Best Data Analytics Course: A Comprehensive Comparison

Choosing the right data analytics course can make all the difference in your career trajectory.

In this data-driven interconnected age, data analytics plays an important role in helping businesses offer their customers the best products and services. This makes a career in data analytics highly lucrative in the IT industry. With over 1 lakh + job openings, and over 70% of them looking for freshers, getting into the field of data analytics is the right choice to start your career.

But, where do you start? A data analytics course is an obvious answer. As a fresher, you will have seen multiple options for data analytics courses, and each one claims to be the best.

But how do you know which course is the actual best to learn data analytics from scratch?

You need a course with a curriculum that teaches data analytics comprehensively.

Here are some of the aspects of the course that you need to keep an eye on:

In this article, we will compare some of the most popular data analytics courses in India, from Simplilearn, Intellipaat, Edureka, and ExcelR, and try to determine which one is the best data analytics certification for you.

Whether you are a fresher with or without coding expertise, or an experienced professional, this guide will definitely help you determine the right course to start your career in data analytics.

Popular data analytics courses:

Let's take a look at some of the best data analytics courses, what they provide, and how they stack up against each other.

Coursera's Data Analytics Certifications

The popular online course provider Coursera offers two data analytics certifications:

1. Google Data Analytics Professional Certificate, and
2. IBM Data Analyst Professional Certificate.

The two courses have largely similar offers with minor differences in curricula, duration, mentorship, and pricing.

• Curriculum - The Google Certificate covers the basics of data cleaning, SQL, Google Spreadsheets, and fundamentals of R Programming, but not Tableau, Python, or Microsoft Excel. The course duration is 6 months. On the other hand, the IBM Certificate covers the basics of data cleaning, SQL, Microsoft Excel, IBM Cogno Analytics, and fundamentals of Python programming, but not Tableau or R programming. The course duration is 11 months.
• Placement - No placement support.
• Mentorship - As this is a self-paced course, all the modules are pre-recorded.
• Price - Coursera is a subscription-based platform. The subscription costs around ₹3,156 per month, which translates to
  For Google Data Analytics Professional Certificate - ₹3,156 × 6 = ₹18,936 over 6 months.
  For IBM Data Analyst Professional Certificate - ₹3,156 × 11 = ₹34,716 over 11 months.
• Mode of Training - Coursera offers only pre-recorded sessions for learning.
• Reviews - The reviews for both the Google Data Analytics Professional Certificate and the IBM Data Analyst Professional Certificate mention that the courses are only good for gaining elementary knowledge of the data analysis process or IBM-specific tools. Both courses barely cover advanced techniques and skills essential in the job market.
• Best For - As certain advanced topics are not covered, and there is a lack of placement and mentor support, this course is not suitable for freshers.

Both courses suffer from the same problem: certifications are insufficient to land a job. A personalised teaching approach is needed to help you develop your skillset to be job-ready.

ExcelR's Data Analytics Course

One of the best data analytics courses in India, ExcelR's Data Analytics Course comes with an IIT Madras Pravartak certification.

• Curriculum - ExcelR's curriculum is designed to comprehensively cover the required core skillsets in SQL, Microsoft Excel, Tableau, and fundamentals of R and Python, along with 5 free value-added courses. The course duration is just 6 months, which includes an assured internship.
• Placement - ExcelR offers a dedicated placement support team with Placement Assistance guaranteeing interview calls. ExcelR also offers Resume and LinkedIn Profile Optimisation, Mock Interview preparation, and placement opportunities with 5,000+ Hiring Partners.
• Mentorship - ExcelR offers top-notch faculty with real industry experience. They also provide mentors from the industry to help with Capstone Projects. With 60+ case studies and assignments, they also provide hands-on experience to ensure you are job-ready from day 1.
• Price - ExcelR's Data Analytics Course costs just ₹44,999/- and provides you with 6 months of training in 8 tools and 15 skills.
• Mode of Training - Excelr offers students the flexibility to choose between Classrooms in 5 cities (Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune) and Live-Online formats of learning.
• Reviews - Online, ExcelR's quality of sessions and the breadth of its curriculum are praised. Reviews also praise comprehensive post-training support on aspects like placement and support.
• Best For - ExcelR's course is ideal for all freshers and professionals who are looking for comprehensive data analytics skills with a robust post-training support. For freshers, the Placement Assistance Guarantee also helps them land their first job.

Udemy's Data Analysis Courses

Udemy also offers incredibly cheap courses, which might seem extremely high value for money. But when you look closer, you will observe that each individual skill and tool is divided into a course by itself. For a fresher, it can be confusing to figure out the structure to follow and which courses to prioritise. The lack of any placement support or live mentorship also makes these certifications risky for freshers.

