How do Beginners Learn Tableau?

You can begin learning Tableau with no prior knowledge of data visualization or data management. Beginner-level Tableau classes will help you develop the skills you need to work with Tableau and become familiar with the process of data visualization. Students first begin learning how to work with data, from exploring it to analyzing it, before utilizing the various tools available in Tableau. In a beginner-level Tableau class, students will work toward developing important soft skills, like how to communicate their data visualizations to others. 

Getting Started with Tableau

To get started with Tableau, you’ll need access to the version of Tableau you want to learn. The major variants of Tableau include Tableau Desktop, Server, Online, Reader, and Mobile. Each of these variants has different features, capabilities, and price points. You can find online resources that cover the variant of Tableau you need to learn or enroll in a Tableau training course. Most Tableau training courses focus on Tableau Desktop or Tableau Server, two of the more popular variants of the program for business use. 

Learning Tableau does not require a prior understanding of data or data visualization, but it does help. To succeed in using Tableau, it’s important to develop data comprehension. This means knowing what the data you’re working with means and how to transform it. You can work on data comprehension prior to learning Tableau by reading and watching videos on the topic, and practicing with example datasets. Familiarity with other data visualization programs and software, like Excel and Power BI, can also provide you with a smooth transition into learning Tableau. 

The First Steps When Learning Tableau

Whether you opt to self-teach or enroll in a Tableau course led by an instructor, there are several basic skills that everyone covers when learning Tableau. First, you can expect to learn how to comprehend data. To fully take advantage of all of Tableau’s features and tools, you’ll need to understand the data you’re working with. Data science professionals depend on Tableau to blend data coming from multiple sources. To do so successfully, they must understand all the types of data they’re using. 

Tableau is a data visualization platform, so you can expect to learn the ins and outs of Tableau during your training. At the beginner level, you’ll learn how to craft your data visualizations on your own. You’ll start by making simpler visualizations, including charts and reports, before moving on to more advanced work. Learning how to visualize data is one step toward analyzing it and communicating information that can help make data-driven decisions. 

If you plan on working with Tableau, you likely need to communicate data. A beginner-level Tableau training course will help you develop the communication skills you’ll need to communicate your visualizations to team members and managers. Most classes include group projects where you’ll work with classmates to craft data visualizations and then communicate these findings to the whole class or instructor. Developing good communication skills early in your training will help you prepare for a career as a Data Analyst, Business Analyst, or other data science professional.

Free Tableau Tools for Beginners

You can get started learning Tableau now for free by turning to the internet for resources. Searching the YouTube channels of online training schools, like Noble Desktop, can lead you to free introductory videos on Tableau and other data visualization platforms. These videos are often part of a series and typically cover introductory information like understanding the Tableau interface, navigating Tableau, and how to start creating data visualizations with Tableau. In addition to YouTube videos, you can often find tutorials and How-to guides uploaded online by experts looking to share their knowledge with interested learners. 

If you’re a textual learner, consider checking out your local library for resources on Tableau. They may have books covering beginner, intermediate, or even advanced-level Tableau. Keep in mind when relying on free resources to learn Tableau that they often require a lot of self-teaching. Although pre-recorded videos are a useful means of learning the basics, learning without instructor guidance can prove difficult. It’s often suggested that beginners learn the basics of Tableau using these resources and turn to live training for a more thorough understanding of the platform. 

Live Tableau Training for Beginners

Live Tableau training is the most efficient way to learn Tableau and its many features. This form of training comes in two modalities: in-person and live online. In-person Tableau training classes follow a traditional teaching structure wherein students attend scheduled classes at a physical location alongside their classmates. This mode of learning provides students with a structured classroom environment where they’ll receive personalized feedback, have the opportunity to work with others, and receive face-to-face instruction. In-person training ranges from one-day classes to months-long bootcamps.

Live online training takes place over a web conferencing platform. The instructors teach classes that are scheduled similarly to when in-person classes are. Live online classes eliminate the need to commute to a physical classroom, offering students greater flexibility when it comes to learning. Students in the virtual classroom can still engage with their instructor and classmates and will typically follow the same curriculum they would in an in-person class. 

When deciding on attending an in-person Tableau class or a live online Tableau class, it’s important to consider which class type best fits your schedule and learning needs. For example, if you’d prefer to learn in a classroom rather than learning online, an in-person class is the best choice. However, if you have a busy schedule and don’t have time to commute to an in-person class, you can still receive the same quality of instruction in a live online class. 

The Next Step

Beginner-level Tableau classes introduce students to working in Tableau and set them up to start creating basic data visualizations on their own. Beginner-level classes typically last 1-2 days and will provide enough hands-on experience for basic Tableau use. If you’ll be using Tableau as part of your everyday work and require extensive Tableau training, you can enroll in intermediate and advanced-level classes after developing beginner-level skills. 

Advanced-level Tableau classes may come as part of a series, alongside beginner-level classes, or you may need to enroll in one separately. Long-term data science bootcamps provide students with another means of learning advanced-level Tableau. In these bootcamps, you’ll learn the ins and outs of data science and the tools data science professionals use, including Tableau. 

