Let’s get it straight: How difficult is it to learn Tableau for a complete beginner? Are there shortcuts to learning Tableau? Any tips, tricks, or time-saving work-arounds? Thankfully, the answer is yes. Try these top tips, approved by our expert instructors, and start data viz now.
“It’s a little overwhelming at first but as soon as you understand the basics, like what are dimensions and measures, everything falls into place pretty quickly,” says Vish Srivastava, product leader at Evidation Health and GA instructor.
“In essence, you need to understand two things: The basics on how data works — for example, what are common formats of data and what is a primary key? And a basic understanding of data visualization in a business setting. Can you answer the question: When is a time series vs. a pie chart valuable for decision making?”
But can you really learn the basics of Tableau in an afternoon?
“The best way to learn is to download a sample dataset and dive right in and start creating data visualizations. To keep going from there, check out various portfolios online to get inspiration, and try to build those.”
According to Iun Chen, who conducts internal Tableau training at LinkedIn, Tableau is easy to learn, but hard to master.
“The basic concepts of charting and color theory are easy to pick up and can take just a few weeks. However, if you are looking to be a subject matter expert, this can take years to perfect,” she says.
Chen preps students in her Intro to Data Analytics course to achieve close-to-mastery in these key areas.
- Can they quickly prep and analyze large volumes of data?
- Identify key information and determine the best visual method to present them?
- Take business questions and determine which visualizations to use?
- Translate raw datasets to storylines with a beginning, middle, and end?
- Format charts, graphs, titles, text, and images for a polished deliverable?
- Articulate best practices on design and visualization techniques?
- Provide feedback on ineffective visualizations and how to improve them?
This checklist is the closest thing to a Tableau cheat sheet you’ll find. Prioritize these skills, and you’ll waste no time learning Tableau. Now that you know what you need to succeed, you can choose whether to take our Data Analytics course fast or slow. Learn Tableau — along with data analytics tools SQL and Excel — in a 1-week accelerated format, or over 10 weeks in the evening.
Chen sums it up perfectly: “As long as you are actively learning, applying your learnings, and ensuring innovation of your work, you will be a data visualization expert in no time.”
Want to learn more about Iun?
https://www.linkedin.com/in/iunchen
Want to learn more about Vish? https://www.linkedin.com/in/vishrutps