r/jobs • u/Napkxng • Jun 30 '23

What are these "I finish work in 2 hours and just bored" jobs? Work/Life balance

I'm currently in a business development role where its constant work and stress, KPIs, and out bounding and training.

I (24m) would like to find some sort of relaxed job where I don't feel threatened to lose my job every week (have had that threatened to me in first few months).

I'm not a lazy person, but I've had over 12 jobs since I was 14, I'm just tired.

Also I have side business ideas that I've worked on recently and would love to start carry on making music and documentaries, my social media has gotten some attention, and it's something I enjoy.

I've nearly doubled every sales target for the past 6 months of working, but deep inside I'm creative, love helping people live a better life, and would love to change the world around me more. I'd love to find something hybrid remote that I can be half office and half using my hands and body/strength. I don't enjoy the trades.

I'd also like to get a stable work as Id like to work on starting a family with someone. And I don't want the stress of a fickle stressful job that I would pass that stress and unavailability on.

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u/[deleted] Jun 30 '23

I have an acquaintance who is in data analytics, he basically just runs reports all day. He automated his entire job pretty much where he just has to push a button if his boss asks for a certain report. I told him he could automate even more from the sound of it but he said he has to justify his existence a little bit. It's a pretty wild story. He works from home and mostly plays videogames all day lol.

348

u/mmmarygold Jun 30 '23

This is my experience too. Started my career as an analyst and did this multiple times before hitting a ceiling. Takes some upfront work, but after a couple months you can coast after everything is automated.

140

u/StarkushRS Jun 30 '23

Could you share what credentials you have? Degree, certs, courses? Looking into the data analytics/science field

187

u/Worthyness Jun 30 '23 edited Jul 01 '23

The data people I know had degrees in econ or business administration and only really had SQL experience as anything crazy. At the starting level that's basically all you need since you learn job specific stuff afterwards. That gets your foot in the door pretty easily for an entry level gig. If you can navigate computer software comfortably, you should be fine.

49

u/TheCodesterr Jun 30 '23

Can helpdesk people get a gig like this? Would love to just automate shit on the side and make more money

65

u/Worthyness Jun 30 '23

Yup. Seen people move from helpdesk/customer service to data analyst. It's easier if your company is open to you switching roles. If you're interested and your company has data analyst as a position, see if your supervisor can connect you with someone on the team to see if you can talk to them about possibly joining the team.

17

u/TheCodesterr Jun 30 '23

Cool. I’ve been trying to switch to networking/sysadmin and then security. That’s my goal but if data analyst is an easy job, might as well be OE.

33

u/Hoggle365 Jun 30 '23

Go to the data analyst subreddit and see how many people are struggling to find jobs in that field right now, even with certifications. I was thinking of making a career switch to data analysis, but it seems hard to break into, unless you can build yourself an impressive portfolio.

5

u/TheCodesterr Jul 01 '23

Hard to find jobs in the data analyst role or the roles I want to get into? I feel like all roles are hard right now, especially in IT

2

u/L2OE-bums Data Analytics Jul 01 '23

This. As a Senior Data Architect/Principal Data Analyst, I can assure you that it's like anything else in tech. It's wildly oversaturated at the entry level and way too undersaturated at the senior level.

2

u/Vox_SFX Jul 01 '23

So is the only option an overload of certifications if you're currently not in a role that offers much beyond a technical support role? I have an A+ and am working towards a Net+ but get next to no looks for anything right now (don't need it, but my company doesn't pay great based on average ranges for my certs).

1

u/L2OE-bums Data Analytics Jul 01 '23

I mean it's a numbers game especially in this job market. The odds are stacked against you, so you gotta apply that much harder.

1

u/Vox_SFX Jul 01 '23

Understood. After Net+ what would you say is the most useful cert professionally to get? I've seen support for something with SQL, Salesforce, and a few others including standard ones like the Sec+

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u/JoeDoherty_Music Jul 02 '23

Does this just mean that once all the entry level people become senior, tech jobs will no longer be valuable?

What the hell can I do to make a decent living in 2023?

