How to Learn Power BI and Accelerate Your Career

In today’s data-driven landscape, the demand for Power BI skills is skyrocketing, with over 4,000 job openings listed on Indeed alone. And if that wasn’t enough, at the 2021 Microsoft Business Application Summit, Microsoft revealed that 97% of Fortune 500 companies utilize Power BI to clean, transform, model, and visualize their data.

For data professionals eager to advance their careers, mastering Power BI is essential. This involves undergoing Power BI training and obtaining certification from Microsoft. By learning Power BI, you can significantly enhance your data analysis capabilities, develop powerful data models, and create visually engaging reports.

However, you might wonder: When did Power BI launch? Is it easy to learn? And is mastering Power BI truly worth the effort? These are essential questions that every data professional should consider before starting their Power BI learning journey. In this article, we will address these inquiries and offer valuable insights on the best way to learn Power BI and accelerate your career.

What is Power BI?

Power BI is a robust business intelligence platform crafted by Microsoft, designed to equip data professionals and business managers with essential tools for data collection, cleansing, visualization, analysis, and sharing. Its user-friendly and intuitive interface allows users familiar with Microsoft Excel to adapt swiftly.

With Power BI, users can build intricate data models and generate interactive insights. The platform excels in transforming and modeling data, which is crucial to creating interactive reports for comprehensive analysis. Moreover, users can create measures and calculated columns to derive actionable insights from various data sources.

Power BI seamlessly integrates with other Microsoft products, enhancing its versatility. This self-service data analytics tool is user-friendly enough for beginners to navigate effectively with the right training. Additionally, the software is compatible with both Windows and virtual devices, making it accessible across various platforms.

For organizations wishing to keep their data and published reports on-premises, the Power BI Report Server is an excellent option. This server hosts Power BI reports, and since it runs on-premises, users can securely access data without sending sensitive information to the cloud.

History of Power BI

Power BI is a business analytics service launched by Microsoft in 2013. Its predecessor, Excel Power Pivot, was first released in 2010 as an add-in for Excel. However, with the growing demand for self-service data analysis tools, Microsoft saw an opportunity to expand its capabilities and introduced Power Query and Power View. These three applications were merged into one platform, known as Power BI Desktop, in 2015.

Since then, Microsoft has continued enhancing and developing the platform, adding features such as Natural Language Processing (NLP) and advanced analytics capabilities. The latest version, Power BI Premium, was introduced in 2017 and offers enhanced performance, scalability, and data security.

Why is Learning Power BI Essential for Your Career?

With the ever-increasing demand for data professionals skilled in business intelligence and analytics tools, learning Power BI offers significant benefits for your career advancement. Here are some reasons why mastering Power BI is essential:

• Versatility: As mentioned earlier, Power BI seamlessly integrates with other Microsoft products, making it a versatile tool for data analysis. It also allows users to connect to various data sources like Excel spreadsheets, SQL databases, Salesforce CRM, Google Analytics, and many more.
• High Demand: Companies of all sizes and industries are adopting Power BI for its robust features, affordability, and user-friendly interface. This has created a high demand for professionals skilled in the platform.
• Salary Boost: The growing demand for Power BI skills has led to increased salaries for those proficient in the tool. According to Glassdoor, the average salary for a Power BI data analyst exceeds $100,000 annually. Moreover, PayScale reports that individuals with Power BI expertise earn an average salary of $78,000 per year, with the potential for even higher earnings as skills and experience advance.
• Career Advancement: Learning Power BI allows data professionals to advance their careers by taking on more challenging roles, such as business intelligence analyst or data scientist. With new skills, you can become an invaluable asset to any organization.

The Best Way to Learn Power BI

Now that you recognize the advantages of mastering Power BI and its significance for your career growth, it’s crucial to determine the most effective methods for acquiring these skills.

Power BI offers a user-friendly graphical interface, yet there’s significant complexity lurking beneath the surface. It’s easy to watch tutorials or read guides and feel confident in your understanding of Power BI. However, you must acquire hands-on skills to pass the exam and be job-ready.

The most effective way to develop these practical skills is by working on projects. These projects simulate real-world data analysis, enabling you to gain experience in everything from loading and cleaning data to visualizing it.