• Mode of Training - Udemy offers only pre-recorded sessions for learning.
• Reviews - The reviews of individual modules vary from very bad to very good. Across various online platforms, it is often discussed that Udemy is preferred by people who want to upskill in individual tools or skills.
• Best For - These courses are ideal for those who are looking for the flexibility to upskill in individual tools or skills, without any immediate need of placement support or certifications. This course is not suitable for freshers.

Edureka's Data Analyst Certification Course

Another option for a data analyst certification in India, Edureka's Data Analyst Certification Course is a comprehensive Masters program.

• Curriculum - Edureka's curriculum covers the basics of required core skillsets in SQL, Microsoft Excel, Tableau, and fundamentals of Python and R programming.
• Placement - Edureka does not offer any kind of placement support. Students are expected to apply for jobs independently.
• Mentorship - The feedback of their instructors and mentors on various portals is mostly neutral.
• Price - Edureka's Data Analyst Course costs ₹69,999/- and provides you with 4 months of training in 5 tools and 11 skills.
• Mode of Training - Edureka offers a mix of Live-Online and Self-Paced format of learning.
• Reviews - According to online reviews, Edureka's post-training support on aspects like placement and support is non-existent.
• Best For - Edureka's course is ideal for those professionals who are looking for comprehensive data analytics skills at their own pace without any expectation of placements. For freshers with high-motivation and dedication, this course is an option.

Simplilearn's Data Analyst Course

One of the most popular data analytics courses in India, Simplilearn's Data Analyst Course comes with an IBM certification.

• Curriculum - Simplilearn's curriculum covers the basics of required core skillsets in SQL, Microsoft Excel, Tableau, and fundamentals of R and Python, but the course duration is 11 months, which is a substantial amount of time.
• Placement - Simplilearn does not offer any dedicated placement support. They will provide you with resume-building mentorship and access to a job portal (IIMJobs Pro Membership) for 6 months, and you will have to apply and secure jobs on your own.
• Mentorship - The feedback of their instructors and mentors on various portals is mixed, which makes choosing their course a risky decision to make.
• Price - Simplilearn's Data Analyst Course costs ₹57,000/- and provides you with 11 months of training in 9 tools and 8 skills.
• Mode of Training - Simplilearn offers only a Live-Online format of learning.
• Reviews - According to online reviews, Simplilearn's post-training support consistently lacks positive feedback, especially on aspects like placement and support.
• Best For - Simplilearn's course is ideal for working professionals who are looking for a career switch or want to upskill in data analytics. Due to the lack of placement support and long duration, this course is not suitable for freshers.

Intellipaat's Data Analytics Course

Another popular data analytics course in India, Intellipaat’s Data Analytics Course comes with an IIT Roorkee iHub DivyaSampark certification. It has to be noted that Intellipaat only offers an Online Bootcamp form of learning.

• Curriculum - Intellipaat’s curriculum covers the basics of required core skillsets in SQL, Microsoft Excel, fundamentals of R and Python, but not Tableau. The course duration is 7 months, which includes sessions from IIT Roorkee faculty.
• Placement - Intellipaat offers dedicated placement support with three guaranteed interviews, but only if you pass the Placement Readiness Test (PRT). This means they can arbitrarily fail you in the PRT to deny you an interview. They also offer Resume and LinkedIn Profile Optimisation, and Mock Interview preparation.
• Mentorship - The feedback of their instructors and mentors on various portals is mostly negative, labelling the course quality as poor ("the trainer just reads from a PPT"), which makes choosing their course a risky decision to make.
• Price - Intellipaat’s Data Analytics Course costs ₹85,044/- and provides you with 7 months of training in 6 tools and 11 skills.
• Mode of Training - Intellipaat offers only online format of learning. There are only 50 live sessions, while the rest of the course is self-paced (pre-recorded sessions).
• Reviews - The reviews for Intellipaat online are mixed. Many reviews point out that the placement guarantee is not provided properly, and post-training support is lacking.
• Best For - Intellipaat’s course is ideal for working professionals who are looking for a certificate from IIT Roorkee to add to their resume. Due to the ambiguity around their PRT, this course is not suitable for freshers.

Overall Comparison

Let's see how these data analytics courses compare:

After comparing the curriculum, placement, mentorship, and pricing, we can conclude that ExcelR is the better choice for a data analytics course.

Conclusion

The best data analytics course for you depends on several factors.

• What mode of education (online or classroom) do you prefer?
• What duration of course is the best for you?
• How much do you want to spend on a course?
• Which skills do you want to develop?
• Are you already an experienced professional, or a fresher with no experience?

But if you look objectively, there is no doubt that ExcelR's Data Analytics Course is the best data analytics course for freshers and professionals alike. If you're still confused, why not get a free 1-on-1 career counselling session?