This course presents a gentle introduction into the concepts of data analysis, the role of a Data Analyst, and the tools that are used to perform daily functions. You will gain an understanding of the data ecosystem and the fundamentals of data analysis, such as data gathering or data mining. You will then learn the soft skills that are required to effectively communicate your data to stakeholders, and how mastering these skills can give you the option to become a data driven decision maker. This course will help you to differentiate between the roles of a Data Analyst, Data Scientist, and Data Engineer. You will learn the responsibilities of a Data Analyst and exactly what data analysis entails. You will be able to summarize the data ecosystem, such as databases and data warehouses. You will then uncover the major vendors within the data ecosystem and explore the various tools on-premise and in the cloud. Continue this exciting journey and discover Big Data platforms such as Hadoop, Hive, and Spark. By the end of this course you will be able to visualize the daily life of a Data Analyst, understand the different career paths that are available for data analytics, and identify the many resources available for mastering this profession. Throughout this course you will learn the key aspects to data analysis. You will begin to explore the fundamentals of gathering data, and learning how to identify your data sources. You will then learn how to clean, analyze, and share your data with the use of visualizations and dashboard tools. This all comes together in the final project where it will test your knowledge of the course material, explore what it means to be a Data Analyst, and provide a real-world scenario of data analysis. This course does not require any prior data analysis, spreadsheet, or computer science experience. All you need to get started is basic computer literacy, high school level math, and access to a modern web browser such as Chrome or Firefox.