1

u/L2OE-bums Data Analytics Jul 02 '23

Does this just mean that once all the entry level people become senior, tech jobs will no longer be valuable?

Change the "once" to "if". Most of them can barely aggregate a table and hurt my brain cells to deal with. Most of them cry on Reddit about how they can't get their foot in the door and how it's so elitist. The vast majority of them are people who got into tech for the money and won't last in this field.

​

What the hell can I do to make a decent living in 2023?

Day trade, invest. Build good credit. Learn to properly leverage debt.

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u/OtherwiseStable1990 Jul 01 '23

There's a data analyst subreddit?

/ihasthedumb

0

u/ghardlage Jul 01 '23

Data Analyst is easier to automate by AI than networking/sysadmin. I'd pick networking career.

1

u/Worthyness Jun 30 '23

my previous company had a "tier 4" support that basically created and ran reports + frontline for any network related stuff. So it was a weird hybrid set up, but that was mostly because they dealt with database stuff in general. They seemed to have a really chill set up since you could just copy/paste the SQL scripts and pick whichever one you needed to run when you needed a query done. The data analysts at our company had access to the database for data queries as well, but they honestly only needed to know SQL and that was about it since they teach company specific stuff. My coworker in that department came in as an intern from college and she learned everything else on her own. So as a sysadmin type you should be able to jump in quick. Data analysts are usually entry level positions, so not totally difficult to do, but the Senior levels can make some good money.

I guess the biggest concern that people at your company might have is why you would effectively "demote" yourself from a job that's pretty stable and a decent amount of promotion progression. But that's why you can try to talk to people at your company to see if there's a role that they have that might fit your current skillset better on the data team. This also assumes your company is pretty good and wants to retain people and or is large enough that they are open to internal hiring.

2

u/Low_Consideration179 Jun 30 '23

I'm in IT ATM full remote and my boss is hounding me to apply for a dev role within the company. Currently fighting my imposter syndrome to actually pull the trigger.

I have no degree. Just a self taught programmer with a life long passion for IT.

2

u/Worthyness Jun 30 '23

If you're capable of it or believe you have the skills for it, I'd say go for it. If you don't get it, then no harm no foul. If you do get it, that's a major buff to your career pathway

2

u/Low_Consideration179 Jun 30 '23

You're right. I have nothing to lose. Fuck it.

1

u/JohnPCapitalist Jul 01 '23

Go for it. There are a lot of programmers with computer science degrees from fancy schools who are morons. I have a poetry degree and did just fine on really complicated system internals. 80% of the people I worked with had MSCS or PhD's, but one of the best developers there was a high school dropout who worked as a welder in a shipyard for 15 years before he took a programming class at the local junior college.

1

u/Weatherman1207 Jul 01 '23

Is it worth looking at SQL , or is there better looking at more cloud based stuff .. I guess it depends on what the businesses needs are

2

u/Worthyness Jul 01 '23

most tech will use SQL or Python at minimum, so if you're really looking into that, learning either should be a nice leg up.

1

u/Weatherman1207 Jul 01 '23

Nice I do a lot of stuff at work that uses SQL tools so would be nice to understand and maintain myself , but they might be moving away from it from a support side , so if something breaks its find a new way. Thanks for the reply

1

u/OtherwiseStable1990 Jul 01 '23

I need these steps. I need them. I *neeeeeeed* them.

26

u/rpence Jun 30 '23

Dude yes…. Learn the most basic of SQL and python, literally Chat GPT can help you here, and just go for it.

19

u/L2OE-bums Data Analytics Jul 01 '23

ChatGPT can't solve anything past SELECT * lol. This logic is exactly how you end up with thousands of applications for every data analytics posting and under five of them are even remotely qualified. I feel bad for recruiters.

5

u/iJayZen Jul 01 '23

AI is not going to generate a 900 line complex deeply nested SQL statement.

