What Can You Do With a Degree in Business Analytics?
A degree in business analytics is designed to prepare students for a role where they will be analyzing and interpreting data. Today, this is an extremely desirable skill that can be valuable to companies in a wide range of different industries. If you are interested in getting this degree qualification, then learning the career options that you can get into with this qualification can be useful for helping you choose one that best fits your future goals and aspirations. Keep reading to find out more about a business analytics degree and some of the potential career paths that you can take with this qualification.
What is a Degree in Business Analytics?
A business analytics degree will prepare you to work in a professional role with businesses to collect and interpret data for the purpose of improving operations and staffing. As a student of business analytics, you will have the chance to learn a wide range of valuable and beneficial skills for your future business career including analytical skills, project management skills, communication skills, problem-solving skills, and more.
As a graduate of business analytics, you will have the opportunity to work in a wide range of different industries including with technology companies, consulting agencies, in the public sector, or with research firms. There are also countless opportunities to further your education with a master’s program like this advanced business analytics degree, doctorate programs professional certifications, and more. Some students focus more on the business side as graduates, for example, by pursuing an MBA. You can also find MBA programs with a concentration on business analytics or business intelligence.
What Career Options Are Available to Business Analytics Graduates?
When you have a business analytics degree, you can get into a wide range of different careers. Some of the most popular career opportunities that you may want to consider as a business analytics graduate include:
Data Architect
The role of a data architect involves identifying a company’s data collection needs before they design and program a data management system. They are responsible for determining the most efficient method of collecting data both internally and externally, along with streamlining data reporting systems. Many data architects are also responsible for troubleshooting and updating the programs.
Statistician
A statistician is responsible for applying or creating mathematical concepts to develop reports and make recommendations for improvement. These professionals are needed in various different industries to improve the way that a company collects vital data. They may also be responsible for summarizing data into reports that are understandable and easy to read, to help business leaders make the best decisions on behalf of the company.
Computer Systems Analyst
A computer systems analyst is responsible for making recommendations on both software and hardware. They may also be tasked with the evaluation of current systems to identify any areas that could be improved, or more efficient strategies for using them. Most of the time, a computer systems analyst will also be responsible for the overall upkeep and maintenance of computer program security.
Financial Analyst
A financial analyst will primarily focus on financial reports and accounting to make recommendations to the company on how to improve profit and revenue. These professionals may also create reports to keep businesses informed of the previous years’ performances. They also play a key part in planning meetings and identifying any areas where profits could be improved.
Market Research
A market research analyst is tasked with using data to get a better understanding of industry trends and market conditions. They will use the data to make recommendations on the types of products and services that are most in-demand or the best time to release a new product or service. The role may also involve measuring the success of previous marketing campaigns to make recommendations for improvement to help companies get better future results.
Quantitative Analyst
The role of a quantitative analyst involves recording and applying statistical and mathematical methods to reduce the risk of a business. They are tasked with developing detailed models to help companies make crucial financial decisions with the main goal of improving revenue. They may also be responsible for helping business managers and leaders collect data that relates to areas such as product and service pricing or funding.
Data Scientist
A data scientist is an advanced professional who uses a combination of mathematical and scientific skills to evaluate and interpret data. They will often use this information to create reporting models that are used by a company to determine and create various goals. If you decide to get into this role, you may also be responsible for determining data-driven solutions to a wide range of complex business problems. An advanced degree is usually required to work as a data scientist.
Business Analyst
A business analyst’s main responsibility is to use data to analyze the current processes of a company. Their primary focus is on products, services, and the various systems that employees use to conduct day-to-day business operations. They may also be responsible for evaluating and analyzing trends, creating reports, and using the information that they gather to make data-driven recommendations.
Programmer Analyst
A programmer analyst is responsible for making recommendations of the best software applications for a business. This could involve testing current programs, developing new ones, or making sure that the programs that are currently used by the company are well-maintained. In this role, you may also be responsible for updating coding and troubleshooting existing computer programs.
Consultant
A consultant can work in a range of different industries to help their clients collect and interpret important and valuable data. Consultants may also be responsible for providing assistance to clients to help them collect the data that is most in line with their goals and objectives. They may make recommendations on new products or provide advice to help clients upgrade their current business systems.
