My learning path for Power BI
Power BI is a data visualization tool from Microsoft. It has been positioned as a Leader in the 2022 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Analytics and Business Intelligence Platforms.
The basics of Power BI are easy to learn in a short period of time. However, to master Power BI, you need to invest time and effort consistently. There are a lot of free resources available for learning Power BI and sometimes it could be difficult to know where to start. I have given here the learning path that worked for me.
Learning the basics of Power BI
You can start with the Microsoft Learn pathway for Power BI. This gives a good foundation for Power BI. The documentation on Power BI from Microsoft is also quite good.
Youtube channels
There are a lot of suitable quality materials on Power BI available for free on youtube from experts. It is worth watching any videos from the below-listed channels. These are my go-to resources whenever I need answers to a specific question. Of course, during your Power BI journey, you will also figure out additional valuable resources; please do share them in the comments.
Curbal by Ruth Pozuelo Martinez
Power BI monthly feature updates, visualization, DAX
https://www.youtube.com/@CurbalEN
Guy in a Cube by Patrick Leblanc & Adam Saxton
Has videos almost every week with analysis and visualization challenges and solutions.
Whenever you get an opportunity, you can pick any videos from the above two channels, and there is always something new you will learn that will help you in gaining a strong foundation.
You probably don’t need the below channels at the start, but these will be beneficial resources when you start advancing your knowledge on Power BI
Data modeling and DAX — SQL BI by gurus Alberto Ferrari & Marco Russo
Power Query BI Gorilla by Rick de Groot
Goodly by Chandeep Chabra
I used this channel extensively to learn about Power Query. Clearly explains how the different functions work. I stumbled upon this channel when I tried to learn list.accumulate and found the explanation clear and easy to understand.
Datasets, Dataflow, Usage metrics Radacad by Reza Rad
https://www.youtube.com/@RADACAD
DAX, Time Intelligence calculations Enterprise DNA by Sam McKay, CFA
Data visualization challenges
One way to apply your knowledge and gain experience are to participate in data visualization challenges. You can also build your portfolio of projects which you can showcase. You also learn a lot from your peers.
Here are a few that I recommend:
After completing the Microsoft learning path and working with Power BI on various data visualization challenges, you will be confident enough to take the PL-300 exam and get the Microsoft-certified Power BI Data analyst associate title.
How to further deepen the knowledge?
I will address them in a separate post.
