Help us become the #1 Data Podcast by leaving a rating & review! We are 67 reviews away!

Most aspiring data analysts struggle with knowing what projects to build. This list of 5 projects spans beginner to advanced levels and is designed to impress recruiters and hiring managers.

💌 Join 30k+ aspiring data analysts & get my tips in your inbox weekly 👉 https://www.datacareerjumpstart.com/newsletter

🆘 Feeling stuck in your data journey? Come to my next free "How to Land Your First Data Job" training 👉 https://www.datacareerjumpstart.com/training

👩‍💻 Want to land a data job in less than 90 days? 👉 https://www.datacareerjumpstart.com/daa

👔 Ace The Interview with Confidence 👉 https://www.datacareerjumpstart.com//interviewsimulator

⌚ TIMESTAMPS

00:00 – From construction to Senior Financial Analyst (no applications)

03:06 – Why his non-data background actually helped

08:24 – The projects + portfolio that made recruiters reach out

10:27– How LinkedIn led to a job offer

23:03 – Biggest lessons for breaking into data

🔗 CONNECT WITH JORDAN

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jtemplemba/

🔗 CONNECT WITH AVERY

🎥 YouTube Channel

🤝 LinkedIn

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💻 Website

Mentioned in this episode:

🎉 The 2026 Cohort of The Data Analytics Accelerator 🎉

Ready to land your data job in 2025? We're starting the 2026 Cohort on January 5th. This bootcamp is everything you need to land your first data job. Check out our New Year's sale & bonuses: https://datacareerjumpstart.com/daa

https://www.datacareerjumpstart.com/daa

Help us become the #1 Data Podcast by leaving a rating & review! We are 67 reviews away!

I went from ignored to hired by changing my strategy. These are the 3 steps that did it.

💌 Join 30k+ aspiring data analysts & get my tips in your inbox weekly 👉 https://www.datacareerjumpstart.com/newsletter

🆘 Feeling stuck in your data journey? Come to my next free "How to Land Your First Data Job" training 👉 https://www.datacareerjumpstart.com/training

👩‍💻 Want to land a data job in less than 90 days? 👉 https://www.datacareerjumpstart.com/daa

👔 Ace The Interview with Confidence 👉 https://www.datacareerjumpstart.com//interviewsimulator

⌚ TIMESTAMPS

00:00 – Rejected & Ignored: My Breaking Point

01:10 – Mentor Advice That Changed Everything

01:45 – Fix #1: Use Your Domain Experience

05:55 – Fix #2: Stop “Spray & Pray” & Start Networking

10:05 – Fix #3: Build a Portfolio That Proves Your Skills

🔗 CONNECT WITH [GUEST]

🔗 CONNECT WITH AVERY

🎥 YouTube Channel

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🎵 TikTok

💻 Website

Mentioned in this episode:

🎉 The 2026 Cohort of The Data Analytics Accelerator 🎉

Ready to land your data job in 2025? We're starting the 2026 Cohort on January 5th. This bootcamp is everything you need to land your first data job. Check out our New Year's sale & bonuses: https://datacareerjumpstart.com/daa

https://www.datacareerjumpstart.com/daa

Help us become the #1 Data Podcast by leaving a rating & review! We are 67 reviews away!

Andrei Kurtuy is the cofounder of Novorésumé and has reviewed thousands of resumes from data professionals, from Amazon analysts to complete beginners, and he keeps seeing the same avoidable mistake. In this episode, he explains how to turn weak task lists into impact bullets, pass ATS checks without tricks, and use projects plus clear storytelling to make your resume truly stand out.

💌 Join 30k+ aspiring data analysts & get my tips in your inbox weekly 👉 https://www.datacareerjumpstart.com/newsletter

🆘 Feeling stuck in your data journey? Come to my next free "How to Land Your First Data Job" training 👉 https://www.datacareerjumpstart.com/training

👩‍💻 Want to land a data job in less than 90 days? 👉 https://www.datacareerjumpstart.com/daa

👔 Ace The Interview with Confidence 👉 https://www.datacareerjumpstart.com//interviewsimulator

⌚ TIMESTAMPS

00:48 – The #1 Resume Mistake Data Professionals Make

02:10 – How to Turn Task-Based Bullets into Impact Bullets

03:08 – Making Your Resume ATS-Friendly Without Fancy Templates

10:39 – Why Keyword Stuffing and Hidden Text Backfires

23:30 – How Skill-Based Resumes Help Career Changers Stand Out

🔗 CONNECT WITH ANDREI

Novo Resume: https://novoresume.com/

LinkedIn: https://dk.linkedin.com/in/andrei-kurtuy

🔗 CONNECT WITH AVERY

🎥 YouTube Channel

🤝 LinkedIn

📸 Instagram

🎵 TikTok

💻 Website

Mentioned in this episode:

🎉 The 2026 Cohort of The Data Analytics Accelerator 🎉

Ready to land your data job in 2025? We're starting the 2026 Cohort on January 5th. This bootcamp is everything you need to land your first data job. Check out our New Year's sale & bonuses: https://datacareerjumpstart.com/daa

https://www.datacareerjumpstart.com/daa

Help us become the #1 Data Podcast by leaving a rating & review! We are 67 reviews away!

