How to Learn Power BI From Scratch in 2025
How I Would Learn Power BI Fast (if I could start over)
Hey friends - Happy Tuesday! ✌️
I get this question all the time: “Baraa, how do I actually learn Power BI? Where should I start?”
Even though I’m deep into building the Python course right now, I didn’t want to leave you hanging.
So last weekend, I took some time to map out exactly how I would learn Power BI if I was starting from scratch. I hunted down the best resources, built a Notion roadmap, even recorded a video… and here we are 🙂
🧠 What is a BI Tool (And Why Not Just Use Excel?)
Let’s start at the top.
BI stands for Business Intelligence. A BI tool is basically software that helps you turn raw data into beautiful visuals- think charts and dashboards that actually mean something.
You might ask: “But can’t I just use Excel for that?”
Honestly, Excel is great for quick insights and smaller datasets. But once things get serious - big data, lots of users, interactive dashboards—you need a real BI tool. Power BI handles massive data, loads of chart types, lightning-fast queries, and you can publish your reports for anyone to use.
Power BI is one of the most popular BI tools in the world right now—and for good reason.
👥 Who Actually Uses Power BI?
Data analysts create dashboards and reports to answer business questions.
Data scientists use it to quickly visualize results and share findings with non-technical teams.
Data engineers (yep, even us) use Power BI to monitor pipelines or system logs—makes it way easier to spot issues.
Students build dashboards for class projects or to practice real-world skills (great for your CV).
And honestly, I even use Power BI for my personal life - to track expenses, budget, and finances. Super flexible!
If you work with numbers, chances are Power BI can make your life easier.
🏗️ The 5 Core Layers of Power BI
Before you build any dashboard in Power BI, you’ll always move through these five key layers:
Power Query: Connect to your data sources and clean up the data.
Modeling: Organize your tables and set up relationships between them.
DAX: Create custom calculations and measures for deeper insights.
Visualization: Build clear, interactive dashboards and reports.
Share: Publish your dashboards online so others can view and use them.
🚀 My Step-by-Step Power BI Learning Plan
Alright, here’s how I’d do it if I was starting Power BI from scratch today - no endless tutorials, no overthinking. I’d just jump in, get my hands dirty, and focus on actually building stuff that matters. Here’s my step-by-step plan:
Phase 1: Playground Mode (1-2 hours) 🕹️
Just get familiar (Skip the complicated stuff! )
Install Power BI Desktop.
Connect any a sample CSV (literally any dataset).
Go straight to the “Report” view, drag and drop a few visuals. Build a chart. Change the color. Mess around!
Phase 2: Building Confidence (1 week) 💪
Learn Data Modeling & DAX
Connect multiple small files (sales, customers, products…).
Start learning about Data Modeling:
What’s a table?
What’s a relationship?
Try building a star schema (fact table in the middle, dimensions around it).
DAX basics:
Learn how to create simple calculations (total sales, average price).
Don’t stress about all the formulas—just get the basics down.
Keep playing with visuals—make your first mini dashboard!
Phase 3: Deep Dive (2–3 weeks) 🏊♂️
Deep dive into each Power BI layer
Connect bigger dataset (thousands of rows, messy real-world stuff).
Power Query: Clean your data (remove nulls, rename columns, filter out noise).
Solid data model: Build relationships, fix any errors.
Go deeper in DAX: Try a few advanced formulas.
Dashboard polish: Add bookmarks, slicers, interactivity.
Sharing: If possible learn PowerBI Premium
🎁 Ready to Start?
If you’re ready to dive in and start building with Power BI, here are some of my favorite resources to get you moving:
🗺️ Roadmap
▶️ Courses
🏅 Certifications
🗂️ Datasets
▶️ Youtube
Thanks for reading! 🙏
Now go make some progress. If this helps you, let me know—and if you want more content like this, just reply or leave a comment.
Let’s go.
—Baraa
Hey friends —
I’m Baraa. I’m an IT professional and YouTuber.
My mission is to share the knowledge I’ve gained over the years and to make working with data easier, fun, and accessible to everyone through courses that are free, simple, and easy!