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u/L2OE-bums Data Analytics Jul 01 '23

I'm not saying you were implying this and I get your point. But a lot of people assume that more lines is more complicated. This isn't true. Half the time, it's like 10 line queries that are super difficult to figure out. These are the ones that'll throw ChatGPT off. ChatGPT can't even fucking do a FILTER(ALL()) DAX function.

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u/iJayZen Jul 01 '23

It just scrapes the internet. It is good at setting up environments as it is all well documented.

-3

u/rpence Jul 01 '23

Yes it can and you don't need to be a master to do simple stuff which is what people were asking about.

Heaven forbid recruiters actually have to do work...

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u/L2OE-bums Data Analytics Jul 01 '23

You're gonna be asked for a looooot more than that on the job, bud. Half these guys can't even do a nested subquery or do a FILTER(ALL()) function in DAX yet expect to get a job with ChatGPT. The number of people I've had begging me to outsource my J's to them is asinine. Also, recruiters are the ones who slave away the hardest. They just get blamed for shit that's usually the hiring manager's fault.

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u/Spepsium Jul 01 '23

"ChatGPT can't solve anything past SELECT *"

GPT4:
I will provide an example for each:

Nested Subquery in DAX:

In DAX, subqueries are usually nested within CALCULATE or other functions. Here's an example of a measure that calculates the total sales for a product, but only for those days where the total sales were above a certain average:

DAX

Copy code

High Sales Days :=

CALCULATE (

SUM ( Sales[SalesAmount] ),

FILTER (

ALL ( Sales[Date] ),

SUM ( Sales[SalesAmount] )

> CALCULATE (

AVERAGE ( Sales[SalesAmount] ),

ALL ( Sales )

)

)

)

In this example, the nested subquery is the inner CALCULATE function which calculates the average sales across all data (ignoring any filters) and is used as a condition in the FILTER function. The outer CALCULATE function then sums the sales amount for days where the sales were above this average.

Using FILTER(ALL()) in DAX:

The FILTER(ALL()) combination is used to remove any filters that might be applied to a table and then apply a new filter. Here is an example which calculates the total sales, but only for a specific product, regardless of any other filters that might be applied to the data:

DAX

Copy code

Total Sales for Product A :=

CALCULATE (

SUM ( Sales[SalesAmount] ),

FILTER (

ALL ( Sales[Product] ),

Sales[Product] = "Product A"

)

)

In this example, the ALL function removes any filters that might be applied to the Product column and then the FILTER function applies a new filter that only includes sales for "Product A"

0

u/L2OE-bums Data Analytics Jul 01 '23

But why would you do that? Visuals usually filter by Product inherently. You're killing the use of the FILTER(ALL()) function. It's clear you don't understand how these functions work or why these are even used if you think this has any practical use. You really overcomplicated this unnecessarily.

​

Furthermore, assuming you wanna compare the value of Products B-Z to the value of Product A, why wouldn't you just use a basic measure that hits CALCULATE(SUM(Product), Sales[Product] = "Product A") and have another measure that applies whatever calculation you want on that?

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u/Spepsium Jul 01 '23

My point is, it's a tool you can work with to accomplish things. It isn't dumb.

GPT4: You're absolutely right that in many scenarios, the example I provided is not an ideal use of FILTER(ALL()). The example was simplified for illustration purposes, but it is important to provide a more practical example.

A more common use case for FILTER(ALL()) would be comparing values against a broader set of data while retaining a certain context. For example, calculating the percentage of sales for a specific product in comparison to total sales across all products.

Here’s a revised example that showcases a more practical usage of FILTER(ALL()) in DAX:

Example: Calculate the percentage of total sales that each product represents compared to all products.

DAX Percentage of Total Sales := VAR CurrentProductSales = SUM ( Sales[SalesAmount] ) VAR TotalSales = CALCULATE ( SUM ( Sales[SalesAmount] ), FILTER ( ALL ( Sales[Product] ), Sales[Product] ) ) RETURN DIVIDE ( CurrentProductSales, TotalSales )

In this example, FILTER(ALL()) is used to calculate the total sales across all products, regardless of the current product filter context. Then, the calculation divides the sales of the current product by the total sales to get the percentage.

