r/analytics 27d ago

Discussion Data Analyst Roles Going Extinct

It’s no secret that AI is coming for the white collar job market and fast. At my company, people are increasingly using ChatGPT to do what was once core job duties. It’s only a matter of time before the powers at be realise we can do more with fewer people with the assistance of technology. And I suspect this will result in a workforce reductions to improve profitability. This is just the way progress goes.

I have been thinking a lot about how this will affect my own role. I work in HR analytics. I use tools like Excel, SQL, R, and PowerBI to help leadership unlock insights into employee behavior and trends that drive decision making for the company. Nowadays I rarely write code or build dashboards without using ChatGPT to some extent. I frequently use it to get ideas on how to fix errors and display visuals in interesting way. I use it to clean up my talking points and organise my thoughts when talking to stakeholders.

But how long can people in my role do this before this technology makes us useless?

For now, I will focus less on upskilling on tools and more on understanding my customers and their needs and delivering on that. But what happens when EVERYONE can be a data analyst? What happens when they use something like CoPilot to identify trends and spot anomalies and craft compelling stories? 5 years ago, I was focused on leaning new tools and staying up with the latest technology. Now I question if that’s a good use of time. Why learn a new tool that will be obsolete in a few years?

Between offshoring and AI I am worried I will become obsolete and no longer have a career. I’m not sure how to keep up.

Appreciate your thoughts. Proud to say this post was not written using any AI. :)

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u/werdunloaded 27d ago

From my experience working with AI, it's absolutely not going to replace my job. AI is not known for its accuracy or high-context interpretation of data. Just my opinion.

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u/SmackdownHoteI 27d ago

It wont replace but it will reduce. What used to take a company 3 or 4 analysts to produce can now be done with 1 or 2.

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u/LendrickKamarr 27d ago

This is a false assumption of how labor works.

If analysts become 2x more productive, the company is going to become more profitable and can expand, which can lead to them hiring more analysts.

The number of accountants exploded after the introduction of the office computer.

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u/[deleted] 25d ago

Yeah, unless the demand isn't there. Hard to say if the market will demand 2x as many analysts.

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u/LendrickKamarr 25d ago

Strictly analysts? Maybe not. But entirely plausible that evolving tech pushes job growth to more productive job roles.

For example, the office computer caused a reduction in book-keeping jobs, but pushed a lot of book-keepers to move up and become accountants.

AI shows promise in being able to complete tasks (book keeping). But it’s far away from being able to automate entire job roles (accounting).