Week 2 - BALT 4361 - Why Data Matters Everywhere

I realized how much data really impacts the world around us. It’s not just numbers on a screen but it’s what helps businesses and people make smarter decisions. Data can show trends, predict outcomes, and even help companies understand their customers better. What stuck out to me most was how data is used for everything from breaking customers into groups, to spotting risks, to tracking performance. It made me think that data skills aren’t just a nice extra anymore but they’re becoming a must-have no matter what career path you choose.

I’ve actually seen this shift happening at my own company. Over the past couple of years, there’s been a big push toward collecting and using data in new ways. Where we used to rely more on gut feeling or past experience, now almost every decision is tied to reports, dashboards, or analysis. It’s been interesting to see how leadership leans on data to measure performance and set goals, and it’s clear that being able to work with data has become a valuable skill in my workplace.

I also liked learning about the different jobs in data because it opened my eyes to what the job market looks like now. A data analyst might find patterns in sales, while a data scientist uses advanced tools to predict the future. Then there are data engineers making sure the systems run smoothly and business intelligence analysts who create dashboards with tools like Tableau or Google Data Studio. It showed me there’s more than one way to work with data, depending on what you’re interested in. Even doing something simple like making a chart in Google Sheets can help communicate ideas more clearly.

Overall, I have a new perspective on the fact that data skills are important for everyone, not just people with “data” in their job titles. If you can take raw information and turn it into something useful, you can add value anywhere.