I unpacked the 7 biggest myths circulating in the data career space and reveal what actually matters when trying to land your first role.

💌 Join 30k+ aspiring data analysts & get my tips in your inbox weekly 👉 https://www.datacareerjumpstart.com/newsletter

🆘 Feeling stuck in your data journey? Come to my next free "How to Land Your First Data Job" training 👉 https://www.datacareerjumpstart.com/training

👩‍💻 Want to land a data job in less than 90 days? 👉 https://www.datacareerjumpstart.com/daa

👔 Ace The Interview with Confidence 👉 https://www.datacareerjumpstart.com//interviewsimulator

⌚ TIMESTAMPS

00:00 – Myth #1: “Data Analyst is the only title”

02:00 – Myth #2: “You have zero data experience”

04:23– Myth #3: “You need to learn ALL the data skills”

06:03 – Myth #4: “You need a degree or certificate”

07:40 – Myth #5: “Data jobs are easy to land”

09:14– Myth #6: “Most data jobs are remote”

11:08 – Myth #7: “AI is going to take your data job”

🔗 CONNECT WITH AVERY

🎥 YouTube Channel

🤝 LinkedIn

📸 Instagram

🎵 TikTok

💻 Website

Mentioned in this episode:

🎉 The 2026 Cohort of The Data Analytics Accelerator 🎉

Ready to land your data job in 2025? We're starting the 2026 Cohort on January 5th. This bootcamp is everything you need to land your first data job. Check out our New Year's sale & bonuses: https://datacareerjumpstart.com/daa

https://www.datacareerjumpstart.com/daa

Help us become the #1 Data Podcast by leaving a rating & review! We are 67 reviews away!

Can You Pass This Data Analyst Interview?

🖥️ Build your own app with Replit: https://replit.com/refer/AveryData

👔 Mock Interview Platform: https://interviewsimulator.io

💌 Join 30k+ aspiring data analysts & get my tips in your inbox weekly 👉 https://www.datacareerjumpstart.com/newsletter

🆘 Feeling stuck in your data journey? Come to my next free "How to Land Your First Data Job" training 👉 https://www.datacareerjumpstart.com/training

👩‍💻 Want to land a data job in less than 90 days? 👉 https://www.datacareerjumpstart.com/daa

👔 Ace The Interview with Confidence 👉 https://www.datacareerjumpstart.com//interviewsimulator

⌚ TIMESTAMPS

00:28 — Question 1

02:54 — Question 2

04:53 — Question 3

08:08 — Where to do Interview Practice

08:54 — How to Build Cool Apps Like This



🔗 CONNECT WITH AVERY

🎥 YouTube Channel

🤝 LinkedIn

📸 Instagram

🎵 TikTok

💻 Website

Mentioned in this episode:

🎉 The 2026 Cohort of The Data Analytics Accelerator 🎉

Ready to land your data job in 2025? We're starting the 2026 Cohort on January 5th. This bootcamp is everything you need to land your first data job. Check out our New Year's sale & bonuses: https://datacareerjumpstart.com/daa

https://www.datacareerjumpstart.com/daa

Help us become the #1 Data Podcast by leaving a rating & review! We are 67 reviews away!

I wouldn't try to become a data analyst next here. Here's 4 reasons why and what I'd do instead.

💌 Join 30k+ aspiring data analysts & get my tips in your inbox weekly 👉 https://www.datacareerjumpstart.com/newsletter

🆘 Feeling stuck in your data journey? Come to my next free "How to Land Your First Data Job" training 👉 https://www.datacareerjumpstart.com/training

👩‍💻 Want to land a data job in less than 90 days? 👉 https://www.datacareerjumpstart.com/daa

👔 Ace The Interview with Confidence 👉 https://www.datacareerjumpstart.com//interviewsimulator

⌚ TIMESTAMPS

00:00 — Why the data job market is tough

00:36 — Worst states for data analysts

01:55 — Why these states rank low

04:11 — Best states (raw counts) for data analysts

06:08 — Jobs per capita explained

07:10 — Top states after normalization

09:35 — Slope chart breakdown

10:18 — What the normalized rankings mean

👨‍🎓 Featured Bootcamp Students:

Moiz Noorali: https://www.linkedin.com/in/moiz-noorali/

Ani Mayilyan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ani-mayilyan/

Mukta Pandey: https://www.linkedin.com/in/muktap2377210/

Amanda Ward: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandawarddata/

Sebastian Wang: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zitong-wang-b06316284/