Operations Research
An operations research analyst is responsible for collecting data and creating modelling reports that are used to present information to business leaders. The main goal in this role is to identify areas that could be improved and optimize production and employee efficiency. In this role, you may be using a range of mathematical and analytical skills to solve a broad range of business problems.
Soft Skills You Need as a Business Analytics Professional
No matter which business analytics career you decide to get into after graduating with your degree in business analytics, your education should be accompanied by a strong skill-set to help you get the most from your work. The data landscape has significantly changed over the past few years, which has made it harder for professionals to figure out where their growth is best focused. However, despite the changes in this field, there are several core business analytics soft skills and qualities that you should focus on developing to build a solid foundation for your future career.
Communication
Good communication skills are central to any career in business analytics since you will need to be able to present your findings in a manner that is clear and concise. Often, business analytics professions are the middle-man between the data and employees or business leaders, so it’s important that you can explain complex ideas and present data in a way that is easy for anybody to understand. This skill is fundamental to making sure that everybody involved has a solid understanding of the insights gained and can easily put your recommendations into practice. When you work in business analytics, you will need to be skilled at telling a story using data with strong presentation and writing skills.
Problem Solving
Working in business analytics means that you will be using a combination of predictive analytics, statistics, and logical thinking in your line of work. Together, you will use these to make recommendations to your employer or clients to solve problems and drive business growth. In a career path that is focused on turning raw data into actionable insights and real solutions for the future, it is essential to be skilled at problem-solving.
Curiosity
To be successful in a business analytics career, it can be very helpful to have a natural curiosity and a drive to learn as much as possible and figure out how everything fits together. Even if you are interested in moving up from an analyst role into a managerial or leadership position, it is important to be curious about learning as you will need to stay up to date with the industry and its changes over time.
Critical Thinking
Any business analytics professional needs to have the ability to think critically about the data that they collect, and the data that they should be collecting. In these roles, you will be expected to find, analyze, and highlight only data that serves a purpose in making decisions or improvements.
Big Picture Thinking
A successful business analytics professional is somebody who is able to not only see the bigger picture, but also the small details. While you will need the ability to handle complex data as a key part of your career, you will also need to have a solid understanding of how your findings and recommendations are going to affect the company’s bottom line.
Visualization
Strong visualization skills are crucial to a successful role in business analytics since disorganized data is not useful to anybody. In these roles, you are required to create value from data, which involves translating and visualizing the data in a way that is accurate, concise, and easy to understand.
Technical Skills for a Business Analytics Career
In a business landscape that is quickly becoming centered around big data, it’s not only important to have a range of soft skills to be successful in these roles, but also strong technical skills that will help you translate raw data sources into tangible solutions and improvements. While you can learn many of these skills during the process of getting your degree in business analytics, it can pay off to focus on improving them in your spare time, for example, with coding bootcamps and professional certifications. Some of the most in-demand technical skills for business analytics professionals include:
Statistical Software
Although knowing programming languages is helpful for a business analytics career, it may or may not be required depending on the role that you want to get into. Business analysts, for example, are not usually required to write code while you may find that careers as a data scientist or data architect will require you to have a solid grasp of programming languages like Python. Along with this, no matter what career path you choose, you should have a solid understanding of various statistical software programs such as Sage, SPSS, SAS, and even Microsoft Excel.
Statistical Languages
There are two common programming languages that are worth becoming familiar with if you are interested in a future career in business analytics. These include Python, which is used for general programming, and R, which is used for statistical analysis. Whether a knowledge of these languages will be required will depend on the exact career role that you are interested in, but even if they are not required, they are certainly desirable and can help you find more employment and advancement opportunities.
SQL
SQL is a database coding language and one of the most important tools that you will have access to as a business analytics professional. Many career roles in business analytics will involve writing SQL queries that are used to extract and analyze data from transactions databases, before developing visualizations, recommendations, and more to present to key stakeholders.
Today, data is the most important and valuable commodity in the world, so it should be no surprise that there are lots of different career paths to consider once you have graduated with a business analytics degree. Whether you are interested in a career finding the questions or finding the answers, business analytics education and skills are some of the most sought-after in the world today. You can find work in a variety of different industries and for companies of all sizes.
