How Long Does It Take to Learn Power BI?

Key takeaways

The amount of time it takes you to learn Power BI will depend on factors like what you already know, how familiar you are with Power BI or similar business analytics programs, and how much time you’re willing to commit to learning a new skill. Here are some important things to know: 

• Coursera’s Microsoft Power BI Data Analyst Professional Certificate takes about 10 hours a week for 5 months, but the amount of time you’ll need to finish it will depend on how many hours you can devote to studying each week. 

• Power BI is a business intelligence platform that makes it easier for someone without a technical background in data analysis to extract data insights from a variety of data sources. 

• You can start learning Power BI using online resources like self-guided tutorials or demonstration videos, by taking courses, or by earning a Professional Certificate.

Explore some of the ways you can start learning Power BI, how long each program will take to complete, and what you can expect to learn. Then, consider enrolling in the Microsoft Power BI Data Analyst Professional Certificate, where you can learn to use Power BI to connect to data sources, transform them into meaningful insights, and prepare for the Microsoft PL-300 Certification exam. 

How long does it take to learn basic skills in Power BI?

Just how long does it take to learn Power BI in terms of its basics? Depending on your current knowledge and other factors like your unique learning style, you can learn the basics of Power BI in as little as a few hours with a course or self-guided tutorial available online, or you can complete an online learning program in approximately 17 to 30 hours.

Self-guided Power BI learning programs for beginners

Microsoft offers self-guided learning modules that can help you grasp foundational skills like how to create visualizations in Power BI, creating dashboards to see multiple metrics on a single screen, and organizing your data in your workspace. You can also find self-guided tutorials on YouTube to help you explore the capabilities of Power BI and learn how to accomplish specific tasks. 

Power BI course options

You can take a course to learn about working with Power BI on a deeper level. Courses like Harnessing the Power of Data with Power BI or Data Analysis and Visualization with Power BI offer you the opportunity to learn a broader range of foundation Power BI skills, like how to add visualizations to reports and dashboards, design accessible reports and dashboards, recognize and use the key data analysis components of Microsoft Power BI, and describe the different stages in the data analysis process that result in data-driven decisions. Courses like these will take you 17 to 30 hours to complete, so you can make your way through the course faster or slower depending on how much time you have to commit to learning. 

How long does it take to learn advanced Power BI? 

If you’re looking for a more advanced knowledge of Power BI, you can complete intermediate and advanced Power BI tutorials and courses in a couple of hours, or consider certification in Power BI offered by Microsoft to help you explore a complete set of skills to become a Power BI data analyst. A certification program takes about 10 hours a week for 5 months, but the amount of time you’ll need to finish it will depend on how many hours you can devote to studying each week. 

Advanced Power BI tutorials

Microsoft offers several self-guided learning modules to help you learn intermediate-level Power BI skills, such as choosing a Power BI framework, designing semantic models, and creating reports. These learning modules take about 30 to 90 minutes to complete if you already have some experience working in Power BI. 

Microsoft Power BI Data Analyst Professional Certificate

Microsoft also offers intermediate-level courses for Power BI and a Professional Certificate for individuals who complete the eight-course series. The Microsoft Power BI Data Analyst Professional Certificate will take you about 10 hours per week for 5 months to complete and can give you the opportunity to learn the full set of skills you’ll need to start earning experience as an entry-level Power BI analyst. In the series, you’ll have the opportunity to: 

• Learn to use Power BI to connect to data sources and transform them into meaningful insights.

• Prepare Excel data for analysis in Power BI using the most common formulas and functions in a worksheet.

• Learn to use the visualization and report capabilities of Power BI to create compelling reports and dashboards. 

Another important aspect of this course is that you have the opportunity to prepare for the Microsoft Certified: Power BI Data Analyst Associate exam, an associate-level certification offered by Microsoft that certifies your knowledge of best practices for methods of working with data in Power BI. 

Microsoft Certified: Power BI Data Analyst Associate

After preparing for the exam with the Microsoft Power BI Data Analyst Professional Certificate, you can register for the Exam PL-300: Microsoft Power BI Data Analyst. You will first need to register for the online proctored exam and, on test day, you will have 100 minutes to complete the exam. 

Factors affecting Power BI learning time

Any two people learning Power BI, even in the same learning program, will need different lengths of time to master concepts. This is partly because of your unique learning style, but another major factor that impacts how long it takes to learn Power BI is your previous experience and knowledge of Power BI and data analytics concepts. These include: 

• Data analysis types and methods: Data analysts use different types of analysis to draw insight from data, including descriptive, diagnostic, predictive, and prescriptive. Understanding the difference will help you learn how to create the appropriate reports in Power BI. 

• Data visualization: Data analysts use charts, graphs, and other illustrations to visualize relationships between data. If you already have an understanding of different kinds of charts and how to use them, you may learn how to create charts using Power BI more quickly. 

In addition to your previous experience, your budget and time to commit toward learning will also play a role in how quickly you can learn Power BI concepts. Many options for learning Power BI are self-paced, so you have more control over how long it takes you to complete the program compared to an in-person class meeting on a set schedule. 

Jobs that use Power BI

Power BI is a platform for visualizing data, which plays an important role for many different professionals in the field of data analysis. Learning Power BI skills can help you succeed in roles such as the following: 

All base salary data comes from Glassdoor as of May 2025 and does not include additional pay such as bonuses, commissions, or profit-sharing. 

• Data analyst: $73,792

• Marketing strategist: $74,046

• Business intelligence (BI) analyst: $93,872

• Data visualization engineer: $90,354

• Data engineer:$104,857

• Business systems analyst: $97,772

• Business intelligence developer: $129,150

• Data visualization analyst: $84,585

• Data visualization specialist: $84,373

Explore data analytics with Coursera

Discover your analytics career path with our career guide resources, or browse these other free tools as you build your skills:

• Watch on YouTube: The Power BI Tools You’ll Learn in the Microsoft Power BI Data Analyst Professional Certificate

• Hear from an expert: 6 Questions with a Microsoft Data Analytics Leader

• Subscribe: Get our Career Chat newsletter for industry insights

Whether you want to develop a new skill, get comfortable with an in-demand technology, or advance your abilities, keep growing with a Coursera Plus subscription. You’ll get access to over 10,000 flexible courses. 

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