When are you ready?

[Comfy]

When are you an Advanced user and when are you a Pro?

In comparison to my work colleagues I would say I was advanced but I would never say I was a Pro.

In a friendly conversation about work a friend mentioned that I had lots to offer his/other businesses.

So now I'm in a bit of a quandary:

1. Stay in my current job (Public Sector - Finance), progression and training options are limited
2. Take the plunge and put the feelers out for a more BI focused role (Private Sector)

I'm leaning towards 1 at the moment because even though I think I am an advanced user I still feel I know nothing!

But in terms of PQ I'm already 3 years behind and don't want to wait longer to expand my knowledge of BI.

Help!
/Comfy

 

[sheetspread]

Take the plunge

^

 

[RoryA]

IMO, it never hurts to look around. Plus it's always good to get out of your Comfy zone.

Of course it can be a bit of a Catch 22 on the training front as many firms only want to hire people who already know the job skillset, rather than employing and then training them up. Though having said that, I can't remember the last time I took a job that I was technically qualified for...

 

[Comfy]

^

IMO, it never hurts to look around. Plus it's always good to get out of your Comfy zone.

Of course it can be a bit of a Catch 22 on the training front as many firms only want to hire people who already know the job skillset, rather than employing and then training them up. Though having said that, I can't remember the last time I took a job that I was technically qualified for...

Thanks for your input, let's see how far the rabbit hole goes

 

[Smitty]

It's really easy to get into Power BI, and there are tons of tutorials.

I'd definitely consider looking at Rob Collie's PowerPivot Pro site, and get his book on DAX functions. Rob was on the team that created PowerPivot before he left Microsoft.

But in terms of PQ I'm already 3 years behind

For PQ, take a look at Ken Puls Excel Guru site. He's got lots of tips, and he also spends a fair amount of time with it (and the PQ engineers).

As for taking the plunge, I wouldn't be where I am now if I hadn't made the tough decision to leave a Fortune 500 gig and go it on my own.

 

[Jon von der Heyden]

You have a local-ish guru on your doorstep, Chris Webb: Crossjoin Consulting

He's a really useful guy to know. I once called him up out of the blue and I found him very accommodating. Why not introduce yourself and get someone with the topic expertise and see what he suggests? I'm not suggesting you call, but you can always send him an email. That way he can ignore it if he finds it intrusive.

I'm sure he'll love me for making this suggestion.

 

[Comfy]

Thank you John, that's very encouraging.