Week 2 – BALT 4361- The significance of Data Discovery

After reading these first couple chapters, I have gained an appreciation for data skills. Prior to this class, I never realized how many jobs rely on data, even if they are not considered “data-based” careers. Learning about how data can be used in nearly every profession was extremely interesting to me. I always thought that data analysts or business intelligence analysts only worked “behind the curtains,” but it’s clear that they help the average worker succeed daily. I also never realized how accessible these skills could be. In Chapter 1, you provided simple and realistic examples that made me excited to learn, especially using tools like Google Sheets. I thought I would have to know everything about data before I could even begin to work with it, but these first couple chapters have taught me that you can still be effective with only basic knowledge.

Something that stood out to me in Chapter 2 was how thoughtlessly data can be used in real world business scenarios. While it is incredible how companies can collect data to know more about their customers, become more efficient, and even analyze future possibilities, it also can be very dangerous. I think that your emphasis on ethics, privacy, and fairness was very important to understand because data isn’t just analyzing numbers, there are real people involved. Overall, I think these first couple chapters did an amazing job at making me appreciate what data really is. Data is powerful and it can impact others whether you intend for it to or not. My initial outlook on data was that it was scary and I didn’t know how it applied to my career, but now I understand that anybody can learn it and use it to do good things.