Guide to becoming a Tableau Developer in 2024

Tableau Developer

A tableau developer today is one of the most sought-after job roles in the Business Intelligence industry. 

Agenda:

What is Tableau?

A tableau is a tool that focuses on understanding data and using its potential in business strategy. It’s a tool that encompasses creating dashboard reports, visualizations and deriving valuable business insights and feedback to improve on larger systems.

The reason why tableau stands out among other business intelligence tools is there is a wide range of connectivity choices. Tableau can connect to any data you can perhaps think about, starting from spreadsheets to databases and even big data. You can access warehouses, cloud applications like Salesforce and even connect to cloud databases like Amazon Redshift.

It has a web data connector and it is used to pull API directly from the web to connect to any desired data source.

Who is a Tableau Developer?

A tableau developer creates a solution for data visualization to enhance the business processes. This job consists of various tasks such as working with developers creating tableau reports, creating bi visualization and participating in feedback sessions to improve systems now. Good for people who have problem-solving skills and who can manage time productively to meet deadlines and also the one who is proficient in data visualization.

Skills Required

  • Data Visualization and Design
  • Mathematical Reasoning
  • Database Skills
  • ETL (Extract Transform Loading) Process

Storytelling and Forecasting – A tableau developer must be able to represent the data in a way that allows the client to predict and forecast using historical and previous data, for them to make better decisions.

An effective tableau developer must be creative and innovative to find solutions to problems that will improve business processes.

Analytical Mind – A tableau developer should be able to work with data partitioning since Tableau works on the principle of data partitions.

To be a good tableau developer, one must be comfortable with Data Blending, Data Partitioning, Data Set Theory, etc.

Finding the Best Way to Represent Data – A Tableau Developer should have a good understanding of data visualization, which can be acquired by a lot of training, errors, and trial and error.

Also Read: 75+ Tableau Interview Questions with Answers

Pursuing a carrier as a Tableau Developer

Tableau is known as a leader in BI tools and it has been crowned the best by IT research joint Cotner. Gartner’s magic quadrant mentioned tableau for the seventh time in a row as the best amongst tableaus competitors like Microsoft, SAP and clique. In addition to having a great demand for Tableau experts, there are all these rewards to offer.

  • Tableau professionals get the best of salaries in the BI industry.
  • There are plenty of jobs available which requires tableau as a major skill set.
  • Lucrative job profile.

SNAPSHOT

A tableau developer is responsible for creating technical solutions which basically means the primary objective of this developer is to create a solution that matches the needs of the business. 

  • Building data solutions
  • Online Analytical Processing/ OLAP
  • Data Testing
  • Speed Enhancement
  • Documentation
  • Trend Forecasting
  • Using BI Tools for storytelling
  • Using Structured Query Language (SQL)

A Tableau Developer uses different types of data and visualizes it into visuals such as pie charts, bar charts, heat maps, Treemap etc. which is easily understandable by the end-user for decision making. This job is one of the most popular in the Business Intelligence field.

An excellent tableau developer should be able to understand the needs of a company from the perspective of the client. Their main task is to derive insight from the data and help the company to improve its processes with visualization.

The tableau developer has to understand the source of the data and its format and develop it using the table functionality. 

With their help, business processes will be able to improve by providing solutions in the form of visualized data. Tableau developers will prepare data solutions including BI views, reports, and dashboards.

As a tableau developer, you have to build some awesome features in tableau tools, such as storytelling and forecasting, which you can use to predict and forecast based on recent information.

Currently, there is a huge demand and growth for Tableau developers in the Business Intelligence field. Tableau developers are the best in the industry when it comes to developing business intelligence tools.

The skills of a tableau developer are required in many types of jobs, and they are also among the highest-paid professionals in the BI market.

There is a high demand for this position in the Business Intelligence industry, and the average salary for tableau professionals is $100,000. Pay for tableau developers are also increasing, reaching as high as $155,000, which is one of the highest salaries in the industry. Tableau developers, on average, earn Rs. 5 Lakh per annum, and with more experience, the salary ranges from Rs. 8 – 10 Lakh per annum.

