How to become a data analyst
Official title: Data analyst
Also called: Data quality analyst, Operations analyst, Systems analyst, Data intelligence specialist, Data and insights consultant, Business intelligence analyst
Data analysts help organisations collect and examine data to improve an organisation's operations.
Main tasks
- Make sure data is reliable
- Find useful and accurate data
- Analyse data trends and patterns
- Understand data to get insights
- Talk to clients about needs
- Prepare reports and evaluations
- Use data software for analysis
How to become one
You usually need experience and a qualification to become a data analyst. You usually need NCEA Level 3 to do the study or training for this job. Other requirements: experience in similar work; a relevant tertiary qualification in computer science, economics and econometrics, mathematical sciences or similar area.
Ways in
- University: Computing & IT degrees, Offered by 6 universities in New Zealand
- University: Business & Commerce degrees, Offered by 6 universities in New Zealand
- University: Mathematics & Statistics degrees
Pay · Past change · AI and this job
- Most common pay: $73,000 to $118,000 a year (median $94,000), a TEC estimate before tax.
- Lower: $54,000 a year · Upper: $148,000 a year
- TEC's pay figures are estimates only. TEC says they must not be used to set pay, in pay negotiations or in visa applications.
- Change in the number of people doing this job between the 2018 and 2023 Censuses: Increase (TEC). This is past change, not a forecast.
- People employed in the group Actuaries, Mathematicians and Statisticians: 1,557 at the 2018 Census and 1,398 at the 2023 Census (-10.2%). Past change, not a forecast.
- Generative AI could change many tasks in this job, which usually reshapes the work more than it replaces it, by the ILO's global estimate.
Who does this work
- About 5,100 people did this job at the 2023 Census (TEC).
- In the group Actuaries, Mathematicians and Statisticians, 44% of workers are female (sex at birth, 2023 Census).
- Where people in the group Actuaries, Mathematicians and Statisticians work (2023 Census): Auckland 34.3%, Wellington 32.5%, and Canterbury 17.6%.
Related jobs
Not sure this is for you? Take the 2-minute career quiz
Questions people ask
How do I become a data analyst?
You usually need experience and a qualification to become a data analyst. You usually need NCEA Level 3 to do the study or training for this job. Other requirements: experience in similar work; a relevant tertiary qualification in computer science, economics and econometrics, mathematical sciences or similar area.
How much does a data analyst earn in New Zealand?
The Tertiary Education Commission estimates median pay at $94,000 a year, before tax. Most common pay is $73,000 to $118,000 a year.
Has the number of people working as a data analyst grown in New Zealand?
It has grown: TEC records an increase in the number of people doing this job between the 2018 and 2023 Censuses. This is past change, not a forecast.
Will AI change the work of a data analyst?
Generative AI could change many tasks in this job, which usually reshapes the work more than it replaces it, by the ILO's global estimate.
Sources
- Tertiary Education Commission (Tahatu Career Navigator): Tahatu career ideas: descriptions, tasks, pay estimates, people employed, employment change 2018 to 2023, entry requirements, registration, interest scores (Site scrape 2026-10 (816 career ideas, sitemap lastmod 2026-10-01)), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
- Stats NZ (via Figure.NZ): Census totals by topic for individuals 2013, 2018, 2023 (CEN23_TBT_004): employed by occupation, ANZSCO V1.3, summed to unit group (2023 Census (CEN23_TBT_004)), CC BY 4.0 (Stats NZ), CC BY 3.0 NZ (Figure.NZ), retrieved 4 October 2026
- Stats NZ (via Figure.NZ): Census 2023: employed by regional council, occupation (ANZSCO V1.3 unit group) and sex at birth (2023 Census), CC BY 4.0 (Stats NZ), CC BY 3.0 NZ (Figure.NZ), retrieved 4 October 2026
- International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
This content is sourced from the Tertiary Education Commission through the Tahatū Career Navigator website (www.tahatu.govt.nz) and used under the CC BY 4.0 licence. All or some of the information has been modified by Peernovo. TEC has not approved, endorsed or tested these modifications. TEC will not be held accountable for any errors within this content.
Qualification information from NZQA, used under CC BY 3.0 NZ.
This work is based on/includes Stats NZ's data which are licensed by Stats NZ for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence. Census data via Figure.NZ.
Includes information from O*NET OnLine by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.
Sources: Tertiary Education Commission, Tahatū Career Navigator (career ideas, pay estimates, entry requirements and study options, CC BY 4.0, modified by Peernovo); Stats NZ, 2023 Census (via Figure.NZ) and the National Occupation List (CC BY 4.0); NZQA qualification information (CC BY 3.0 NZ); O*NET interest scores (CC BY 4.0); ILO global generative AI exposure index (CC BY 4.0). Links between career ideas and ANZSCO groups, degree fields and broad job groups are Peernovo's.
These results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.
Graduate outcomes: these results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.
Updated 4 October 2026