Tableau is a program that can quickly access data and perform visualizations that are accessible to a wide audience. This powerful tool also has a range of other uses, such as importing large datasets, performing real-time analysis, managing metadata, blending data, and translating queries into data visualizations.An important aspect of receiving professional Tableau training to set yourself up for a career change is learning what kinds of fields and industries that training will help you find work in. Each industry has different requirements and expectations for prospective employees, and you should consider these expectations when you start your training. This is true for students who have an idea of what kind of work they want to do and those who aren’t yet sure what path to take after learning Tableau skills. 

What is Tableau?

Tableau is a data visualization tool. This software can simplify raw data into an accessible dashboard format that incorporates visual depictions of raw data, which can then be understood by various professionals working within a company.

Tableau provides features for real-time analysis, data blending, and collaboration capabilities. It allows Data Analysts to manipulate live datasets and devote their efforts more to analysis rather than data wrangling. Because Tableau doesn’t require programming or technical skills, it’s an accessible tool for data analytics.

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

What Can You Do with Tableau Skills? 

Tableau can bring together various data sources into a single point of truth. This provides one central source that’s useful for all types of business reporting. It also efficiently performs ETL operations (extract, transform and load). Tableau’s automated data reshaper tool can transform any data into the necessary format by splitting fields or eliminating headers or white space. Tableau’s automated reporting feature allows you to easily create a report, then set it to focus on a specific dataset so that the data will automatically refresh without requiring any coding knowledge. This tool’s visualization capabilities present information clearly, effectively, and engagingly. 

Common Industries That Use Tableau

Tableau knowledge is useful in a range of professions and industries. This tool is used by small and large organizations like Verizon, Chipotle, and Hello Fresh for analyzing and visualizing data and communicating data-related insights and findings. The following sections will briefly explore some of the industries and professions that use Tableau, such as Data Analysts and Business analysts, as well as how this software aids them with data-related tasks.

Data Analytics

Every day, approximately 2.5 quintillion bytes of data is made. This amount continues to grow as more companies expand their online presence and incorporate technological advances. However, this huge volume of data isn’t actionable until the data can be analyzed. This is where a Data Analyst comes in. 

Data analytics is a process by which raw data is interpreted, and conclusions are reached about the information contained within them. These insights are then used by stakeholders and decision-makers within an organization to make more informed choices about running the business. The term “data analytics'' describes the different techniques used to analyze unprocessed data to uncover important insights. This process involves a number of steps, such as collecting and organizing data, running statistical analyses, and offering predictions about what may unfold so the organization can select its next steps.

Data analytics has a range of real-world applications across professions where data is collected. In addition to working with programming languages like Python and SQL, as well as spreadsheet apps like Excel, Data Analysts also commonly work with Tableau so the data results they find can be visualized. By creating interactive, engaging visual depictions like histograms and pie charts, Data Analysts can tell a data-driven story that can be understood by individuals working at all levels of an organization. These visualizations can also be shared with any relevant stakeholders.

Data Analysts are typically compensated well for their contribution to their organization. These professionals earn an average yearly salary of $70,000.

Business Analytics

Business analytics is another profession where Tableau skills are needed. This field is a subset of business intelligence. Business Analysts work with various tools like data mining, statistical analysis, and predictive analysis to analyze data and collect meaningful insights. They also search for any issues that may appear in the data that would require immediate attention. These findings are then visualized using Tableau or a similar problem so they can be shared with others within the organization and used to make better business decisions.

Every customer transaction or engagement that takes place in cyberspace leaves a trail of information behind, information that can be profitable if you know what to do with it. Information such as this offers objective facts about customers’ interests, shopping patterns, and purchases. Business Analysts work with these numbers to ensure their organization can profit from this information. Tableau is the most widely used business intelligence platform currently available. This visualization tool helps Business Analysts navigate and manage data, as well as locate insights within the information. 

Because of how much data continues to be created in the business sector, business analytics is an in-demand field. This is why Business Analysts are typically paid well. Those working in the U.S. earn a yearly salary of approximately $80,000.