Also Read: Tableau Developer Salary in India [For Fresher’s & Experienced]

A wide range of companies, such as Dell, KPMG, Verizon, Facebook, Bank of America, Sony Electronics, General Motors, etc., are seeking talented Tableau developers.

To advance in their careers, one will need to learn advanced mathematical concepts, statistics, Python and R programming, cloud data storage, and the fundamentals of master data management.

Tableau is a very powerful analytical and visualization tool for Business Intelligence that is in high demand in the market because of its visualization capabilities. Tableau developers can also be known as Business Intelligence Managers, Business Intelligence Developers, Business Analysts, Information Analysts, and Tableau Consultants.

Responsibilities of a Tableau Developer

Depending on the kind of business organization for which he or she works, a tableau developer has a wide range of responsibilities. But the most common type of tableau developer responsibilities are as follows:

  1. Understanding the needs of the customer

A Tableau Developer should be able to think through the client’s point of view and understand exactly what they need. They should make some questions as to how the tableau dashboard will help clients in making their decisions.

  1. Providing technical support

The main objective of a tableau developer is to build a technical solution to solve a business problem.  Individuals need to be innovative in finding solutions and be able to understand requirements.

  1. OLAP (Online Analytical Processing)

Using online analytical processing tools, Tableau developers can preserve data within business organizations.

  1. Tool testing

After the tool is developed, a tableau developer is required to test it by conducting unit tests and developing database queries to analyze any problems that arise.

  1. System improvements

After the tool is designed for a business organization, an evaluation is necessary for the improvement of the system. To accomplish this, one must collaborate with all teams within the organization to develop new methods to design company processes and workflows.

  1.  Project documentation

Tableau developers have to document all updates to their projects. This is to serve as a reference for colleagues and staff.

  1. Products Knowledge

One should also be familiar with the following tools:

  • Tools for data analysis – OLAP, ETL Frameworks, etc.
  • Understanding MS Excel’s basic functions is a must
  • A strong understanding of SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) and SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS)

Some of the other requirements are:

  • Data Visualization
  • Tableau Architecture
  • Tableau Server Configuration and Deployment
  • Tableau Authorization Concepts
  • Working with multiple data sources
  • Extract, Transform & Load data
  • Business Intelligence 
  • Document Design
  • Handling large volumes of data
  • Advance Tableau features calculated fields, Parameters, table calculations, Joints and global filters
  • Drill downs and level of details in data analysis
  • Building complex queries.
  • Working with data storage tools that preserve data within organizations.
  • Evaluate and improving existing systems
  • Strong attention to detail for spotting errors.
  • Solution Testing and Prototyping
  • App Life Cycle Development

Tableau’s future and scope

As Gartner Research reports, Tableau has been a market leader in business intelligence and data visualization for 7 consecutive years.

In addition to the enormous amount of data generated every year, Tableau is the most efficient means to analyze it. In addition, Tableau yields actionable insights based on analysis. Over the last ten years, the world has generated 50 times as much data as it did in the previous decade.

Conclusion

Career opportunities and jobs in tableau have increased multiple times in the last few years as it is the fastest evolving business intelligence tool used for knowledge in visual mode, making it one of the most sought after technologies.

The best visual analytical tool has never been more popular than Tableau because it is used by all small, medium, and large business organizations and has a strong community behind it, which makes the tool the best visual analytical tool ever made.

If you wish to start your career as a tableau developer, check out our free tableau courses for beginners

→ Explore this Curated Program for You ←

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Great Learning Editorial Team
The Great Learning Editorial Staff includes a dynamic team of subject matter experts, instructors, and education professionals who combine their deep industry knowledge with innovative teaching methods. Their mission is to provide learners with the skills and insights needed to excel in their careers, whether through upskilling, reskilling, or transitioning into new fields.

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