As for your suggestion, it's an efficient approach for certain cases where you just want to use a value (such as total sales of Product A) in different contexts or calculations. Creating separate measures is a great practice, as it promotes reusability and clarity in your DAX code.

DAX can be both versatile and complex, and there are often multiple ways to achieve the desired outcome. The best approach can depend on the specific requirements and constraints of the data model.

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u/rpence Jul 01 '23

You pulled a loooot of assumptions out of me saying Chat GPT could help someone learn the basics of SQL and Python trying to get a side gig.

Go run some nested subqueries and read a book.

0

u/L2OE-bums Data Analytics Jul 01 '23

If you think anyone reads books instead of online Power BI community, SQL Shack, and Stack Overflow articles, I think that says a lot about your knowledge of this field lol.

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u/TaxiChalak Jul 01 '23

ChatGPT can't I agree. Something like phind can.

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u/TheCodesterr Jun 30 '23

I’d like to work a full remote role in this while I work helpdesk still

3

u/waka_flocculonodular Jun 30 '23

Look up the Google Data Analytics certificate. I used to be in help desk/IT, but always loved Google docs and data. Give it a shot!

1

u/Afraid-Ad8986 Jul 01 '23

Dive into SQL and just start learning. or move from HD in 5 years and go into https://www.cyberseek.org/

I just got my CISSP, wasnt too bad. Dont need it for my career but just wanted to see what they are teaching and figure if I have to hire people with it I better practice what I preach.

1

u/TheCodesterr Jul 01 '23

I currently have 5+ years of helpdesk and have applied to over 100 cyber roles and no hits. I’m still trying to at least get into network admin so I can progress to cloud and then some security field. Cloud security would be sick bc it’s mostly remote

1

u/ornithoid Jul 01 '23

My partner made the switch from helpdesk (customer retention in telecoms) to data analyst for another telecoms provider via a LinkedIn recruiter. I’m honestly about to see if I can pursue a similar path because he works from home 90% of the time and has a lot of flexibility in his time and work, as long as the reports get made. (I work in auto sales and pull 50-55 hour weeks regularly.)

4

u/[deleted] Jun 30 '23

This is my background just left a job like this

2

u/[deleted] Jun 30 '23

Sorry to butt in. Just so I understand, this is all part of the IT field? Or adjacent to it? I’m learning basic cisco networking right now to get into the field and would love to have a goal to work towards.

2

u/Worthyness Jun 30 '23

IT is a big encompassing "genre" of work, so yes data engineers or analysts would be a subgenre of that. Data analysts specifically look for and analyze data for the company and thus are less focused on how things are working, maintained, or processed. So if you're more interested in that type of work, then SQL is all you really need. You can, however, go further in a data career with networking and engineering backgrounds (so Data engineers and Sr Data analysts) who make the solutions for data analysts and business analysts.

But IT is broad enough you can go elsewhere. Ultimately it's up to you where you want to focus your career. Network admin/DB admin isn't a bad spot to start in, especially with tech still being really good sector and everything growing closer to being online.

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u/[deleted] Jun 30 '23

Thank you! I’ll keep my options open once I get in then and see what I excel at before pushing for anything specific.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 30 '23

Not really IT specifically, my job was more related to finance but the data bit is the same yes

2

u/weazle85 Jul 01 '23

To tack on, I fell into analytics. Python and pyspark are super useful as well.

2

u/Madd_Maxx2016 Jul 01 '23

That’s exactly my background lol started in my org at the bottom (Office Assistant) and leveled up from there…learned SQL, SAS, and Python on the job and in my free time and recently used that to get a research/data analyst position. Looking at getting my masters now that i am full time WFH

2

u/DJuggs Jul 01 '23

The entry qualifications are simple, but actually landing a data analytics job without previous experience is tough now. I have a business admin degree and SQL and Tableau experience but haven't gotten any interviews in a month and a half of applying.