📊 Intern with me: https://www.datacareerjumpstart.com/daa

🔗 CONNECT WITH AVERY

🎥 YouTube Channel

🤝 LinkedIn

📸 Instagram

🎵 TikTok

💻 Website

Mentioned in this episode:

🎉 The 2026 Cohort of The Data Analytics Accelerator 🎉

Ready to land your data job in 2025? We're starting the 2026 Cohort on January 5th. This bootcamp is everything you need to land your first data job. Check out our New Year's sale & bonuses: https://datacareerjumpstart.com/daa

https://www.datacareerjumpstart.com/daa

🏆 Follow this roadmap w/ The Data Analytics Accelerator (My Bootcamp): https://datacareerjumpstart.com/daa

⌚ TIMESTAMPS

00:19 - Step 1: Skills

02:33 - Step 2: Data Roles

06:38 - Step 3: Projects

10:22 - Step 4: Portfolio

13:20 - Step 5: Resume & LinkedIn

17:59 - Step 6: Job Hunting

21:12 - Step 7: Interviews

22:53 - The SPN Method

💌 Join 30k+ aspiring data analysts & get my tips in your inbox weekly 👉 https://www.datacareerjumpstart.com/newsletter

🆘 Feeling stuck in your data journey? Come to my next free "How to Land Your First Data Job" training 👉 https://www.datacareerjumpstart.com/training

👩‍💻 Want to land a data job in less than 90 days? 👉 https://www.datacareerjumpstart.com/daa

👔 Ace The Interview with Confidence 👉 https://www.datacareerjumpstart.com//interviewsimulator

🔗 CONNECT WITH AVERY

🎥 YouTube Channel

🤝 LinkedIn

📸 Instagram

🎵 TikTok

💻 Website

Mentioned in this episode:

🎉 The 2026 Cohort of The Data Analytics Accelerator 🎉

Ready to land your data job in 2025? We're starting the 2026 Cohort on January 5th. This bootcamp is everything you need to land your first data job. Check out our New Year's sale & bonuses: https://datacareerjumpstart.com/daa

https://www.datacareerjumpstart.com/daa

Help us become the #1 Data Podcast by leaving a rating & review! We are 67 reviews away!

I wouldn't try to become a data analyst next here. Here's 4 reasons why and what I'd do instead.

👩‍💻 Want to land a data job in less than 90 days? 👉 https://www.datacareerjumpstart.com/daa

⌚ TIMESTAMPS

00:32 - Reason 1 not to be data scientist

03:22 - Reason 2 not to be data scientist

04:55 - Reason 3 not to be data scientist

07:33 - Reason 4 not to be data scientist

11:28 - What to do instead

🍿 OTHER EPISODES MENTIONED

Data Analyst Roadmap: https://datacareerpodcast.com/episode/136-how-i-would-become-a-data-analyst-in-2025-if-i-had-to-start-over-again

Get Paid to Learn Data: https://datacareerpodcast.com/episode/137-get-paid-1000s-to-master-data-analytics-skills-in-2025

Get You Master's Paid For (Thomas): https://datacareerpodcast.com/episode/128-meet-the-math-teacher-who-landed-a-data-job-in-60-days-thomas-gresco

Get You Master's Paid For (Rachael): https://datacareerpodcast.com/episode/125-how-she-landed-a-business-intelligence-analyst-job-in-less-than-100-days-w-rachael-finch

My review of Georgia Tech's Master's: https://datacareerpodcast.com/episode/38-masters-in-data-analytics-from-georgia-tech-is-it-worth-it

💌 Join 30k+ aspiring data analysts & get my tips in your inbox weekly 👉 https://www.datacareerjumpstart.com/newsletter

🆘 Feeling stuck in your data journey? Come to my next free "How to Land Your First Data Job" training 👉 https://www.datacareerjumpstart.com/training

👩‍💻 Want to land a data job in less than 90 days? 👉 https://www.datacareerjumpstart.com/daa

👔 Ace The Interview with Confidence 👉 https://www.datacareerjumpstart.com//interviewsimulator

🔗 CONNECT WITH AVERY

🎥 YouTube Channel

🤝 LinkedIn

📸 Instagram

🎵 TikTok

💻 Website

Mentioned in this episode:

🎉 The 2026 Cohort of The Data Analytics Accelerator 🎉

Ready to land your data job in 2025? We're starting the 2026 Cohort on January 5th. This bootcamp is everything you need to land your first data job. Check out our New Year's sale & bonuses: https://datacareerjumpstart.com/daa

https://www.datacareerjumpstart.com/daa

Help us become the #1 Data Podcast by leaving a rating & review! We are 67 reviews away!

I built you a free tool that matches you to open data jobs! I built it using a low-code analytics tool called KNIME. Learn how I built it & how you can build your own!

