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Level Up Your Data Analytics Skillset with These 3 Data Tools (That Don’t Cost A Dime)

Today, I’m sharing three tools that will help you on your data analytics journey.

This is important because it’s critical to master the fundamentals of the Modern Data Analytics Tech Stack and tools like the ones I’ll share below help make that journey easier.

With these tools, you’ll:

  • See and understand your data in new ways
  • Share your work with others
  • Generate datasets with ease

Thanks to Gigasheet for sponsoring this post.

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Don’t take the hard way here. Use these tools to save time.

Most beginners don’t bother thinking beyond the basics.

This is because they are happy just working through tutorial after tutorial – without a problem-solving mindset to go along with it.

  • Find yet another YouTube video
  • Save that blog to Notion (again)
  • Bookmark Twitter threads and do nothing

But there are two types of data analysts out there: action takers and sideliners.

The good news is that you can be an action-taker.

And these tools will help:

Tool #1: DB Fiddle

DB Fiddle is my go-to choice for sharing SQL code with others.

For example, here are some “fiddles” I’ve created for my SQL case studies:

How you can use it

  • Share code for your portfolio or resume that can actually be run
  • Quickly work through SQL problems from your web browser

What I like

I really like that it’s easy to use.

I can drop in a huge amount of SQL code to execute and it just works.

I also like the sharing capabilities.

I can give each script a name and then share it with others (like you!)

It’s got a great UI, too.

The left panel is where you put Schema SQL and the right panel is where you put Query SQL. I use this to fire up a quick database and then provide some sample queries when teaching others.

It’s the best SQL-sharing tool I’ve found.

What I don’t like

I would like better error handling.

There are sometimes when I have a bug in my code and DB Fiddle provides a basic error message. Not a big deal for shorter snippets, but I have to use a more robust tool for longer scripts.

I’d also like better export options.

Right now, your Query results are displayed in a panel below. There are some decent export options, but I need HTML export to share my code with others in my newsletters and online.

My workaround for that is to highlight and then copy/paste.

It works okay but could be improved.

Learn more:

Tool #2: DB Diagram

DB Diagram is an online ERD tool.

ERD stands for “entity relationship diagram” and it’s how you can see all of the relationships in your database.

For example, if you have a schema with 17 tables (which I do!) you can upload some SQL, and DB Diagram will create the ERD.

Here’s a simpler example:

How you can use it

  • Add graphical displays of your database work to your portfolio or resume
  • Share a quick overview of your database schema with your colleagues

What I like

I love how fast it is and how it looks. It’s a very clean UI that does its thing and gets out of the way.

I can import a bunch of CREATE TABLE statements and have a great-looking ERD in seconds.

I also like how it’s so easy to use. I can drag and drop my tables around so they make sense in my mind.

What I don’t like

The auto-arrange feature is not great.

They display a warning if you try it because it completely re-arranges the tables (as it says) but I just don’t think it works very well.

I also wish there were more things I could do in the ERD and have that reflected in the code. For example, if I want to add a new column to one of the tables, I have to do that in the code and then refresh the ERD.

Learn more:

Tool #3: Mockaroo

Mockaroo lets you create a lot of fake data very quickly.

It’s not something I use very often, but when you need to create large amounts of data very fast, it does the trick very well.

For example, if you wanted to add a data analytics project to your portfolio related to the travel industry, you could use Mockaroo to generate 1,000s of records with any column you need.

Mockaroo just added AI generation, too.:

Learn more

Don’t make your data learning journey more difficult than it needs to be.

Use these tools to boost your creativity on your next project!

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