Visualisation – R is especially renowned for its data visualisation tools (particularly the famous ggplot2 package), that a number of major organisations now produce all of their data visualisations using them, including the BBC and the New York Times.
On that last point, one of the first big things I did with R was to create a custom template using ggplot2 for making data visualisations which carry IF branding (such as this one from our recent research austria rcs data into how what young adults spend their money on has shifted over time), which has enhanced our brand-awareness and made it easier for us to publicise our research on social media.
Although I still have much more to learn about R (and I’m also now learning SQL, another programming language, as well), I’ve found the experience of learning how to programme absolutely fascinating, and I’ve already felt the benefits from it within my research career, as I’ve recently started working part-time as a Senior Research and Statistical Analyst in the Demography Team at the Greater London Authority (alongside my role at IF), where the entire team uses R for the vast majority of its data analysis and visualisation projects.
Overally, I would thoroughly recommend learning R to anybody who works with data, as its now widely used within academia, the public sector and the commercial world, and because it is both freely accessible and tremendously powerful once you’ve overcome some of the initial learning-curve.