Best Power BI Classes Online

Microsoft Power BI is a family of business intelligence (BI) products, services, and connectors for aggregating, analyzing, and visualizing data. This product can convert data from multiple sources into various forms like interactive dashboards, reports, and data visualizations. This process enables Power BI users to share their data findings with others within their organization or to embed them on an application or website. 

One of the best features of Power BI is that it integrates with other Microsoft products and services, as well as third-party platforms. This means Power BI users can connect this platform to Teams, Excel, Sharepoint, or Exchange, among others.

Several Power BI products are available with their own features and function. Power BI Desktop is a free, self-service tool for analyzing data and creating reports based on data findings. It’s able to connect to over 70 cloud and on-premises data sources. Power BI Service is a secure cloud service hosted by Microsoft with which users can access Power BI apps, dashboards, and reports using either mobile apps created for iOS, Android, or Windows, or with a web browser. Power BI Pro is a cloud-based software that allows users to connect with other Power BI users and share data visualization and reports with others in their organization who have a Power BI subscription.

Why Learn Power BI

Learning Power BI is a valuable tool in many industries and professions, regardless of your career path. This collection of technologies, architectures, and processes has a range of applications for transforming raw data into meaningful insights, which can then be used to spur profitable business endeavors. Power BI skills are valued by those in retail management, marketing, and finance. In addition, this product is useful for careers where employee or customer trends are analyzed, forecasting, or decision-making is essential.

Organizations value those who can work with Power BI to visualize data and share these insights with others. This is why Power BI remains the industry-leading BI platform. Not only is it popular now, but it will likely grow in popularity in the coming years, as the global BI market is expected to continue to expand. In 2021, this market was valued at $24 billion; it is projected to climb to $43 billion by 2028. Learning Power BI for a new career can open many professional doors and lead to higher pay and upward career mobility. The average salary for someone with Microsoft Power BI training is $97,000, nearly $45,000 above the national average salary in America. 

Types of Online Power BI Classes

If you’re considering studying Microsoft Power BI, various online learning options are available. Two such options are live online and self-paced Power BI courses. These two online learning types differ in some critical ways. Let’s explore some of the differences between these learning formats, as well as the learning benefits of both.

Live online courses are an engaging, interactive way to study this powerful tool. Just like in-person study, they provide real-time access to an expert instructor with real-world knowledge of how to use Power BI and other tools in the professional sector. Because these classes are taught live on a platform like Zoom, students can ask questions as they arise and receive support and guidance when working with complicated material. One of the main perks of live online classes is that they don’t require a commute to and from campus. Instead of battling rush-hour traffic to drive across town several times a week or wasting time searching for a parking spot, these courses are fully remote, meaning you can complete lessons from the comfort of your home or office space.

Live online classes typically cost the same as, or slightly less than, in-person Power BI courses. Although they may require taking off work to attend, they provide hands-on training in core BI topics like data extraction and transformation, visualization, and analytics. 

Another popular way to study Power BI is through asynchronous online content, such as YouTube videos, tutorials, blog posts, and other resources. Because all content in self-paced BI classes is pre-recorded, it can be accessed from any location on any day of the week at any time. This flexible form of study is a good option for those who need to balance Power BI study with family and professional commitments, such as travel or full-time work. It also allows students to pause lessons, rewind them, and rewatch them as often as necessary for optimal retention. 

If you learn Power BI in the on-demand format, various learning materials are available, which range in cost. Whereas live online Power BI courses can cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars, self-paced material is generally much more affordable. Some educational providers, such as Noble Desktop and Udemy, provide free Power BI learning materials like online tutorials and videos. Other educators offer subscription-based platforms. Some Power BI courses are available for individual purchase, so you can select just one class that fits your specific learning needs without paying for materials you don’t wish to access.

Studying Power BI in the self-paced learning environment can be an enriching experience for motivated individuals. However, it’s important to remember that you won’t have access to an instructor. This means you will have to find answers to questions independently when learning in this format. For this reason, asynchronous Power BI courses are often a better match for beginners who are new to working with this tool and want a general sense of it rather than those who require advanced BI training for their current job. These courses provide a low-stakes, affordable way to begin learning about Power BI.

On-Demand Power BI Classes

If you want to study Power BI in the on-demand learning environment, many schools offer self-paced Power BI classes. The following are some of the best self-paced courses currently available in Power BI:

• Microsoft Power BI - The Practical Guide is available from Udemy. Participants in this course learn how to work with Power BI Mobile, Power BI Service, and Power BI Desktop. Eighteen hours of video instruction is available, as well as access to 25 articles and learning resources, and a certificate of completion after finishing the class. This course is available for purchase on its own or as part of a Udemy subscription.

• Microsoft Power BI with Desktop Training Course is another excellent self-paced study option provided by Udemy. Over ten hours of video content is included on topics like how to combine and transform raw data into an interactive dashboard, how to design and implement various BI tools, and how to create professional-grade BI reports from scratch.