In our five-step guide, we’ll demonstrate how to cultivate hands-on Power BI skills through project-based learning. With these skills, you’ll be well-prepared for the PL-300 exam and job interviews.

If you’re eager to accelerate your learning, we’ve partnered with Microsoft to provide comprehensive Power BI courses. These courses are designed to equip you with the essential skills needed to excel in the PL-300 exam.

Step 1: Familiarize Yourself with the User Interface

The first step in mastering Power BI is to install the software and get familiar with its user interface. Fortunately, Power BI is available as a free download, so you can easily get it from Microsoft. Please note that it is compatible only with Windows; if you are using a different operating system, you will need to run Power BI within a virtual machine.

After installation, take a moment to explore the key components of the interface, which include:

• Navigation Pane: Navigate through different views such as Reports, Data, and Model. Learn how to switch between these views and grasp their respective functions.
• Ribbon Toolbar: Familiarize yourself with the commands available in the ribbon toolbar for tasks like data import, creating visualizations, and formatting reports.
• Visuals Pane: Practice adding and customizing visualizations. Get to know the settings and properties of charts, graphs, and other visual elements.
• Fields Pane: Utilize the Fields pane to drag and drop data fields into your visualizations. Explore how to create hierarchies and calculated fields effectively.

To assist you in this process, here are some valuable resources:

• Power BI Introduction for Excel User course: This guide is an excellent starting point for Excel users transitioning to Power BI.
• Ultimate Guide: Mastering Power BI Certification:  Our ultimate guide provides a comprehensive overview of Power BI and its certification program.

Remember, don’t spend too much time on the interface. Your primary goal should be to start working with real data as quickly as possible.

Step 2: Build a Few Visualizations With Sample Data

Once you’re comfortable with the user interface, begin creating visualizations in the Report View. It’s best to use clean data sets, as this minimizes the need for extensive modeling or data cleansing. This approach allows you to focus on learning how to import data and effectively generate reports.

Here’s how to get started:

• Import Sample Data: Start by importing sample data sets into Power BI. This way, you can practice without worrying about data quality issues. Here are some data sets you can use for your visualizations:

• • Salary Dataset: This dataset provides insights into employee salaries to their years of experience.
  • NBA Player Data: This collection includes the FiveThirtyEight RAPTOR ratings for NBA players.

• Create Basic Visualizations: Start with simple visualizations such as bar charts, line graphs, and pie charts. This helps you understand the basics of creating visuals.
• Explore Report View: Use the Report View to arrange your visuals and build comprehensive reports. Experiment with different layouts and formatting options.
• Apply Filters and Slicers: Practice using filters and slicers to refine the data displayed in your visualizations. See if you can add interactivity to your reports.
• Experiment with Different Visuals: Try different visualizations to see how they represent your data differently. This helps you understand what type of visualizations to do for different data sets.

Step 3: Model and Clean Data

Once you master the art of creating visualizations, you’ll be ableyou’ll able to perform more complex analyses with Power BI. This includes constructing data models, calculating values using DAX, and cleansing data in the Power Query Editor. While these features may appear daunting initially, you can gradually learn them by working on projects, tackling each aspect one at a time. Here are some key steps to focus on:

• Loading and Transforming Data: Import your data into Power BI and leverage the Power Query Editor to perform initial transformations. This includes removing duplicates, filtering rows, and merging data from various sources.
• Creating Data Models: Establish relationships between different tables in your data set based on shared fields. This step is crucial for developing a data model that supports advanced analytics.
• Defining Measures and Calculated Columns: Employ DAX to create measures and calculated columns. Measures facilitate dynamic calculations, while calculated columns are useful for static data transformations.
• Optimizing Data Models: Eliminate unnecessary columns and tables to enhance performance and improve the clarity of your data model.
• Validating and Testing: Validate relationships and test calculations to identify and rectify errors.

Step 4: Publish and Share Your Reports

In a realistic job setting, sharing your data analysis results and actionable insights across various departments is essential for effective decision-making. Mastering the process of publishing reports using the Power BI service is crucial. Here’s how to do it:

• Create Your Report: Start by designing your report in Power BI Desktop.
• Publish to Power BI Service: Once your report is ready, publish it to the Power BI service.
• Share with Colleagues: After successful publication, share the report to foster collaboration and informed decision-making.

