Data Visualization and Storytelling: A Student's Guide on why you should be using Power BI

One thing that I've learned as a university student with experience in data visualizations is that there are a lot of tools that are used in data analysis that you either have never heard of before, or ones that you may have never learned before. That was the case when I first started working with Power BI.

When I first started working and gaining experience in the area of data analytics, I was introduced to this tool known as Power BI. I had never heard of it before, or what it could do. After having worked at that position, I not only know how to use it, but also why any university student looking for the position of a data analyst should learn how to use it.

In today’s blog post, I’ll give an insight into what Power BI is and how to use it. I’ll also explain why you, as a student, should consider learning it, as well as some resources to help you get started. 

What is Power BI?

Power BI is a powerful tool from Microsoft that focuses on data visualization, but in reality, it's comprised of so many other applications. 

All of these applications and tools allow for data processing, data transforming, and data visualizations. Power Bi can import data from all sorts of sources, ranging from Microsoft Excel to Web Pages. After that, it allows for applying transformations to organize the data. That way, a user can build data visuals to allow for report building and creating dashboards in order to communicate information and tell a story.

Power BI has many different views and perspectives of your data model. One of the most important views would be modeling, which allows for a user to view the connections between different tables. Some of these relationships include Many to One and One to One:

Another view would be would be data view, where you can look at your data in a table, and apply any necessary transformations to clean and process your data:

Finally, the main view would be the report view, where you can create many different visuals as part of a larger report or interactive dashboard:

Why should a student consider using Power BI?

There are so many reasons why anyone considering a career in data analytics should familiarize themselves with PowerBI. Here are some of the reasons why:

Power BI is used quite frequently in different companies

The biggest reason why anyone should learn how to use Power BI would be that many different companies use it. Part of this reason is because most companies adopt Microsoft Office applications in order to use for their daily tasks. As a result, most companies often do have Power BI on hand, or can easily acquire it for their use. 

In fact, Power BI is so important that depending on the position and the company, training courses and seminars might be offered in order to teach their employees on how to use the software. Often times, Power BI is the only tool that companies will have for data visualization, analytics, and for generating reports. 

Power BI can help students get an insight on the data analytics process

As a student, I have to admit that when I first started my new position, I was completely new to the whole world of data analytics. As much as I was interested, I didn't know anything about it at all. Once I started working and undergoing training, I began to understand a bit more about what I was getting myself into.

I recommend aspiring students who are interested in data visualization to learn Power BI as for me, it was a good gateway entry into the world of data analytics. I understood relationships between tables, different data types, and got first hand experience in building reports. This gave me a better idea of what the field was about, the processes involved, and taught me valuable skills.

How to get started

Now that I’ve gone over what Power BI is, and why you should use it, you might be asking yourself, "This sounds cool! I wanna learn how to use Power BI! How do I get started?".

As I've mentioned before, some companies will offer workshops and training on how to use Power BI. But, if you have some free time now (since it is the summer after all), here's what I would do:

• First, make sure to install Power BI
• Look for courses and certification: Check online for websites like Coursera or DataCamp for any extra resources. You can even earn certificates that you can put on your resume to indicate to employers that you're an expert!
• Browse Additional Websites and Forums: Check for other resources where other users can post additional advice. Some of my favourites are the BIccountant and StackOverflow, but I would also recommend YouTube as an additional resource if you want!

Takeaways

Overall, Power BI is a great tool that is often used in data analysis and storytelling in many different companies. As you advance in your career and work for many different companies, you'll find that knowledge of Power BI will come in handy for your work tasks. 

I highly encourage you to explore Power BI, and to check out some of the resources out there! Feel free to get started using the links above! There's so much to learn about, so don't waste any time and get to it! 

And if you want to learn more, or have any questions, you can contact me through my website here, or follow my LinkedIn for more tips!

Happy learning, and good luck!