How Long Does it Take to Learn Data Visualization?

Like many aspiring Data Analysts, you might want to learn data visualization but worry that it will take too much time. The ability to create stunning data visualizations requires time and training. Data visualization is a field that requires proficiency with various tools and applications like Excel and Tableau, each of which takes the average person weeks or months to learn. Of course, this depends on several factors. Keep reading to see how you can learn data visualization and some resources to help speed the process along.

What is Data Visualization?

Data visualization uses graphics like plots, charts, or animations to represent data findings. These visual depictions communicate complicated data relationships in an accessible and engaging format and have a range of applications for sharing data-driven insights with an organization’s internal and external stakeholders. Because an estimated 65% of the population comprises visual learners, data visualization provides a way to quickly and effectively convey data findings. Even though data visualization takes many forms, it shares the common goal of communicating otherwise complex data insights in a memorable and understandable way, even for those who don’t come from a technical background.

Each day, 2.5 quintillion bytes of data are being created, which continues to grow exponentially. This increase in the amount of data has created a corresponding need for visualization practices to share the insights these numbers contain. Data visualization has a variety of uses across industries and professions. It has applications for describing trends or patterns hidden in data and communicating organizational structures or hierarchies. The data visualization process is typically broken into four purposes: to generate ideas, to illustrate concepts, to provide avenues into visual discovery, and to convey data in the form of visualizations.

Read more about what data visualization is and why you should learn it.

What Can You Do with Data Visualization?

Those with the skills to create engaging and effective data visualizations have the power to communicate detailed data insights and findings to audience members from all backgrounds. Data visualizations provide a concise and interactive way to depict data trends. Visualizations incorporate color and contrast to present information like sales patterns so that audience members can quickly observe information that may be difficult to see from a graph or spreadsheet. In addition, another benefit of working with data visualizations is that they can provide perspective on the data by placing it in the context of a larger story, which can help audience members understand the information as it relates to an organization’s overall goals or bottom line. Context plays an integral role in helping audiences understand the entirety of the data being depicted, which would be difficult to convey by listing numbers in a table.

Data visualization also provides a better understanding of a business’s operations. Running a business requires staying on top of many moving parts, and data visualizations provide a tool that can depict multifaceted operations and how different business activities connect. Moreover, analyzing and visualizing data provides insights into important business metrics that can lead to smoother daily operations and more successful project execution. For organizations that sell products or services to customers, data visualizations offer crucial insights into customers’ preferences, demographics, and shopping patterns. They provide a way for organizations to use customer-focused data to explore brand perception, customer sentiments, and even what customers post about the product or service on social media outlets. Businesses can then use these insights to tailor marketing strategies and brand outreach.

In addition to providing customer insights and depicting important trends in the data, visualizations also tell a story. Information is presented in an easy-to-understand format, and the audience is taken on a journey that leads to an inevitable, data-driven conclusion. Just like a written story, a visual story has a strong beginning, a basic plot, and an ending that looks into the future, providing recommendations for how to move forward. Instead of requiring tens of thousands of words to tell this story, data visualizations can do so with a series of well-placed infographics, carefully worded labels, and brief descriptions of the content, all of which tell the story of data in the larger context of an organization’s needs and goals. 

Average Time it Takes to Learn Data Visualization

Because data visualization involves several related skill sets, it’s difficult to determine how long it takes every individual to acquire them. Some people may choose to learn one skill first, then progress to a different tool or app. Others may elect to learn them all at once, which can change the time needed to create data visualizations. The following is a breakdown of some of the skills used by those who work with data visualization, as well as a rough estimate of how long it takes most individuals to acquire these skills:

• Python is one of the most popular programming languages for data analytics and visualization tasks. It has a range of free libraries devoted to visualizing data, such as Seborn, Ggplot, Plotly, and Matplotlib. Depending on your prior experience with programming, it takes most learners between five and ten weeks to learn how to code with Python. Becoming familiar with Python’s data visualization libraries can take several months.
• One of the most commonly used applications for those who work with data is Microsoft Excel, the industry-standard spreadsheet application. This tool is integral in helping data professionals organize, analyze, and visualize data findings. Excel is considered by most to be a relatively easy-to-learn program. It takes the average user between 18 and 20 hours to familiarize themself with this app’s interface and basic spreadsheet features.
• Tableau is a popular business, data analytics, and data visualization program. This software aids with creating customized data visualizations that display significant data findings in a manner that’s clear and accessible. Most people who work with Tableau consider this program fairly easy to use, thanks to its intuitive drag-and-drop interface. However, if you are new to business intelligence, it may take two to six months to master this tool’s data visualization features.

Other Factors

Because the speed at which you can learn data visualization depends on various factors, it’s essential to consider each of them to get a realistic idea of how long it will take you to be able to make your own customized data visualizations. Factors such as your prior experience working with data, your understanding of basic design elements, and your comfort with storytelling all determine the speed at which you’ll learn data visualization:

Prior Data Experience

If you are new to working with large volumes of data, it can be challenging to jump right into data visualization. It’s vital for anyone working to visualize data first to have a solid understanding of what exactly data is, as well as how it’s collected and analyzed. At its most basic level, data is a collection of numbers, measurements, observations, descriptions, words, or facts, either qualitative or quantitative. Data is everywhere; some common examples are weights, ages, addresses, temperatures, distances, dates, and names. This form of raw information doesn’t carry significance on its own. However, when analyzed in a larger context, data provides valuable insights into trends and patterns that can have larger significance for an organization or even a country.

Data analytics is the act of analyzing large datasets to extract helpful information. This process entails finding, interpreting, and communicating data patterns, which organizations can use to make better decisions. The more experience you have with gathering, cleaning, and analyzing data, the easier it likely will be to visualize this information.

Understanding of Basic Design Concepts

The field of design plays an essential role in data visualization. Design is the process of imagining and planning to create a building, system, vehicle, or object that offers a solution for users. This creation process relies on several core principles, such as contrast, balance, pattern, proportion, white space, unity, repetition, and variety. These principles are used separately or combined to create a functional, visually appealing product. If you are familiar with design, these concepts will make learning how to visualize data much easier. Successful data visualizations typically rely on one or more design elements, such as the contrast of dark with light colors and white space.

Storytelling Knowledge

Most people think of storytelling as a way to convey written meaning. However, storytelling takes several forms in addition to the written word, such as audio or visual. Those who understand the elements of successful storytelling will be able to apply this skill more easily to creating visual stories. At its heart, a good story engages an audience’s attention and invites them to use their imagination. It has an attention-getting introduction, a solid storyline that shows movement, and a conclusion that is forward-looking. Similar to a novel, a visual story told through data visualization will be understandable and memorable to audiences.

Level of Difficulty, Prerequisites, & Cost 

If you want to learn to visualize data, you may wonder how hard it is to create visualizations that convey data findings. The good news is that you can easily learn how to make basic data visualizations with practice and instruction. A lot of work goes into creating a professional-grade data visualization that properly balances various design elements to convey data results effectively. Just like learning a new language, the skills involved with creating compelling data visualizations can require learning new terms and principles and applying them to real-world information. 

Before learning to visualize data, you may consider learning several related skills to make the learning process easier and faster. First, it’s essential to understand the basics of data, such as how it’s stored, how to retrieve it, and how it’s analyzed. The more you know about data analysis, the easier it will be to visualize the results of the analytics process. In addition, another skill that can help you learn to visualize data faster is an understanding of basic design concepts. Effective data visualizations will convey significant data findings without too much text or information that overpowers the visual components. Reviewing core design concepts, such as color, contrast, white space, and visual flow, are just a few core design concepts that can help you create your own data visualizations.