👔 Try the Resume to Job Match App: https://apps.hub.knime.com/d/AI_Job_Search~data-app:c0cff571-721d-4cd2-aca7-5f19505d7537/run?authToken=cVZoMmVVZmF3RkM4eG9HdXVDdWltWTlZbFJDdzRCTjc0TXBLaFIzY3JYSTpmT3FYZ3VWZ19OTHgwZExxMGZ1Ty1XMUxySFF0QmdYRXBOWllaSVVQRnZmbnRHdGlnWlJ1cS1lM2hlQk0tM3k0TE0taHk3b0ZyQTh2S0t2YWV4QkREdw==

💻 Download KNIME: https://www.knime.com/start?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=influencer&utm_term=avery_smith&utm_content=video&utm_campaign=kapsquad

📈 Download the KNIME Workflow: https://hub.knime.com/knime/spaces/Data%20Apps/AI_Job_Search~IkoQH5UBhidlxnEt/current-state?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=influencer&utm_term=avery_smith&utm_content=video&utm_campaign=kapsquad

💌 Join 30k+ aspiring data analysts & get my tips in your inbox weekly 👉 https://www.datacareerjumpstart.com/newsletter

🆘 Feeling stuck in your data journey? Come to my next free "How to Land Your First Data Job" training 👉 https://www.datacareerjumpstart.com/training

👩‍💻 Want to land a data job in less than 90 days? 👉 https://www.datacareerjumpstart.com/daa

👔 Ace The Interview with Confidence 👉 https://www.datacareerjumpstart.com//interviewsimulator

⌚ TIMESTAMPS

0:00 - Avery's notes about episode (audio only)

7:33 - Use this free tool to find data jobs

09:36 - What is low-code analytics & why is it important?

13:20 - How I built this tool (& you can too)

16:47 - The future of low-code data tools

🔗 CONNECT WITH AVERY

🎥 YouTube Channel

🤝 LinkedIn

📸 Instagram

🎵 TikTok

💻 Website

Mentioned in this episode:

🎉 The 2026 Cohort of The Data Analytics Accelerator 🎉

Ready to land your data job in 2025? We're starting the 2026 Cohort on January 5th. This bootcamp is everything you need to land your first data job. Check out our New Year's sale & bonuses: https://datacareerjumpstart.com/daa

https://www.datacareerjumpstart.com/daa

Help us become the #1 Data Podcast by leaving a rating & review! We are 67 reviews away!

Data meets music 🎶 — Avery sits down with Chris Reba, a data analyst who’s studied over 1 million songs, to reveal what the numbers say about how hits are made. From uncovering Billboard chart fraud to exploring how TikTok reshaped music, this episode breaks down the art and science behind every beat.

💌 Join 30k+ aspiring data analysts & get my tips in your inbox weekly 👉 https://www.datacareerjumpstart.com/newsletter

🆘 Feeling stuck in your data journey? Come to my next free "How to Land Your First Data Job" training 👉 https://www.datacareerjumpstart.com/training

👩‍💻 Want to land a data job in less than 90 days? 👉 https://www.datacareerjumpstart.com/daa

👔 Ace The Interview with Confidence 👉 https://www.datacareerjumpstart.com//interviewsimulator

⌚ TIMESTAMPS

00:00 - Intro: How Chris analyzed 1M+ songs using data

01:10 - What data reveals about hit songs and music trends

03:30 - Combining qualitative and quantitative analysis

07:00 - The 1970s Billboard chart fraud explained

10:45 - Why key changes disappeared from modern pop

13:30 - How hip-hop changed song structure and sound

14:10 - TikTok’s influence on the music industry

16:10 - Inside Chris’s open-source music dataset

22:10 - Best tools for music data analysis (SQL, Python, Datawrapper)

27:45 - Advice for aspiring music data analysts

🔗 CONNECT WITH CHRIS

📕 Order Chris's Book: https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/uncharted-territory-9798765149911

📊 Check out Chris's Music Dataset: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1j1AUgtMnjpFTz54UdXgCKZ1i4bNxFjf01ImJ-BqBEt0/edit?gid=1974823090#gid=1974823090

💌 Subscribe to Chris's' Newsletter: https://www.cantgetmuchhigher.com

📲 Follow Chris on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@cdallarivamusic

🔗 CONNECT WITH AVERY

🎥 YouTube Channel

🤝 LinkedIn

📸 Instagram

🎵 TikTok

💻 Website

Mentioned in this episode:

🎉 The 2026 Cohort of The Data Analytics Accelerator 🎉

Ready to land your data job in 2025? We're starting the 2026 Cohort on January 5th. This bootcamp is everything you need to land your first data job. Check out our New Year's sale & bonuses: https://datacareerjumpstart.com/daa

https://www.datacareerjumpstart.com/daa