What is the Fastest Way to Learn Tableau?

If you’re looking to start a new career soon, want to upskill for a promotion, or need to learn new skills to complete a project, you might need to learn Tableau and its tools quickly. This article will explain the different ways to learn Tableau and how quick those methods are to help you determine which type of class will work best for the time you have to learn the Tableau skills you need. 

Free Resources: Learning the Basics

You can learn the very basics of Tableau using free resources like the internet and library books. This method is one of the fastest ways to establish a very basic understanding of Tableau, such as how to manage data in the software and understand its interface. You can find video tutorials on YouTube and other video hosting websites that will walk you through these basics. Additionally, experts often upload troubleshooting guides to their YouTube channels and may even provide playlists to help you navigate the basics easily. Tableau guides at your local library will do much the same, with fewer visual lessons than a video guide. Free resources provide learners with easy access to the basics of Tableau so they can learn how to interact with the software and what their outcomes will look like. You can find a trusted expert who uploads training videos through recommendations online, or you can search for a training school, like Noble Desktop, that offers samples of their courses and short videos that cover the basics online for free. 

Free resources can also help you explore related topics like data science and data analytics. Tableau is just one tool among these broader concepts. If you want to learn Tableau for a project, resources covering the basics will do. However, if you’re looking to start a career as a data science professional, exploring free resources that will introduce you to data science and the tools used to perform data science will help make your learning journey easier in the long run. 

Introductory Classes: Students Looking to Learn the Foundations of Tableau and Data Visualization

For a more in-depth learning experience, consider enrolling in an introductory class offered by Noble Desktop or another training provider. Introductory classes provide beginners with a thorough breakdown of the basics of Tableau and provide them with the opportunity to use the software. Introductory classes typically only last a few hours across one day or shorter hours across two to three days, requiring little time investment and allowing you to learn the basics quickly under the guidance of a professional who can answer your questions and provide feedback about your work. You can usually find a course offered on weekdays, in the evenings, or on weekends, offering you a large degree of flexibility when it comes to scheduling. Short class times also mean that tuition is relatively low for introductory classes. 

Introductory classes focus on helping students build a foundational knowledge of Tableau and data visualization. New students unfamiliar with data visualization tools may find Tableau and data visualization confusing; introductory classes will help students understand the purpose of data visualization while learning how the basic features of Tableau aid this process. Students familiar with other data visualization tools, like Excel, will probably feel more comfortable in a Tableau class as they learn about the methods of data visualization and explore new tools. 

Certificate Granting Programs: For Aspiring Professionals

Learning Tableau will not secure you a career, but can help you land a job as a data science professional, including a Financial Analyst, Business Analyst, or Social Media Strategist. Many government sector jobs also require using data visualization tools like Tableau, Excel, or Power BI to help conduct a variety of analyses. If you’re looking to leverage your Tableau skills to help begin a new career, you may want to pursue a certificate-granting program. Noble Desktop and other training schools offer career-focused certificate programs to help students gain the technical training they need to succeed in their chosen field. These programs condense beginner, intermediate, and advanced-level Tableau skills into classes that last several weeks or months, often with hands-on, project-based learning to aid in the quick development of skills. 

Certificate programs provide training a step above introductory classes. Rather than focusing solely on gaining an understanding of the basics of Tableau, certificate programs aim to help students learn Tableau and become career-ready. Oftentimes, certificate programs will include real-world projects for students to work on alone or in collaboration with classmates to prepare them for using Tableau “in the real world.” Students interested in earning a certification can also turn to certificate programs to help them prepare. For example, Noble Desktop’s Tableau Certification program prepares students to take the Tableau Desktop Specialist certification exam through in-depth lessons and exam prep via private tutoring. 

On-Demand Courses: For Motivated Learners

You can find plenty of on-demand courses covering Tableau and its features, from beginner to advanced classes. On-demand courses work best for students who want to learn Tableau quickly but can’t attend an in-person or live online class. These classes, however, may take you a short time to finish or quite a long time to finish because of their on-demand nature. 

On-demand classes come with immediate access to lessons, but whether you have access to every lesson immediately or must unlock lessons as you work depends on the program. Instant access means you can begin learning as soon as possible, with access to the program either unlimited or contained to a specific time frame. Course materials often include video lectures, reading assignments, and projects you can work through at your own pace. Because on-demand classes lack a live instructor and material is easily accessible, the time it takes students to complete an on-demand class largely depends on their motivation and how much time they can dedicate to learning. 

Learn Tableau with Noble Desktop

Noble Desktop offers Tableau classes that fit your needs, whether you need to learn Tableau in a day or if you have more time to devote to learning and working with the software. If you’re looking for a short course in Tableau, enroll in their Tableau Bootcamp. Students will spend 12 hours working with a live instructor to understand how to create charts, graphs, and maps with Tableau. The essentials of data visualization will converge with the essentials of Tableau as students work to understand datasets before exploring and working with them in Tableau. Later modules in the course will cover more advanced topics such as map-making in Tableau and customizing visualizations. 

A step up in intensity from Noble Desktop’s Tableau Bootcamp is the Tableau Certification Program. This is a two-part program that includes two Tableau courses and two 3-hour sessions of private tutoring. Lessons begin at the introductory level before working up to advanced, making this ideal for students who want to learn more than just the basics. Like many certification programs, this class aims to prepare students for a certification exam—specifically, the Tableau Desktop Specialist certification exam, which can help you begin a career as a Tableau Data Analyst. 

For those with more time to learn and an interest in data analytics, Noble Desktop offers a Data Analytics Certificate program. The class comes in part-time (six weeks) and full-time (24 weeks) options, both held live online. The program will cover the core skills needed to work as a Data Analyst across industries. Tableau makes up 12 hours of the course, with the other 144 hours spent on data analysis concepts, SQL, Python, and Excel. Students also have access to eight 1-on-1 mentoring sessions where they can work on developing interview skills, polish their resumes, and ask questions about difficult concepts covered in class. 

Noble Desktop also makes learning Tableau easy for teams. With their corporate training options, your company can easily enroll employees in Tableau training classes. Noble provides customizable curriculum options live online and onsite, or allows you to choose from pre-existing Tableau classes. Benefits to corporate training include flexible scheduling, discounted vouchers, and a cohesive curriculum to help your employees reach the same Tableau skill level.