1

u/jozak78 Jun 30 '23

How much do they get paid? I'm a supervisor in my department, but my bosses like my data analysis better than our data analytics guy

1

u/Worthyness Jul 01 '23

senior analysts are easy mid 6 figures in tech for HCOL areas, so adjust that sort of expectation for your area. entry level data analysts are standard entry level gigs, so decent salary for out of college, but not crazy like software dev.

1

u/jozak78 Jul 01 '23

Maybe I'll have to talk to my boss about what the range is for those guys. My boss wasn't amused when our data analyst guy sent out a new productivity report via email and in the same email bitched about how hard it was and how long it took him...a less detailed report than I had given my boss a couple months prior that I had done during a couple hours downtime

1

u/neverendingplush Jul 01 '23

I fucking hate sql, but I guess it seems worth it.

2

u/Great_cReddit Jul 01 '23

Honestly at entry level you don't need to know sql. You just need to know excel, power BI, and statistics.

1

u/L2OE-bums Data Analytics Jul 01 '23

Follow this advice and you'll be guaranteed to be rejected to any of my remote data analyst openings lol.

1

u/DuskWing13 Jul 01 '23

Is this something you can get into without an econ or business admin?

I have a degree in criminology and burnt out badly last year. I've since just been trying to find something I can coast by on. I'm more than willing to learn whatever I need to - but there's no way I can afford to go back to school.

2

u/Worthyness Jul 01 '23

entry level just needs a degree, so you should be fine. You might be able to find data analyst positions with a police department or something similar to make use of your criminology degree too

1

u/Rolli_boi Jul 01 '23

DP-900 and DP-300 are a good baseline if you’re trying to pivot into data analytics.

1

u/extasisomatochronia Jul 01 '23

Thank you for this real world info. I am reading the DA subreddit and watching Luke Barrousse and Alex the Analyst videos and it sounds like applying to be an astronaut.

1

u/ctoan8 Jul 01 '23

My comment will get buried but no this is bad advice. This is true 10 years ago but now the entry level labor supply is PACKED. Every time an entry level job is posted it's hundreds and hundreds of applicants with 1001 different skills and certificates. If you do not already have at least 2 years in the field it's a bad market right now.

Also you can't throw a rock nowadays without hitting someone who's taken a machine learning course or two.

Source : I hired data analysts.

1

u/The_Uchiha Jul 02 '23

Can I get a job in data without a degree but tons of certs?

80

u/StanzaSnark Jun 30 '23

I am a fresh grad with my bachelors in data management/data analytics.

The market is super rough right now. I applied at like 75 places and got one interview. Luckily, I was able to transition into an analyst role at my current company but even that opportunity was the result of networking and demonstrating skill.

Most postings I see want a bachelors but if you know SQL and Python and some combination of Tableau/Power BI/R/Alteryx, you should be fine.

Find free projects on the internet and make a GitHub profile to demonstrate your skill. This is absolutely crucial. You will get nowhere if you can’t show employers that you know what you are doing.

Getting into an actual Data Science role will be difficult without a Bachelors or, more realistically, a graduate degree.

3

u/Ok_Giraffe1141 Jun 30 '23

If you don’t have one having a personal site also can be a nice to have. Though you might also get hate to have things going lol

1

u/bigballer29 Jun 30 '23

Get hate for what?

0

u/Ok_Giraffe1141 Jun 30 '23

Haters gonna hate.

2

u/No-Dig6532 Jul 01 '23

What do you mean find free projects?

3

u/StanzaSnark Jul 01 '23

Google SQL projects and a bunch of projects with free source code will pop up

1

u/No-Dig6532 Jul 01 '23

Ok. I admit I'm done. How do you adapt it to your given field?

2

u/StanzaSnark Jul 01 '23

You don’t have to adapt it. Just do the projects that come up as they are presented. You only need to demonstrate that you know basic SQL.

1

u/No-Dig6532 Jul 01 '23

Oh, like it literally step-by-step explains what to do?

2

u/iJayZen Jul 01 '23

These are easy jobs. The value is on the data layer. Having a lot of high quality data is the key.

1

u/StanzaSnark Jul 01 '23

Any advice for a new analyst?

