Select your current position

Pick a role and level — we'll show the growth path, skills and gap analysis.

Development path

Junior

0-2 years

Current

Responsibility: Writing SQL queries for reports. Building dashboards (Tableau/Superset). Data collection and cleansing. Preparing presentations with insights.

Key skills:

Apache Airflow Need
BI Dashboards Need
ClickHouse Need
Data Catalog Need
Data Contracts Need
Data Lineage Need
Data Quality Need
Data Warehouse Design Need
dbt Need
MySQL / MariaDB Need
Pandas / Polars Need
PostgreSQL Need
SQL-based ETL Need
Database Indexing Need
Query Optimization Need
Data Modeling & Schema Design Need

Middle

2-5 years

Next

Responsibility: Running A/B tests. Cohort analysis. Building product metrics. Report automation (Python/SQL). Working with product team.

Key skills:

Apache Airflow Need
BI Dashboards Need
ClickHouse Need
Data Catalog Need
Data Contracts Need
Data Lineage Need
Data Quality Need
Data Warehouse Design Need
dbt Need
MySQL / MariaDB Need
Pandas / Polars Need
PostgreSQL Need
SQL-based ETL Need
Database Indexing Need
Query Optimization Need
Data Modeling & Schema Design Need

Senior

5-8 years

Responsibility: Designing metrics systems. Complex statistical analysis. Forecasting. Mentoring. Presenting insights to management.

Key skills:

Apache Airflow Need
BI Dashboards Need
ChatGPT / Claude Need
Classical ML (scikit-learn) Need
ClickHouse Need
Code Review Need
Data Catalog Need
Data Contracts Need
Data Lineage Need
Data Quality Need
Data Warehouse Design Need
dbt Need
Elasticsearch / OpenSearch Need
Git Advanced Need
GitHub Copilot Need
MySQL / MariaDB Need
Pandas / Polars Need
PostgreSQL Need
Prometheus & Grafana Need
Prompt Engineering for Code Need
Python Web Frameworks Need
Redis Need
REST API Design Need
SQL-based ETL Need
Algorithms & Complexity Need
API Documentation Need
Database Indexing Need
Code Quality & Refactoring Need
Query Optimization Need
Data Modeling & Schema Design Need
Structured Logging Need
Data Structures Need
Experiment Tracking Need

Lead / Staff

7-12 years

Responsibility: Data-driven culture in the company. Metrics standards. Coordinating analysts. Self-service analytics strategy.

Key skills:

Apache Airflow Need
BI Dashboards Need
ChatGPT / Claude Need
Classical ML (scikit-learn) Need
ClickHouse Need
Code Review Need
Data Catalog Need
Data Contracts Need
Data Lineage Need
Data Quality Need
Data Warehouse Design Need
dbt Need
Elasticsearch / OpenSearch Need
Git Advanced Need
GitHub Copilot Need
MySQL / MariaDB Need
Pandas / Polars Need
PostgreSQL Need
Prometheus & Grafana Need
Prompt Engineering for Code Need
Python Web Frameworks Need
Redis Need
REST API Design Need
SQL-based ETL Need
Algorithms & Complexity Need
API Documentation Need
Database Indexing Need
Code Quality & Refactoring Need
Query Optimization Need
Data Modeling & Schema Design Need
Structured Logging Need
Data Structures Need
Experiment Tracking Need

Principal

10+ years

Responsibility: Analytics strategy. Data democratization. Advanced analytics (ML for business). Influencing business strategy.

Key skills:

Apache Airflow Need
BI Dashboards Need
ChatGPT / Claude Need
Classical ML (scikit-learn) Need
ClickHouse Need
Code Review Need
Data Catalog Need
Data Contracts Need
Data Lineage Need
Data Quality Need
Data Warehouse Design Need
dbt Need
Elasticsearch / OpenSearch Need
Git Advanced Need
GitHub Copilot Need
MySQL / MariaDB Need
Pandas / Polars Need
PostgreSQL Need
Prometheus & Grafana Need
Prompt Engineering for Code Need
Python Web Frameworks Need
Redis Need
REST API Design Need
SQL-based ETL Need
Algorithms & Complexity Need
API Documentation Need
Database Indexing Need
Code Quality & Refactoring Need
Query Optimization Need
Data Modeling & Schema Design Need
Structured Logging Need
Data Structures Need
Experiment Tracking Need

Gap analysis: skills to develop

To reach the next level you'll need to develop:

Apache Airflow

Independently builds Airflow DAGs for automated data extraction and cohort preparation pipelines. Implements data validation tasks with Great Expectations integration. Configures scheduling for recurring analytical data refreshes.