To practice these above steps, you need to sign up for the Power BI Service tool and get acquainted with its interface. Understanding how to set permissions is vital, as it allows you to control who can view and interact with your reports. You can enhance collaboration by inviting colleagues to view and comment on your reports directly within the service.

Moreover, implementing row-level security and setting strict sharing permissions is important to safeguard sensitive information, ensuring that only authorized users have access to particular data sets and reports. By effectively managing these security measures, you maintain the integrity and confidentiality of your data analysis projects.

Step 5: Build Your Project Portfolio

The final step in your Power BI training involves applying the skills you’ve acquired to develop a complete end-to-end workflow. This practical application will not only solidify your knowledge but also help you build a portfolio that you can showcase to potential employers on your GitHub profile, resume, or personal website.

Follow these steps to create a compelling portfolio, even if you lack professional experience:

• Define a Project: Select a project that piques your interest and aligns with the skills you’ve learned. This could include analyzing business data, creating financial reports, or visualizing sales trends.
• Gather Data: Collect relevant data from various sources, ensuring it is comprehensive enough to demonstrate diverse Power BI capabilities, such as data modeling, transformation, and visualization. Some great places to find datasets for your portfolio include data.gov (find US government datasets), NOAA (download weather data for analysis), and Statista (market research and economic datasets).
• Model and Transform Data: Utilize the Power Query Editor to clean and transform your data effectively. Establish relationships between tables and define calculated columns and measures using DAX to create a robust data model.
• Create Visualizations: In the Power BI Report View, develop engaging and interactive visualizations. Aim to produce reports that provide actionable insights while being visually appealing.
• Document Your Workflow: Prepare thorough documentation of your project workflow, detailing each step from data collection to report sharing. This documentation will be invaluable for potential employers, showcasing your process and analytical approach.

Consider working on real-world projects to demonstrate your proficiency with using Power BI. The work you do for these projects will enhance your skills and make you a more attractive candidate to future employers by enriching your portfolio.

Getting Power BI Certified

Once you’ve become familiar with the essential features of Power BI and completed several end-to-end projects, you’ll be well-prepared for the PL-300 certification exam! The key skills required for the exam include:

• Data Preparation: Importing, cleaning, and transforming data
• Data Modeling: Designing data models, utilizing DAX, and optimizing performance
• Data Visualization and Analysis: Creating and enhancing reports while identifying trends
• Asset Deployment: Managing files and workspaces effectively

Please refer to this link for further information on the skills evaluated in the exam.

How Long Does It Take to Learn Power BI?

Learning Power BI is a continuous process that requires time, commitment, and practice. The duration of your learning journey may vary depending on your prior experience with data analysis tools, such as Excel or Tableau. Generally, it takes around 1-6 months to learn to use Power BI proficiently through online courses, tutorials, and hands-on projects.

To accelerate your learning journey, consider enrolling in a Power BI course at ONLC. We offer expert-led training sessions and hands-on workshops specifically designed for Power BI. Our experienced instructors provide real-time support, allowing you to ask questions and deepen your understanding of this powerful tool.

We have a variety of training options to accommodate your learning style:

• Instructor-led Training: Engage in live, interactive classes from any ONLC training center or the comfort of your own home.
• On-Demand Training: Access self-paced courses available 24/7, complete with video tutorials, live labs, and assessments, allowing you to learn Power BI on your schedule.
• Group Training: Customized training solutions for business teams designed to meet specific learning objectives, timelines, and budgets.

Whether you prefer to learn at a fast pace or take a more relaxed approach, our interactive Micorosft Power BI course enables you to progress at your own pace. Partnering with Microsoft, we ensure you gain the essential skills to pass the PL-300 exam and become job-ready. Embrace the flexibility of our training options and stay updated with the latest features and practical insights!

Conclusion

Mastering Power BI opens numerous opportunities for you to showcase your data analysis skills and advance in your career. With a strong foundation in Power BI, you’ll be able to unlock insights that drive business decisions and create visually compelling reports that engage stakeholders.

Remember, learning Power BI is an ongoing journey, so stay curious, continue practicing, and explore new features as they’re released. Keep building your project portfolio, and don’t shy away from showcasing your work online or in job applications.  By following these steps and investing time into developing the required skills, you’ll soon become a sought-after Power BI expert!