Is Tableau a Hard Class?

Professionals regard Tableau as relatively easy for beginners to pick up because it has a user-friendly interface and non-technical features. The difficulty level of learning Tableau varies from person to person and is mostly impacted by their prior experience with data visualization platforms and how in-depth they go when learning. The more time a beginner spends learning Tableau, the easier they will find the platform to use. Manner of learning also impacts difficulty level; learning from an instructor can make learning Tableau easier than self-teaching, for example. However, with enough time and dedication, learning Tableau is achievable for anyone. 

What is Hard about Learning Tableau?

Data science professionals consider Tableau easy to learn, but that doesn’t mean that beginners won’t face roadblocks. One of the biggest roadblocks for new learners is understanding the concept of data visualization and how the process works. For people unused to working with data, learning Tableau with no prior experience can prove confusing. Luckily, beginner-friendly Tableau classes and bootcamps often cover the concept of data visualization and help students comprehend the data that they’re working with in class. 

In addition to needing to know how to understand data, Tableau users should understand how to communicate their data visualizations to others. Companies, government agencies, and academics rely on Tableau to structure data that they then visualize into charts, graphs, and maps to provide information to others. However, these visualizations often need explaining. Tableau training helps students improve soft skills like communication so that they can explain their visualizations to others in hopes of helping make decisions informed by reliable data. 

Some students learning Tableau may find that the roadblocks they face appear later in their learning experience. Students may find advanced-level Tableau topics such as modeling, geospatial analysis, or LOD expressions difficult to understand, despite excelling at introductory-level tools and functions of the platform. With enough training and time spent practicing in Tableau, however, one can overcome the toughest of roadblocks. 

How Can I Make Learning Tableau Easier?

You can make learning Tableau easier by focusing on the different ways to learn Tableau. The first thing you should do is seek out free resources that can help you understand the basics of Tableau and how to troubleshoot common problems. Noble Desktop and other training schools post videos to their YouTube channels to help students gain an introductory understanding of Tableau and other platforms. These video series provide learners with an excellent and free means of familiarizing themselves with Tableau and preparing for a deeper dive into the platform. You can also check out your local library for other free resources to help you start learning Tableau. 

The next thing to do when trying to make learning Tableau easier is to research formal training opportunities available to you. Live training provides students the chance to learn Tableau from an expert instructor prepared to answer questions and provide personalized feedback. Schools and training centers offer classes at a range of times, both in-person and live online, part-time and full-time. For a more intensive learning experience, you can enroll in a Tableau bootcamp, which will cover beginner and advanced-level Tableau. 

Don’t have time to attend a class or seek out free resources on your own? You can enroll in an on-demand class offered through a provider like Coursera or Udemy. With on-demand classes, you’ll have instant access to course materials that you’ll work through on your own. Materials often include video lectures, reading assignments, and exercises aimed at helping you learn the foundations of Tableau and gain hands-on experience. On-demand classes provide students with a flexible and affordable means of training and often appeal to students with busy schedules who still require more structure than self-teaching with free resources. 

Best Ways to Learn Tableau Without Difficulty

Live Tableau training will make learning Tableau far less difficult than self-teaching will. Self-teaching allows students to work at their pace but makes it more difficult to go in-depth with training than live training does because most resources available outside of formal training only touch on introductory topics. Conversely, live training covers introductory and advanced-level Tableau. 

With live training, students can expect to receive guidance from an expert instructor working from a well-developed curriculum. Learning from a live instructor provides students the opportunity to ask questions, receive feedback, troubleshoot, and better connect to course material, unlike when self-teaching or enrolling in an on-demand course where they don’t have an instructor to turn to.

Live training allows for both structured and flexible learning, depending on the student’s preference. Schools offer in-person and live online Tableau training. Both options include the expected guidance from an instructor but differ in modality. Students with in-person classes hosted in their area can select from a scheduled course and attend the class in a physical classroom. This traditional style of learning provides the structure one would expect of a classroom which many students find familiar and comforting when beginning to learn a new skill.

Live online training offers a more flexible form of learning. Students who feel comfortable learning in a remote environment can enroll in a live online Tableau class which they will then attend via a web conferencing platform from any peaceful location with a strong internet connection. This type of class provides the benefit of live instruction while eliminating the need to commute to a class. Students can therefore attend a remote held by a training center or school anywhere in the country or even outside of it, providing them with endless choices when it comes to class content and teaching style. 

Tableau Classes in Your Area

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

For a shorter introduction to Tableau, enroll in NYIM Training’s Tableau Level I course. The six-hour class teaches students about data visualization and the tools offered by Tableau’s free online platform, Tableau Public. Students will spend the Tableau Level I identifying datasets and exploring, analyzing, filtering, and structuring said data to create informative and visually pleasing charts and other forms of visualizations. The class also dives into the basics of advanced Tableau tools, such as using Filters, the Detail panel, and the Size panels. 

NYIM offers Tableau Level I in an in-person and live online version. Both options provide students with an immersive, hands-on learning experience, and both versions of the class cost $299, which is due in full before your scheduled session. Students who opt to enroll in the live online session will receive setup assistance from NYIM Training to ensure that they can connect to the remote learning environment. 

Students looking to develop advanced-level Tableau skills after completing Tableau Level I with NYIM Training can enroll in Tableau Level II. Tableau Level II covers advanced topics not taught in Tableau Level I, such as data mapping and custom charts. The in-person and live online version of the class teaches students about the mapping features that Tableau offers and provides lessons on choropleth maps, spider maps, proportional symbol maps, and density maps. Tableau Level I and Level II cost $299 each, but if you enroll in NYIM Training’s Tableau Bootcamp, which combines lessons from Tableau Level I and Tableau Level II, NYIM offers a 15% discount on tuition. 

Certstaffix Training 

With Certstaffix Training’s live online Tableau Desktop Basic Course, students will learn the basics of data analysis and visualization with Tableau Desktop. This beginner-level class starts with lessons on how to explore, connect to, and transform data. The expert instructor guiding the course will answer student questions and provide feedback as they work on creating visualizations, parameters, calculations, and dashboards. The two-day remote class will balance the curriculum across the schedule, providing students the time needed to explore concepts and tools that they can use to take their data visualizations to the next level. 

Students who have taken the basic course can then enroll in Certstaffix Training’s Tableau Desktop: Advanced. This advanced-level class covers Tableau Prep, the data exploration and preparation tool within Tableau that users utilize to clean, shape, and organize data before analysis. The advanced class also covers geospatial features and how to integrate Tableau with AI and extensions. Certstaffix encourages students who have completed the advanced course to register for Tableau’s Qualified Associate Certification exam. 

Cerstaffix Training offers their Tableau Desktop - Basic Course live online class and onsite upon request for team training. Organizations can contact Certstaffix to find out if their group is eligible for onsite training at a group rate. Private live online training is also available upon request. After completing the course, all students receive a Certificate of Completion, a Digital Badge, and the opportunity to retake the class for free within six months.