• Getting Started with Power BI is a beginner-friendly course provided by Pluralsight. More than three hours of content is available on core Power BI skills, such as gathering data from different sources, cleaning the data, and creating dashboards and visualizations.

• Basics of Power BI, offered from edX, is an introductory-level course that teaches students why Power BI is a more effective and efficient data visualization tool than Excel or PowerPoint. Participants are provided with an introduction explaining how to work with this tool, share work, and create a reporting dashboard.

• For those who want to explore a field closely related to BI, Data Science Webinar is available from Noble Desktop. This free webinar includes 80 minutes of content on core data science topics like how to apply data science to the business sector and the most popular tools used by Data Scientists.

Live Online Power BI Classes

Studying Microsoft Power BI in the live online environment is an engaging and interactive way to learn how to use this powerful tool. Students who wish to study in this format benefit from live instruction by someone with expertise in business intelligence. This learning method allows you to ask questions and receive feedback on the spot and is an excellent way to learn more about Power BI from the comfort of your home or office.

Noble Desktop’s live online Power BI courses are available for those interested in studying Power BI and related subjects. Noble’s Data Analytics Certificate provides expert instruction on the skills needed to become a Business Analyst or Data Analyst. Participants in this rigorous certificate study how to analyze and visualize data; instruction is also offered on working with databases and performing BI tasks. All participants receive one-on-one mentoring with tuition. For those who want to master Excel’s visualization capabilities, Noble’s three-day Excel Bootcamp is for you. This course begins with Excel for Business fundamentals, a beginner-friendly Excel course that provides information on Excel basics like formatting, calculations, and printing. Students then progress to Intermediate Excel for Business, which covers more complex functions like SUMIFs and VLOOKUP. The third part of this course, Advanced Excel for Business, offers instruction on advanced Excel topics like creating macros and working with INDEX and MATCH functions.

If you are interested in working exclusively with Power BI, Noble also offers a live online Power BI Bootcamp. This 12-hour course teaches students how Power BI can solve a range of business problems and how it does so more efficiently than other tools. Participants receive instruction on how to query data using Power Query, connect datasets using Power BI’s data model, and make data visualizations and dashboards using this tool’s report view.

In addition to Noble’s Power BI courses, NYIM Training Center’s live online Power BI Bootcamp is also available. Participants in this hands-on course learn how to use Power BI to create stunning and interactive data visualizations. Career Centers also offers a Power BI Bootcamp live online. This 12-hour program provides students with case studies to learn skills such as how to work with different filter options and use the DAX language for data visualization.

Compare Power BI Learning Methods

Because so many learning options are available, it can be difficult to decide which method is best for studying Power BI. Whether you choose to learn this tool in the in-person, live online, or on-demand environment will likely depend on your current schedule, as well as your professional goals. It’s important to consider the advantages and drawbacks of each learning method before making a final decision.

On-demand Power BI classes are the most flexible learning option available. Since the content is pre-recorded, it can be accessed at any time from any location. This makes it a great learning method for those who need to balance Power BI study with work, travel, and family commitments. Self-paced content is typically the most affordable learning option as well; some is even available for free. This makes it a great learning resource for those who want to learn Power BI basics before committing to a more rigorous or structured course. However, Power BI has many advanced features and functions, such as working with its built-in DAX language, which can be challenging to learn on your own without access to an instructor. In addition, it can be difficult to know which self-paced Power BI content is outdated and which is current. This is why asynchronous tutorials and videos are a good starting point in your Power BI learning journey, but to master more complex skills, you may need the help of an expert instructor.

Live online Power BI courses provide just that: an instructor who has industry experience and is available to answer questions and help break down complex BI concepts. Unlike self-paced material, live online courses are on regularly scheduled days and times. They also provide a convenient learning method for individuals who cannot commute to campus regularly, such as those who live far from an educational provider or don’t want to waste time in rush-hour traffic. Whereas in-person Power BI courses require coming to class for each meeting, live online courses also appeal to many learners because they provide flexibility in situations that involve bad weather, car problems, or illness. Interactive live online courses are a great way for students to network with like-minded professionals while reaping the benefits of in-the-moment instruction as they create interactive dashboards and data visualizations.

Online Corporate Power BI Classes

If the employees at your workplace would benefit from studying Power BI, online corporate Power BI classes are a great opportunity. Noble Desktop provides several learning methods to select from so that you can find the best match for those at your organization. 

Noble can provide onsite and corporate Power BI training at your company’s office, as well as virtual instruction that takes place in the live online environment using a teleconferencing platform like Zoom. Noble’s schedule lists a range of open-enrollment classes as well. If these seem like a good match for your employees, you can purchase multiple vouchers for a discounted cost.

Do you want to learn more about how Noble’s corporate Power BI training can help your employees better manage and visualize data, don’t hesitate to contact Noble to learn more.