THE NINE IS OUT NOW

Phil Simon

THE WORLD’S LEADING INDEPENDENT WORKPLACE COLLABORATION & TECH EXPERT

Advice for My Dataviz Students

Parting thoughts as they embark on their careers.
Dec | 14 | 2019

Dec | 14 | 2019
}

Introduction

I just put a bow on my first semester teaching a seven-week dataviz course. To be sure, students learned the basics by hopefully reading Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic’s text Storytelling with Data: A Data Visualization Guide for Business Professionals.

Get Active on Tableau Public

This one is a no-brainer. You can spend hours on Tableau Public viewing interesting data visualizations and, even better, learning advanced techniques from rock stars such as my friend Ken Flerage. Still, they should do more. By creating their own informative and interactive charts and graphs, they can brand themselves as skilled dataviz professionals. What better way to show prospective employers your chops than point them to your online portfolio?

Keep an Eye Out for Future Tableau Improvements

Next year’s version ships with some insane improvements, including viz animations.

As I tell my students, their learning has only just begun. Tableau’s future is exciting and I can’t wait to see what I’ll be able to do next.

Resist the Urge to Default to Excel

Excel serves as an invaluable program in the business world. It’s essential to remember, though, that with more than 1.2 billion users, it doesn’t differentiate any applicant today. Put differently, it’s the ultimate hygiene factor.

Proficiency with Excel doesn’t differentiate applicants today.

Think about it. Consider two identical candidates with respect to GPA, work experience, and personal skills. Candidate #1 is a Tableau beast while #2 used it a few years ago and hasn’t kept up. Which one would you hire?

Feedback

What say you?

Receive my musings, news, and rants in your inbox as soon as they publish.

 

Blog E Data E Dataviz E Advice for My Dataviz Students

Related Posts

From Big to Small

Layoffs are all the rage these days. Microsoft, Zoom, Amazon, Meta, and Salesforce are just some of the companies that have let go of thousands of employees. Yet the labor market remains white hot. Unemployment is 3.4 percent. It's a question that I consider in The...

The Reimagining Collaboration Keynote Visualized

eaders of this site know that I love dataviz, a good visual, and collaboration. Last week, I gave the keynote at a virtual WDHB event on Reimagining Collaboration. The good folks there turned my talk into the following graphic:Click to embiggen....

The Teaching Shackles Are Off. It Feels Amazing.

ew books have stuck with me a decade after I have read them. Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Dan Pink is one of them. Through research and compelling stories, he adroitly describes how autonomy, mastery, and purpose serve as...

On Hybrid Work, Book Figures, and da Vinci

Confession of a Design Snob he pandemic has changed many things. Sadly and as a few recent webinars have reminded me, the design sensibility of many speakers and writers isn't one of them. PowerPoint and Visio monstrosities remain prevalent in...

0 Comments

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

 

Blog E Data E Dataviz E Advice for My Dataviz Students

Next & Previous Posts

Related Posts

From Big to Small

Layoffs are all the rage these days. Microsoft, Zoom, Amazon, Meta, and Salesforce are just some of the companies that have let go of thousands of employees. Yet the labor market remains white hot. Unemployment is 3.4 percent. It's a question that I consider in The...

The Reimagining Collaboration Keynote Visualized

eaders of this site know that I love dataviz, a good visual, and collaboration. Last week, I gave the keynote at a virtual WDHB event on Reimagining Collaboration. The good folks there turned my talk into the following graphic:Click to embiggen....

The Teaching Shackles Are Off. It Feels Amazing.

ew books have stuck with me a decade after I have read them. Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Dan Pink is one of them. Through research and compelling stories, he adroitly describes how autonomy, mastery, and purpose serve as...

On Hybrid Work, Book Figures, and da Vinci

Confession of a Design Snob he pandemic has changed many things. Sadly and as a few recent webinars have reminded me, the design sensibility of many speakers and writers isn't one of them. PowerPoint and Visio monstrosities remain prevalent in...

0 Comments

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *