What does a Data Analyst do?
A data analyst collects, cleans and interprets data to answer business questions and guide decisions. In India they typically write SQL queries, build dashboards in Power BI or Tableau, run analysis in Excel or Python, and translate findings into clear reports and recommendations that help teams understand performance, spot trends and act on what the numbers reveal.
A data analyst usually has around 0–5 yrs of experience and earns typically ₹3.5L–₹14L/yr in India. The day-to-day blends SQL, Excel, Power BI and more — this page gives you a ready-to-use data analyst job description template you can copy, plus the exact skills and salary employers expect.
Data Analyst job description template
Copy the 8 responsibilities, 5 requirements and 9 skills below into your job post, then edit the parts that are specific to your company — pay band, location and reporting line.
Select the text above to copy it manually if the button is unavailable.
What are a Data Analyst's key responsibilities?
A data analyst is typically responsible for the 8 duties below, which cover the day-to-day work most employers expect the role to own outright. Paste them into your job post as they are, or cut the ones another team already handles — a responsibility list that claims work the hire will not actually do is the fastest way to lose a candidate at offer stage:
- Query databases with SQL to pull and join the data a question needs
- Clean, validate and transform raw data into analysis-ready tables
- Build and maintain dashboards and reports in Power BI, Tableau or Looker
- Run exploratory analysis to surface trends, anomalies and correlations
- Translate business questions into measurable metrics and KPIs
- Present findings and recommendations to non-technical stakeholders
- Automate recurring reports and define data-quality checks
- Support A/B tests and ad-hoc analysis requests from product and marketing
What qualifications does a Data Analyst need?
Employers hiring a data analyst in India usually ask for the 5 qualifications below, typically alongside 0–5 yrs of experience. Keep only the ones you will genuinely screen on: every extra must-have narrows the pool, and in the Indian market a long mandatory list filters out strong candidates whose background simply reads differently on paper:
- Strong SQL skills and comfort working with large, messy datasets
- Proficiency in Excel and at least one BI tool (Power BI, Tableau or Looker)
- Basic statistics and the ability to interpret results correctly
- Clear data storytelling and stakeholder-communication skills
- Bachelor's degree in a quantitative, business or related field
What skills should a Data Analyst have?
These are the 9 skills employers name most often on live data analyst listings in India. Treat the first few as the ones worth screening for directly and the rest as signals a candidate can pick up on the job — asking for all of them at once is what turns a reasonable role into an unfillable one:
Listing the three or four skills you genuinely screen on — rather than all 9 — is what keeps a data analyst posting from filtering out candidates who could do the job.
What does a Data Analyst earn in India?
Typical salary (India)
typically ₹3.5L–₹14L/yr
Experience range
0–5 yrs
These are typical ranges and vary by city, company and skills. For live, role-specific pay data, see the OnJob salary guide.
Data Analyst job description — FAQs
What does a data analyst do?
A data analyst gathers, cleans and analyses data to answer business questions, then presents the findings through dashboards and reports. The core daily work is writing SQL, building visualisations and explaining what the numbers mean to decision-makers.
What is the difference between a data analyst and a data scientist?
A data analyst focuses on describing what happened and why using SQL, BI tools and reporting. A data scientist goes further into prediction and machine learning, building statistical models and algorithms. Analyst work is more reporting-led; scientist work is more modelling-led.
Do you need to know coding to be a data analyst?
You need SQL and strong spreadsheet skills at minimum. Python or R helps for deeper analysis and automation, but many data analyst roles in India are achievable with SQL, Excel and a BI tool like Power BI or Tableau.
How much does a data analyst earn in India?
Data analysts in India typically earn ₹3.5L–₹6L per year as freshers, ₹7L–₹12L at mid-level, and ₹14L+ once senior. Progress up those tiers tracks proven SQL against large, messy datasets, ownership of dashboards in Power BI or Tableau, correct reading of basic statistics, and the storytelling that makes a non-technical stakeholder act on a finding. Most openings advertise 0–5 years.