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Analytics / BI

What does a BI Developer do?

Builds the reusable data models and governed dashboards behind the BI tool.

High demand Team: BI Developer Reports into: Internal Analytics

What they actually do

Builds Power BI datasets / Tableau data sources that many reports share.
Writes DAX measures or Tableau calculations; tunes performance.
Manages workspaces, refresh schedules, row-level security.
Sets dashboard design standards.

Hiring demand

High demand. Large, steady volume of postings across industries. A realistic target for an active job search.

Ad space

Who they work with

AnalystsAnalytics engineersBI admins in IT

Typical tools

Power BI (DAX, Power Query)TableauSQLGit

Skills to get there

Deep BI-tool expertise
Data modeling
Performance tuning
Dashboard UX

Title ladder

Common titles for this role at each level. Companies vary; see Role titles decoded.

Level	Typical titles
Entry	Junior / Associate BI Developer · BI Developer I
Mid	BI Developer · BI Developer II
Senior	Senior BI Developer · Lead BI Developer
Expert (IC track)	Staff / Principal BI Developer
Management track	Manager, BI Developer → Director of BI Developer → VP

See the free training path →

See current openings

Searching for: BI Developer · anywhere in the US · change

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How to get here

Salary (US) as of 2026-11

Median$91K

Typical range$67K–$134K

Sources:

Sources disagree: PayScale base median $91K vs Glassdoor total pay $134K (50 salaries). We record the larger-sample base figure as median and Glassdoor as the top of the range.

Experience to get here

Entry level1-3 years

Typical title3-6 years

Bachelor's in CS, IS, analytics or business is standard; one senior federal-contractor posting required a master's, which is unusual. Deep Power BI/Tableau portfolio work substitutes for credentials.

Typical prior roles

Data AnalystReporting AnalystSQL / Database DeveloperPower BI or Tableau specialist

Must have

Expert SQL and DAX (or Tableau calculations)
Semantic / data modeling (star schemas)
Row-level security, refresh schedules, workspace admin
Performance tuning of large datasets
Requirements gathering with stakeholders

Milestones people hit first

Built a shared semantic model that several reports reuse instead of each copying logic
Implemented row-level security for a sensitive dataset
Cut a slow report's load time by rewriting the model or DAX
Set dashboard design standards the team now follows

Certifications

Microsoft Certified: Power BI Data Analyst Associate (PL-300)Microsoft

Preferredin postings: often

Exam fee	$165
Training	free Microsoft Learn PL-300 path; paid instructor-led course optional
Renewal	$0; free online renewal assessment every 12 months
Typical total	$165-400

Time: 6-8 weeks at ~5 hrs/wk
Prerequisites: none formal; Power Query and DAX familiarity expected

Listed under 'desired skills' in Power BI developer postings; the de facto credential for the Microsoft BI stack.

Microsoft Certified: Fabric Analytics Engineer Associate (DP-600)Microsoft

Nice to havein postings: sometimes

Exam fee	not published
Training	free Microsoft Learn modules
Renewal	$0; free online renewal every 12 months
Typical total	exam fee varies by country (pricing on request)

Time: 100-minute exam; 6-8 weeks prep
Prerequisites: none listed

Fabric is where Microsoft is moving semantic models; postings increasingly pair Power BI with Fabric.

Salesforce Certified Tableau Data AnalystTableau (Salesforce)

Preferredin postings: sometimes

Exam fee	not published
Training	free Tableau training videos; Trailhead
Renewal	annual Tableau maintenance badge on Trailhead (third-party report)
Typical total	$200-250 exam (third-party sources conflict: $200 + $100 retake vs $250)

Time: 3-4 weeks at ~5 hrs/wk
Prerequisites: none listed

The equivalent credential in Tableau shops; architect/consultant tiers exist for senior BI devs.

SnowPro Core CertificationSnowflake

Nice to havein postings: rarely

Exam fee	$175
Training	free Snowflake Hands-On Essentials badges
Renewal	validity period not stated on vendor page
Typical total	$175 (third-party figure; vendor page does not list fees)

Time: 115-minute exam, 100 questions; 4-6 weeks of prep
Prerequisites: 6+ months of Snowflake use (candidate profile)

Useful when the BI layer sits on Snowflake and the BI dev tunes warehouse queries.

Training & learning

PL-300T00: Design and manage analytics solutions using Power BI FREE Microsoft Learn · learning path · free (self-paced) · 3-day course; ~72 hrs self-pacedOfficial prep for PL-300: Power Query, data modeling, DAX and Power BI service administration.
SQL Tutorial (foundational to advanced) FREE ThoughtSpot (formerly Mode) · course · free · 1-2 weeksSQL is in nearly every posting in this family; a free, browser-based path from basics to advanced queries.
The Data Warehouse Toolkit, 3rd ed. Kimball Group · book · book purchase (price not shown) · a few weeks, then referenceDimensional modeling (grain, facts, dimensions, SCDs) is the design vocabulary behind most marts and BI models.
Tableau free training videos FREE Tableau · course · free · about 1 hour of videos plus practiceFastest free path to a Tableau Public portfolio dashboard, which hiring managers ask for.
dbt Fundamentals FREE dbt Labs (dbt Learn) · course · free · about 5 hoursVendor's free on-ramp to models, tests and docs; follow with the free Jinja, materializations and refactoring courses.
Snowflake Hands-On Essentials badges FREE Snowflake · learning path · free · 6 workshops (hours per badge not listed)Free hands-on badges (warehousing, data lake, data engineering) that prove Snowflake skills before paying for SnowPro.

Sources & notes

No senior_or_manager figure sourced. DP-600 exam price is region-based on Microsoft's page (pricing on request). Levels.fyi BI Engineer page not available.

Figures are US, from the sources listed, and change often; verify before deciding.

Related roles

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