Accounting

Accountants are tasked with handling an organization’s bookkeeping and financial documents, like balance sheets and profit statements. They also perform audits on the organization’s books and create reports for tax purposes. Accountants must be extremely detail-oriented and organized since they work with a vast amount of sensitive information. Not only do Accountants need to keep accurate and comprehensive records, but they also interpret financial records. With the help of the data analytics process, Accountants can more easily and quickly perform routine tasks, such as analyzing data and identifying patterns or concerning outliers. 

Although there are many kinds of accounting, the field is typically broken into three primary career paths with their own professional focus: Management Accountants, Public Accountants, and Government Accountants. Most Accountants work for individual clients or are hired by a larger organization. 

Many accountants work with Microsoft Excel to perform data-related tasks. Tableau is growing increasingly popular among these professionals as well. Tableau is often preferred to Excel because of how easy it is to create charts that highlight more aspects or “views” of the data, rather than the basic tables Excel can generate. Although Tableau isn’t necessarily a replacement for spreadsheet apps like Excel, many Accountants use these tools together to perform faster data analytics and to share their results. Excel is useful for tasks like ad hoc data management, basic computational solutions and calculations, and small-scale scenario analysis. Tableau, on the other hand, can join and merge data and is able to handle huge datasets. Its visual interface can analyze large amounts of complicated data and create interactive dashboards to convey data findings.

On average, Accountants can expect to earn a yearly salary of $80,000. The job outlook over the next decade for Accountants is on par with the national average, at about 6%.

Financial Analytics

Another industry that relies heavily on Tableau for data analytics and visualization is financial analytics. Like Business Analysts and Data Analysts, Financial Analysts are involved with gathering and organizing data. They also compare historical results and generate reports designed to project possible outcomes for their organization. Financial Analysts create reports, budget models, Excel models, and interactive data visualizations to share their results. 

Although the daily tasks of Financial Analysts depend on their industry focus and employer, these professionals typically perform industry-specific trends in economics, finance, and business, and review the organization’s financial statements. They design models for various investors and provide recommendations for single investments as well as investment collections. Financial Analysts also evaluate the performance of stocks and bonds and stay current on new technological developments and current market conditions. Those involved with financial analytics must be literate in financial jargon and know acronyms like ROA, ROE, and EPS. They also work regularly with statistics, databases, programming languages and other data analytics tools like Tableau so their data findings can be clearly expressed and shared with relevant stakeholders.

The average pay for a Financial Analyst in the U.S. is $95,000. In 2021, 375,000 Financial Analyst jobs were posted. In addition, this profession has a strong job growth outlook (9%) over the course of the next decade, which is well above the national average for all professions.

Learn Tableau Skills with Noble Desktop

Noble Desktop provides several great Tableau learning opportunities. For those new to Tableau, Noble’s Tableau Bootcamp is a program that teaches students the fundamental components of data visualization. Those enrolled explore Tableau Public’s different tools to connect to datasets, analyze, filter, and structure the data to make visualizations.

For those seeking a more rigorous learning environment for learning Tableau, Noble Desktop’s Data Analytics Certificate is a great option that covers data analytic skills, languages, and programs, such as SQL, Excel, and Python. Expert instructors ensure that those enrolled receive training to become Data Analysts or Business Analysts. One-on-one mentoring is provided for all students.

In addition, for those interested in learning more about Tableau, Noble’s Tableau Resources page has more than 50 articles to help you learn more about this powerful data visualization tool.

Key Takeaways

• Tableau is a powerful tool that allows professionals working with data to efficiently analyze, visualize, and share their findings. 
• Tableau is an in-demand skill in both small and large organizations. It’s also valuable across industries and professional focuses since it can highlight important insights into how an organization has been performing, is currently performing, and is expected to perform in the future. This information is then shared with decision-makers who can use the data findings depicted in Tableau visualizations to make decisions that will benefit the organization and any customers or clients.
• Some of the most common professions that use Tableau are Data Analysts, Business Analysts, Accountants, and Financial Analysts.
• For those looking to learn more about Tableau, several in-person and online study options are currently offered from Noble Desktop.