Generation Data: Tableau student license helps UW undergrad learn data analytics

Tableau's Academic Program continues their series Generation Data. Discover how Timothy Kim, a recent grad from the University of Washington, used his Tableau to excel during his internship at Concur Technologies.

Editor’s Note: This piece is part of the Generation Data series on the Tableau blog. At Tableau, we feel that data skills are essential for the next generation of professionals and business leaders. The Tableau Academic Program seeks to arm students with the valuable analytical skills needed to think strategically and make an impact, both academically and professionally. If you are a student, download your free Tableau license today to start learning data skills.

Midori Ng, from the Academic Programs team at Tableau, sat down with Timothy Kim, a recent graduate of University of Washington, to discuss how he learned Tableau during his internship at Concur.

When did you first learn about Tableau?

I heard some buzz about the software and first read about it in tech news. I was a student at the University of Washington, so I downloaded the student license to check it out. I ended up taking a field trip to the Tableau offices where I got some concrete examples of how people in the industry use it. This sparked my interest even more.

What resources did you use to learn Tableau?

If you’re self-learning, there’s plenty of existing Tableau documentation online. Community Forums were the first place I would go for questions I had about specific functions within Tableau. For more about designing a great visualization, how-to guides, and visualization trends, I explored the Tableau Blog and Zen Masters.

For example, I saw a post about how to make an interactive resume with Tableau and wanted to try it out myself. It didn’t take much time to follow the how-to guide and make my own (check it out on Tableau Public or LinkedIn). For those job hunting or those who want a first step into the world of data visualization, this is a great way to start.

What excites you most about Tableau and visual analytics?

There is so much data. The next step is for people to learn the proper solutions, like Tableau, to convey insights in a meaningful way. I’m excited for data visualization to become a tool anyone can use and leverage to communicate more effectively with each other.

Data visualization and visual analytics has the potential to reach mass adoption very quickly. For students specifically, Tableau is a valuable skill to learn while you have free resources and a student license.

Join the students of Generation Data and download your free Tableau for Students license today to start learning data skills.