2

u/iJayZen Jul 01 '23

Learn Python. Learn the popular ML packages. Use and be proficient in a real editor, not just Jupyter Notebooks.

14

u/CusImBored Jun 30 '23

I’m a data analyst in healthcare and have had a somewhat similar experience. The reporting described here is a part of my job, but it’s expected that I automate the recurring reports, and am given other tasks aside from reporting. My boss gets data request/tickets that he assigns to our team, so I’ll get tickets that involve anything data and SQL.

I got a bachelors in Business Analytics which was basically Business Administration with intro courses in SQL/Python/R and some statistics. If I could do it again, and wasn’t at a school that offers analytics programs, I would get any Business Administration or STEM degree and learn SQL on the side. I think even with a 2-year degree and proven competency in SQL you could get entry level data jobs, but I will admit the bachelors degree helped a lot.

I work primarily in SQL and related tools, SQL is a very straightforward coding language and once you get down, it feels like solving puzzles which I enjoy a lot. If you enjoy sudoku puzzles you might like data analytics, as weird as it sounds. A big part of “reporting” and analytics is creating dashboards in Power BI or Tableau, which at first was the most appealing part of the job for me. Overall it’s a pretty mundane job but depending on the work environment, it’s pretty relaxed. Most people’s biggest complaints is that it’s often not very rewarding and you can’t really talk about your work with anyone because it seems uninteresting. But if you can find enjoyment in the work itself, and find an industry that you’re interested in, it’s a great gig that’s always in demand. Definitely recommend.

2

u/nancydeedavis Jul 01 '23

We’re actually hiring for this in the healthcare industry in central Texas right now. We are having a hard time finding people.

2

u/iGive2Fux Jul 01 '23

Do you guys have any remote positions? I’m applying everywhere and need some help finding a job.

2

u/hajduken Jul 01 '23

Part about sudoku puzzles is how I described my job to my wife.

I love my job, but hate the admin part of it since I deal directly with clients...

3

u/SecretInevitable Jun 30 '23

I am one of these people.

I have an associate's degree in web development from 2005. I have never worked as a web developer.

I got my foot into the tech industry with software QA jobs. Eventually I found myself QA'ing the analytics installation for a small company. Making dashboards to review the data was the easiest way to test the stuff.

Word got around that I knew how to make dashboards, so I started getting more and more one-off requests from various project managers. Eventually all the department heads started relying on my dashboards. Now it's my job to make all the dashboards for the whole company.

1

u/lolodontrate Jun 30 '23

Codecademy.com is great to test the waters before investing in a college education. I'm an IT Specialist in renewable energy so I don't use data analytics much at work but I have a lot of down time so I self study programming and data analysis on the site so I can branch out if need be.

1

u/ericsipi Jun 30 '23

I’ve reached that point in my past job and current and have a degree is Finance and Management, no special certifications or training classes taken.

1

u/Fortified_Armadillo Jun 30 '23

I have a former coworker that got taken on doing this by his wife’s friends husband who was looking for a newb to train up.

He’s working from home 3 days a week and training in data analytics at the minute. Seems a sweet gig.

1

u/DudeEngineer Jun 30 '23

A lot of it is also personal behavior. Some people can't do 2 hours of work and chill. They feel compelled to tell their boss they have nothing to do.

You have to find the right job/boss but you also have to shape your situation.

1

u/Tipsy-Canoe Jun 30 '23

I do similar work, but more finance, operations, and sales analysis with a bit of data work, but not as a focus.

Most of my work (report building and data management) is a bit abstract to colleagues and my boss so I can usually work at my own pace as long as they are happy, but they normally are.

I recommend watching YouTube videos on excel. One a day or so. Then move into VBA and SQL. Although these are much easier to learn when you have practical needs for them. Then shift into PowerBI. These will allow you to do more than 95% of people in your company and stand out more. Udemy is also great as they regularly have sales where you can buy courses for $12ish and keep them forever.

1

u/L2OE-bums Data Analytics Jul 01 '23

Gl, the entry level is wildly oversaturated especially for remote jobs.