Noble Desktop’s advanced-level Tableau training will help you take your Tableau skills to the next level. In their Tableau Level II course, you’ll learn how to create custom charts and dive into the tools of Tableau that aid in the creation of custom visualizations. This course also explores geographic data, giving students the chance to convert the data into a variety of map types. For a more extensive learning experience, you can take this class as part of Noble’s Tableau Bootcamp, Tableau Certification Program, or Data Analytics Certificate. 

Tableau Classes in Your Area

Beginner-level Tableau training will help you become comfortable using the platform. Classes offer the chance to learn under the guidance of an expert instructor and receive personalized feedback and answers to your questions. 

Noble Desktop

Noble Desktop offers a Tableau for Data Visualization Bootcamp at their NYC location and live online. The bootcamp covers the field of data visualization and the features and tools that Tableau provides to help you create maps, charts, graphs, and other visual representations of data. In the bootcamp, you will first learn how to identify data sets before moving on to working in Tableau. The course follows this introductory section up with lessons on calculating in Tableau, formatting your visualization, and distributing and publishing your visualization. 

The second module of the bootcamp moves students toward more advanced visualizations and mapping in Tableau. During this module, you’ll receive an introduction to mapping data before learning how to create visualization maps, dual-axis charts, dashboards, and stories. This is a hands-on bootcamp, so you can expect to work on projects throughout its duration. In the second module, you’ll spend supervised class time working with provided data or your own data to work on an individual project. Previous projects students have worked on included bar charts, heat maps, and geographical maps. 

No prior knowledge is required to enroll in Noble Desktop’s Tableau Bootcamp. Tuition is $499, which is due in full before the bootcamp begins. Included in the price of tuition are 12 hours of instruction, a proprietary workbook, a digital certificate of completion awarded after the bootcamp has ended, and a free retake within one year. 

NYIM Training

Learn the basics of Tableau in NYIM Training’s Tableau Level I course. In this introductory-level class, students will spend one six-hour session learning about data visualization and the tools offered by Tableau Public, Tableau’s free online platform. Students can expect to gain practical experience in the course through hands-on learning experiences where they’ll identify datasets which they can then explore, analyze, filter, and structure for an eye-catching and informative visualization. The course includes the use of advanced Tableau tools, such as filters, the detail panel, and the size panels. Near the end of the course, the instructor will cover how to distribute and publish visualizations with Tableau. 

This interactive course comes in two modalities: in-person and live online. The class costs $299, which is due in full before your scheduled session. Students who opt to enroll in the live online session have access to NYIM Training’s setup assistance. 

NYIM Training offers Tableau Level II to students who complete Tableau Level I. This advanced-level class introduces students to advanced topics and tools not covered in Tableau Level I, including data mapping and custom charts. In this course, which is also offered in-person and live online, students will learn about the mapping features that Tableau offers before learning about and working on visualization maps like choropleth maps, spider maps, proportional symbol maps, and density maps. Tableau Level II costs $299; however, if you enroll in NYIM Training’s Tableau Bootcamp, which combines lessons from Tableau Level I and Tableau Level II, you can save 15% on tuition.

Ledet Training

Students looking to gain a solid foundation in Tableau and its tools can sign up for Ledet Training’s Tableau 101 course. The two-day live online course provides students with hands-on practice as they complete real-world projects that will equip them with the skills necessary to succeed in data analysis and visualization. The course welcomes beginner and intermediate-level students who would like to improve their abilities to explore, understand, and gain insights from data sources. No previous experience is required to enroll in Tableau 101, although the course commonly appeals to business executives, data science professionals, and data-driven marketers who may have some experience using Tableau or similar platforms. 

Tableau 101 will help students learn how to connect their data in Tableau Desktop. Lessons will cover terminology, explore core concepts, and include hands-on experience. Course content includes using core Tableau features, such as filters, measures, and dimensions, to simplify and organize data, creating basic calculations, and showing breakdowns of data in various forms, like heat maps, geographical maps, and cross tabs. 

ONLC Training Centers

ONLC Training Centers’ Tableau Desktop Level 1 teaches students about all the tools and features that Tableau has to offer. Beginners and professionals alike can enroll in the course to expand their skill set to include Tableau. The course also welcomes professionals who have not used Tableau in a while but want to refresh on concepts and tools, as well as professionals who use other data visualization tools who have an interest in switching over to Tableau. 

Tableau Desktop Level 1 begins with the fundamentals of Tableau. Students will learn about the cycle of analytics, how to connect to data, and how to visualize data in Tableau. After learning these basics, students will begin the hands-on portion of the class under the instructor’s guidance. The class lasts three days, with lessons eventually moving toward advanced visualizations, such as those that require dates and times and visualizations that compare different measures. 

ONLC Training Centers comprehensive course pushes students to dig deep into Tableau and the process of visualizing data. To further help students achieve these goals, the ONLC has structured the course to include a section on techniques, tips, and tricks for creating advanced visualizations along with several demo lessons. For a more basic introduction to Tableau, enroll in ONLC Training Centers’ Tableau Desktop Level 1: Introduction for Novice Users.

Prerequisites for Tableau Desktop Level 1 include prior experience using Microsoft Excel, particularly Pivot Tables and calculations in the software program. Once the course has ended, students should feel prepared to register for the Tableau Desktop Specialist Exam.