business analyst creates the requirements and hands them off to the manager.
The manager coordinates the Power BI developers who will create the Power BI dashboard.
The data analyst connects to various data sources, writes queries, and analyses the results.
A Power BI data analyst:
- connects to data sources
- write queries
- analyze data
The Power BI visualization specialist transforms the results into graphical displays.
Look for these keywords when searching for Power BI jobs:
- Business Analyst
- Business Intelligence Analyst
- Business Intelligence Manager
- Data Analyst
- Data Engineer
- Data Scientist
- Data Visualization Specialist
- Financial Analyst
- Marketing Analyst
- Power BI Administrator
- Power BI Consultant
- Power BI Developer
- Power BI Manager
- Power BI Project Manager
- Power BI Semantic Model Developer
- SQL Server Power BI Developer
You can learn more about these roles on the Power BI Learning Catalogue, which leads to in-depth information for:
- Business decision-makers
- Business users
- Report creators
- Data analysts
- Administrators
- Developers
Microsoft Power BI Certification
Certification validates your educational decisions to give you a competitive advantage when applying for Power BI roles.
Getting certified in Power BI offers several benefits.
It demonstrates your proficiency in the tool and validates your skills to potential employers.
Certified professionals are often preferred for job roles that involve data analysis, business intelligence, and reporting.
Additionally, certifications can lead to higher salary prospects and career advancement opportunities.
Microsoft Certified Power BI Data Analyst
Microsoft offers a course for Power BI certification. The Microsoft Power BI Data Analyst course prepares you for the PL-300 exam.
In this course, you learn data connection, analysis, and visualization.
You can take the class as self-paced or instructor-led.
The course has no prerequisites.
The course prepares you for Data Analyst Associate certification and Exam PL-300: Microsoft Power BI Data Analyst.
What is Covered in the PL-300 Exam?
The PL-300 test encompasses a range of subjects concerning Microsoft Power BI.
It evaluates the capability to recognize business needs, tidy and alter data, construct data models, provide practical insights, empower others, and more.
The examination concentrates on proficiency in data organization, modeling, representation, implementation and management.
How Difficult is the PL-300 Exam?
If you find datasets and logic easy, it’s an easy exam. Judge your comfort level using the Microsoft exam preparation videos here.
Career Paths After Power BI
Business analysts and administrators have multiple non-Power BI paths, but developers who graduate from Power BI move up to Azure.
Microsoft Azure needs its book to describe, so I’ll start with Microsoft’s graphic illustrating the possible paths you can take with Azure.
How to Get Power BI for Free
Power BI runs on Windows, mobile, and over the internet as a SAAS (software as a service).
The Power BI Desktop is the Windows component, and downloading the Power BI Desktop is free.
The Power BI Server is a software-as-a-service (Saas) and requires paid licenses.
To see what you do and don’t get with Power BI Desktop, look at the capabilities of the free Desktop and the paid Server versions.
Power BI Desktop has these capabilities:
- gathers data from many sources
- transforms data for analysis
- shapes and models data
- measures data
- allows column calculation
- runs Python scripts
- accepts different visual themes
- has row-level security (RLS)
Power BI Server has these capabilities:
- gathers data from a limited set of sources
- allows you to create analysis dashboards
- allows you to construct workspaces and plug apps into your analysis
- creates dataflows
- outputs paginated reports
- has row-level security (RLS)
- can connect to gateway (cloud) services
- is set up to allow teams to run one account
Desktop and Services share these capabilities:
- reports
- visualizations
- security
- filters
- bookmarks
What Kinds of Companies Use Power BI?
Among thousands of others, Walmart, Exxon, and Apple use Microsoft Power BI (source).
Companies as diverse as Heathrow, Ardent Mills, Johnson Controls, Vodafone, Conde Nast, Grundfos, Bayer, Duquesne University, Humana, and Fortis Alberta also use Power BI (source).
What Do Companies Do with Power BI
In this sample data example, Adventure Works, you can see several examples of how corporations can use Power BI to enhance business goals.
- Click Pareto to see that the top 20 products account for 57.8% of sales
- Click Correlation to see that the clothing most likely to be purchased with a Mountain-500 Silver A2 bicycle is an AWC Logo Cap.
- Click Profit Margin to see that 79.8% percent of products sold are profitable
What can you extrapolate from this demonstration? At a minimum, Power BI is amazingly good at helping you to visualize data.
Is Power BI Certification Free?
Power BI certification costs $165 at the time of publishing this article.
You take the test at Microsoft’s site, using the preparation information here: Microsoft Certified: Power BI Data Analyst Associate information for taking the Exam PL-300: Microsoft Power BI Data Analyst.
What is the Salary of a PL-300 Certified Data Analyst?
A Power BI analyst earns between $105,000 and $195,000 per year.
What are the PL-300 Exam Prerequisites?
The course preparation for the PL-300 exam has no formal prerequisites. However, you would help in the course if you are familiar with Microsoft Excel data analysis tools such as pivoting.
Look at Kevin Stratvert’s Power BI tutorials to see what’s involved:
What are the Versions of Power BI?
There are three main versions of Power BI:
- Power BI Desktop
- Power BI Pro
- Power BI Premium
Power BI Desktop is a free application that allows you to create reports and dashboards.
Power BI Pro is a subscription-based service that provides additional features like collaboration and content sharing.
Power BI Premium is a more advanced version with dedicated resources and enhanced performance.
What is Power BI Mobile?
A: Power BI Mobile is a mobile application that allows you to access and view your Power BI reports and dashboards on mobile devices.
It enables you to stay connected to your data and make informed decisions on the go.
How Do You Connect Power BI to Your Data?
Power BI provides multiple options to connect to your data.
You can connect to various data sources, including Excel spreadsheets, SQL databases, SharePoint lists, Azure services, etc.
Power BI also supports data preparation and transformation capabilities to ensure your data is clean and ready for analysis.
Conclusion
Power BI is an interesting career path that pays $105,000 annually. The career paths include analyst, developer, and administrator. The Power BI certification is $165, and Microsoft’s exam preparation course is the Microsoft Power BI Data Analyst. and you take the exam on the PL-300 exam page.