BI Dashboards

Independently builds analytical dashboards with advanced statistical visualizations and dynamic cohort analysis. Optimizes dashboard performance through query tuning and data extracts. Creates A/B test dashboards with significance indicators and confidence intervals.

ClickHouse

Writes advanced analytical queries using window functions (ROW_NUMBER, LAG, LEAD, running totals) for trend analysis and ranking. Applies ClickHouse approximate algorithms like uniqHLL12 and quantileTDigest for fast estimations on large datasets. Builds cohort retention analyses at scale, leveraging arrays and higher-order functions.

Data Catalog

Independently curates analytical dataset metadata in the catalog. Implements column-level descriptions and usage statistics tracking. Creates data dictionaries and glossary entries to improve discoverability for the analytics team.

Data Contracts

Independently works with data contracts to ensure analytical dataset reliability. Defines schema expectations and data quality rules for analytical tables. Collaborates with data engineers on contract specifications for analytical use cases.

Data Lineage

Independently uses lineage tools to trace analytical data flows and debug data quality issues. Implements lineage documentation for complex analytical pipelines. Performs impact analysis using lineage graphs before modifying shared datasets.

Data Quality

Builds automated validation pipelines using Great Expectations and dbt tests. Implements statistical anomaly detection for A/B testing datasets. Configures quality monitors in Airflow DAGs to catch upstream issues. Designs profiling reports with pandas-profiling and custom SQL checks.

Data Warehouse Design

Designs analytical schemas for specific business domains, choosing appropriate fact and dimension structures. Proposes new warehouse tables and views that improve query efficiency for recurring analysis patterns. Understands trade-offs between normalized and denormalized designs and selects the right approach based on analytical workload characteristics.

dbt

Independently builds dbt models for analytical datasets with proper testing and documentation. Implements Jinja macros for reusable transformation logic. Configures model materializations appropriate for analytical query patterns and data volume.

MySQL / MariaDB

Writes complex analytical SQL with window functions (ROW_NUMBER, LAG, LEAD, running totals) for trend and cohort analysis in MySQL. Builds multi-step analysis pipelines using CTEs and temporary tables. Optimizes data extraction queries by analyzing EXPLAIN output and adding targeted indexes for analytical workloads.

Pandas / Polars

Implements efficient analytical pipelines with Pandas: multi-table join strategies, window functions with rolling/expanding, and time-series resampling for different granularities. Uses Polars for performance-critical transformations on large datasets. Creates parameterized analysis pipelines with proper error handling and data validation.

PostgreSQL

Independently designs analytical queries and optimizes data extraction: writes complex CTEs and window functions for analytical workloads, understands execution plans for query tuning, uses EXPLAIN ANALYZE for bottleneck identification. Understands trade-offs between materialized views and live queries for analytical reporting.

SQL-based ETL

Builds SQL ETL pipelines for cohort extraction and analytical dataset preparation. Implements data cleaning transformations, handles missing values and outliers, and creates reusable ad-hoc data transformation templates.

Database Indexing

Designs indexes for analytical query patterns: composite indexes for multi-column filters, expression indexes for computed fields, and partial indexes for conditional aggregations. Analyzes query execution plans to identify missing indexes and index scan vs seek behavior. Understands index impact on ETL pipeline performance.

Query Optimization

Independently optimizes complex analytical queries: partition pruning for time-series analysis, query pushdown for distributed data sources, and efficient JOIN strategies for large table combinations. Uses query profilers to identify and resolve performance bottlenecks. Implements query caching strategies for recurring analytical patterns.

Data Modeling & Schema Design

Independently designs analytical data models with appropriate normalization levels. Implements materialized views and summary tables for recurring analysis patterns. Understands trade-offs between normalized and denormalized schemas for analytical workloads.

Career transitions

Possible career trajectories for the <strong>Data Analyst</strong> role

📈 Growth 2

Where you can grow from this role

╨а╨╛╤Б╤В ╨▓ Analytics Engineering ╤З╨╡╤А╨╡╨╖ dbt ╨╕ data modeling

Match: 100%
Data Engineer Growth

╨а╨╛╤Б╤В ╨▓ Data Engineering ╤З╨╡╤А╨╡╨╖ ╤Г╨│╨╗╤Г╨▒╨╗╨╡╨╜╨╕╨╡ ╤В╨╡╤Е╨╜╨╕╤З╨╡╤Б╨║╨╕╤Е ╨╜╨░╨▓╤Л╨║╨╛╨▓

Match: 100%

↔️ Lateral 1

Adjacent roles for a lateral move

Data Scientist Lateral

╨Я╨╡╤А╨╡╤Е╨╛╨┤ ╨▓ Data Science ╤З╨╡╤А╨╡╨╖ ╨╕╨╖╤Г╤З╨╡╨╜╨╕╨╡ ML

Match: 100%