Because data visualization is a broad category, many tools, platforms, and applications are available to help you analyze and visualize data. One of the most effective tools for data visualization is Tableau. If you are interested in using this visual analytics platform, Tableau Creator is available for $70/user/month. This package includes Tableau Desktop, Tableau Prep Builder, and one Creator license for either Tableau Cloud or Tableau Server. In addition, a free trial of Tableau is also offered for those still deciding whether Tableau is the best option for their data visualization needs. In addition, Tableau Public is a free platform that helps those working with data create and share their data visualizations online. Tableau Public boasts the largest repository of data visualizations in existence. 

Read about how difficult it is to learn data visualization. 

Watch a Free Data Visualization Online Course

If you’re looking for an overview of data visualization rather than a time-intensive course, you can start learning to visualize data for free online. Noble Desktop offers a free data science webinar, which provides 80 minutes of instruction on the various applications of Python in the field of data science. Participants also receive a general overview of the field of data science, including the various skills required to be a Data Scientist and how to apply them to real-world data. This beginner-friendly video is a great first step for learners before they dive into a data science class or certificate program.

In addition to Noble’s free data science webinar, other top educational providers offer free beginner-friendly content on visualizing data. edX’s Introduction to Data Analysis Using Excel prepares learners to perform data analysis using Excel features. Students also receive instructions on creating PivotTables. Those interested in learning how to create data visualizations with Microsoft Power BI can enroll in Udemy’s Data Visualization with Power BI, which teaches learners how to create reports to convey data findings. Coursera’s Data Visualization is another free learning option. Participants in this 15-hour class receive instruction on data mining and pattern-based data classification.

Read more about free data visualization videos and online tutorials. 

Learn Data Visualization with Hands-on Training at Noble Desktop

If you’re interested in studying data visualization, Noble Desktop offers several in-person and live online courses that provide hands-on training. For those who wish to work with Tableau for visualizing data, Noble’s Tableau for Data Visualization Bootcamp is an excellent option. Participants receive an overview of the field of data visualization and learn about Tableau Public’s visualization tools. By course completion, students will have a solid understanding of identifying which datasets to connect to and how to analyze, filter, and organize data to make customized, publishable visualizations. This course also offers the option of a free retake for those interested in revisiting Tableau concepts. 

Noble’s in-person or live online Data Analytics Certificate is another good learning option for those seeking a more intensive study option. This rigorous program provides expert instruction on various data analytics concepts and prepares learners to become Business Analysts or Data Analysts. By course completion, all participants will be familiar with core business intelligence, statistical analysis, data analysis, and data visualization concepts. This is a project-based course in which students will complete various real-world projects using prescriptive and predictive analytics. All students receive one-on-one mentoring as part of tuition.

In addition, other in-person and live online data visualization courses are also available from Noble Desktop. Those who wish to learn the tools to become Data Scientists may consider enrolling in Noble’s Data Science Certificate, which covers machine learning, automation, SQL, and Python. A Python for Data Science Bootcamp covers fundamental and complex Python programming concepts, such as creating programs and using statistics to make machine learning models. 

The Excel Bootcamp is also available, which teaches core spreadsheet functions like working with macros, formulas, and PivotTables. Finally, those interested in working with SQL to extract information from databases can enroll in Noble’s SQL Bootcamp. This course prepares learners to write queries, aggregate data, and filter results using Postgre SQL.

Key Insights

• Data visualization is a powerful tool used to graphically depict data findings so that they can be presented in a manner accessible to policymakers.
• On average, the time it will take you to learn to visualize data can be broken down into separate skill sets. It takes most people five to ten weeks to learn how to use Python for data visualization, between 18-20 hours to learn Excel, and between two and six months to become proficient with Tableau. 
• The time it takes to learn data visualization depends on many factors, such as your prior experience working with data, your understanding of basic design concepts, and your familiarity with storytelling.
• You can receive comprehensive data visualization training through an in-person or live online course with Noble Desktop.