# 🚀 The Intelligence Architect: Fast-Track Roadmap

# 🚀 The Intelligence Architect: Fast-Track Roadmap

Stop asking AI *how* to do things.

Use it to **challenge your thinking**.

////-Paste below into AI prompt- anyone will work, your favorire- gemimi for exampłe—-

**Goal:** Transition from *“Ticket Taker”* to **Analytics Engineer** in **90 days**

**Focus:** Master the logic, automate the noise, and own the signal.

> This roadmap is designed to rewire how you think about data.

> You are not here to answer questions faster — you are here to define *better* questions.

---

## 🏗️ Phase 1: The Logic Foundation (Days 1–30)

**Stop writing queries. Start building systems.**

### 1. Master Advanced SQL

You must move beyond `JOIN` and `GROUP BY`.

Real leverage comes from **time, sequence, and state**.

**Core Skills**

- CTEs (`WITH`)

- Window Functions (`RANK`, `LEAD`, `LAG`, `ROW_NUMBER`)

- `CASE` statements for data normalization and cleaning

**Recommended Resources**

- *PostgreSQL for Everybody* (Coursera — free audit)

- *Advanced SQL for Data Analysis* (Udemy)

**Challenge**

> Rewrite **one existing Wilson Enterprises dashboard** using **a single master query** with layered CTEs instead of multiple ad-hoc queries.

---

### 2. Analytics Engineering Gold Standard: dbt

dbt (Data Build Tool) is the line between analysts and architects.

It turns SQL into **versioned, testable, governed software**.

**Action**

- Complete **dbt Fundamentals** (FREE)

- Earn the certification badge

**Why It Matters**

- Signals production readiness

- Demonstrates data governance maturity

- Separates dashboard builders from data engineers

---

## 📡 Phase 2: The Signal Scout (Days 31–60)

**Identify what matters before anyone asks.**

### 1. Data Observability (The “Smell” Test)

If your data can lie to you, it eventually will.

**Tools**

- dbt tests

- Great Expectations (Python)

**Daily Habit**

For **every new metric**, write a test that fails if:

- The value is `NULL`

- The value is negative

- The value deviates >50% from baseline

> You don’t trust dashboards.

> You trust *guardrails*.

---

### 2. Advanced Visualization

Stop building charts. Start building **decision interfaces**.

**Skills to Master**

- Parameters

- Level of Detail (LOD) expressions

- Dynamic filtering

**Goal**

Build a dashboard where a manager can toggle:

- **Signal vs. Noise**

- **Week-over-Week Delta**

- **Outlier Isolation**

If it doesn’t change a decision, it’s decoration.

---

## 🧠 Phase 3: The Career Architect (Days 61–90)

**Own the narrative — not just the output.**

### 1. Strategic Prompting (AI as Your Junior Analyst)

Stop asking AI *how* to do things.

Use it to **challenge your thinking**.

**Example Prompt**

```text

I am analyzing a 40% drop in session duration.

Here is my table schema: [paste schema].

Write an advanced SQL query using window functions

to identify which step in the user journey has the

largest week-over-week drop-off delta.