GA Pre-Professional - Data Analyst - Spring 2027

Illinois State University; Normal (IL); On-site; USD 15,000 - 18,000; Part time

Job summary

Illinois State University is seeking a graduate assistant to support data analysis, validation, data warehouse development, data governance, and BI assignments. This onsite Spring 2027 role offers a monthly stipend of $1,510 and will focus on turning data into reliable reporting, documentation, and actionable insights.

You will assist with SQL development and analytics across multiple data sources, research BI and data warehouse solutions, and help create dashboards and reports.

Qualifications

• Eligible for appointment per the Graduate Assistant Handbook.
• Must be a degree-seeking graduate student at Illinois State University.
• Ability to gain knowledge in a variety of data sources.
• Experience with data analysis, data profiling, and data cleansing.
• Strong self-motivated analysis and problem-solving approach with ability to synthesize findings into communicable actions and recommendations.
• Ability to manage project-related tasks and monitor progress and results.
• Understanding of structured and semi-structured data solutions, and familiarity with operational and analytical database concepts.
• Able to read and write SQL queries.

Responsibilities

• Analyze data from multiple data sources.
• Develop and execute SQL queries to extract, transform, and analyze data.
• Identify trends, patterns, and insights for business and operational decision-making.
• Support ad hoc reporting and analytics requests.
• Perform data quality assurance testing to ensure data accuracy, consistency, and completeness.
• Validate data against established business requirements and specifications.
• Identify, research, troubleshoot, and resolve data discrepancies and inconsistencies.
• Assist in maintaining data quality standards and best practices.
• Support data governance through documentation and process improvement.
• Create and maintain documentation for databases, tables, fields, reports, dashboards, and data definitions.
• Assist in developing and maintaining data dictionaries and metadata documentation.
• Assist with development, maintenance, and enhancement of data warehouse structures.
• Support data integration processes between source systems and the data warehouse.
• Work with relational and dimensional data models to support reporting and analytics needs.
• Create dashboards, visualizations, and reports using business intelligence tools.
• Collaborate with staff to gather business requirements and translate them into analytical solutions.
• Support the design and implementation of data-driven solutions to meet organizational objectives.
• Perform other duties as assigned.
• Data analysis & reporting
• Data Quality & Validation
• Data Governance & Documentation
• Data Warehouse & Database Support
• Research & Business Intelligence
• Perform other duties as assigned

Skills

Data analysis

SQL development

Python

R

PowerBI

Tableau

Cognos

Data governance

BI reporting

Dashboard development

Tools

Oracle

SQL

Python

R

PowerBI

Tableau

Cognos

Job description

Illinois State University is seeking a graduate assistant to support data analysis, validation, data warehouse development, data governance, and business intelligence assignments. This onsite Spring 2027 role offers a monthly stipend of $1,510 and will focus on turning data into reliable reporting, documentation, and actionable insights.

You will assist with SQL development and analytics across multiple data sources, research BI and data warehouse solutions, and help create dashboards and reports. The position also includes data quality assurance and documentation efforts that support governance and long-term data usability.

Responsibilities

• Assist in analyzing data from multiple data sources.
• Develop and execute SQL queries to extract, transform, and analyze data.
• Identify trends, patterns, and insights that support business and operational decision-making.
• Support ad hoc reporting and analytical requests from stakeholders.
• Perform data quality assurance testing to ensure data accuracy, consistency, and completeness.
• Validate data against established business requirements and specifications.
• Identify, research, troubleshoot, and resolve data discrepancies and inconsistencies.
• Assist in maintaining data quality standards and best practices.
• Support data governance initiatives through documentation and process improvement efforts.
• Create and maintain documentation for databases, tables, fields, reports, dashboards, and data definitions.
• Assist in developing and maintaining data dictionaries and metadata documentation.
• Assist with the development, maintenance, and enhancement of data warehouse structures.
• Support data integration processes between source systems and the data warehouse.
• Work with relational and dimensional data models to support reporting and analytics needs.
• Create dashboards, visualizations, and reports using business intelligence tools.
• Collaborate with staff to gather business requirements and translate them into analytical solutions.
• Support the design and implementation of data-driven solutions to meet organizational objectives.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Requirements

• Eligible for appointment per the Graduate Assistant Handbook (http://hr.illinoisstate.edu/downloads/GA_Handbook.pdf).
• Must be a degree-seeking graduate student at Illinois State University.
• Ability to gain knowledge in a variety of data sources.
• Experience with data analysis, data profiling, and data cleansing.
• Strong self-motivated analysis and problem-solving approach with ability to synthesize findings into communicable actions and recommendations.
• Ability to manage project-related tasks and monitor progress and results.
• Understanding of structured and semi-structured data solutions, and familiarity with operational and analytical database concepts.
• Able to read and write SQL queries.

Tools & Technologies

• SQL
• Oracle
• Python
• R
• PowerBI
• Tableau
• Cognos

Job Duty Distribution

• 30% - Data Analysis & Reporting
• 20% - Data Quality & Validation
• 20% - Data Governance & Documentation
• 10% - Data Warehouse & Database Support
• 10% - Research & Business Intelligence
• 10% - Perform other duties as assigned

Preferred Qualifications

• Demonstrated experience with data analytics programming in Python or R.
• Demonstrated experience with data reporting tools such as PowerBI, Tableau, and/or Cognos.
• Demonstrated experience with statistical analysis and understanding of appropriate statistical methodologies.
• Familiarity with data governance concepts.

Compensation, Schedule, and Start Date

• Salary rate: $1,510 monthly stipend
• Work hours: TBD
• Proposed starting date: January 2027

Benefits

Benefits for Graduate Assistants can be found in the Graduate Assistant Handbook.

Required Applicant Documents

• Resume
• Cover Letter
• Reference List

Application Notes

• Benefits for Graduate Assistants can be found in the Graduate Assistant Handbook.
• If you have not yet been assigned a University ID, enter nine (9) zeros for the first question (000000000).
• You must be eligible for employment in the United States and at Illinois State University and/or for the number of hours required for the position.
• Illinois State University student employees are restricted to no more than 28 hours per week of on-campus employment for all positions held.
• International students are restricted by visa status to no more than 20 hours per week of on-campus employment when the university is in session, but may work up to 28 hours per week when the university is not in session. The University cannot grant exceptions to visa status rules/laws.

Additional Information

• This position is subject to a criminal background investigation, and if applicable, an employment history review (University Policy 3.1.30). Any offer is contingent upon passing a satisfactory criminal background investigation and/or employment history review.
• You may not begin work until results have been received and cleared by Human Resources.
• Illinois State University is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
• ADA accommodation requests can be made by contacting the Office of Equal Opportunity and Access at [phone].
• If you have difficulty accessing the system, call Human Resources at [phone].

Contact

Ben Mengarelli | [e-mail]