What is a data specialist and how to become one

Q: How can I become a good reporting analyst?

You can become a good reporting analyst by earning an applicable bachelor's degree and gaining relevant technical experience. Reporting analysts are data specialists in an organization tasked with operational optimization.

Q: How much do data specialists make?

Data specialists make $54,867 a year, on average. The range, however, can start as low as $32,000 a year to as high as $94,000 a year. Factors such as location and company impact how much you can earn as a data specialist.

Q: Is being a data specialist a good job?

Yes, being a data specialist is a good job. Data specialists are needed in a variety of industries and play a key role in the company. While a data specialist is considered an entry-level position, it's a great way to advance your career in data analysis.

Q: What are the duties of a data entry specialist?

The duties of a data entry specialist are primarily focused on digitizing data for storage purposes. A data specialist works on computers, entering information for processing or records retention. Data specialists are needed in various industries, such as in medical records or legal cases.

Q: What qualifications do you need to be a data analyst?

The qualifications you need to become a data analyst are typically a college degree with relevant skills and work experience. The average data analyst typically has a bachelor's degree, usually in math or computer science or another related field that has an emphasis on statistical and analytical skills.

Q: What skills do you need to be a data specialist?

The skills needed to be a data specialist include attention to detail, patience, and a decent understanding of databases and statistics. The job of a data specialist is to ultimately transfer information on paper to electronic systems such as cloud computing. While this may seem easy enough, it does require both technical and database knowledge.

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Dr. Shaon Ghosh

Data specialists work with data to help organizations make informed decisions. They use their expertise to collect, analyze, and interpret large amounts of data, and then present their findings in a clear and concise manner. Data specialists work with a variety of tools and technologies, such as databases, spreadsheets, and statistical software, to manage and manipulate data. They can be responsible for developing data-driven strategies, designing data visualizations, and communicating insights to stakeholders across the organization.

What general advice would you give to a data specialist?

Dr. Shaon Ghosh

Assistant Professor of Physics, Montclair State University

The advantage of working in a new, and potentially revolutionary, field is that there will be ample opportunities, but that also brings in a lot of competition. To remain relevant and to thrive in such fields we need to continuously update ourselves to the changing landscape of the field. Updating and adapting to changes in the field one is working in is a no-brainer, but it is especially relevant here because the field is going to rapidly change over the next decade; keeping ourself updated takes a bit of effort. So, the best advice to graduating students starting their career in data science or similar fields is not to stop being a "student".

Another important thing to remember is that most technical fields are highly collaborative, more so in the post-COVID-19 world where people have understood the value and concept of working remotely. Remote participation takes collaboration to a much higher level. We in the scientific research community have gotten used to it long ago, but it is a relatively new concept in many other areas. So, there are a few adjustments that one should be mindful of, especially if you are a recent graduate.

We often tend to operate as individuals at school where we are more concerned about our own grades and our own performances, but the value of you as a professional is very much dependent on how your team members perceive you. Are you the person who folks in your team are going to reach out to when they need some help? If you are, then you are more likely to rise to prominence and to the ranks of leadership.

ScoreData SpecialistUS Average

Salary

5.3

Avg. Salary $68,326

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

5.5

Growth rate 9%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

8.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.60%

Asian 9.92%

Black or African American 9.60%

Hispanic or Latino 19.49%

Unknown 4.35%

White 56.04%

Gender

female 59.39%

male 40.61%

Age - 44

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 44

Stress level

5.5

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

10.0

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

8.4

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

What are the pros and cons of being a data specialist?

Pros

High demand in the job market
Opportunity to work with cutting-edge technologies
Chance to work with diverse range of data sets
Chance to work on projects with real-world impact
Opportunity to collaborate with professionals from different fields

Cons

Can be stressful and time-consuming
Can be repetitive or monotonous at times
Needs continuous learning to keep up with the latest trends and technologies
Requires constant communication with clients, stakeholders, and team members
Can be mentally exhausting due to the complexity of the data

Key steps to become a data specialist

Explore data specialist education requirements

Most common data specialist degrees

Bachelor's

56.2 %

Associate

19.7 %

Master's

8.8 %

Start to develop specific data specialist skills

Skills	Percentages
Data Analysis	7.21%
Data Entry	7.15%
Data Collection	6.78%
Customer Service	6.61%
Data Management	5.95%

Complete relevant data specialist training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New data specialists learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a data specialist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real data specialist resumes.

Research data specialist duties and responsibilities

Manage the FAA's classify operations program.
Manage and prepare pharmaceutical records for multiple FDA audits.
Create UNIX and LINUX shell scripts to automate data migration process.
Create packages in SSIS to automate importing text files into a data mart.

Prepare your data specialist resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your data specialist resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a data specialist resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable data specialist resume templates

Build a professional data specialist resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your data specialist resume.