Business Analyst Jobs

Yes! Since business analyst jobs essentially require you to be fluent in both business strategy and data analysis, they are optimal careers in terms of stability, compensation, and future potential. The dual disciplines of business and tech are extremely challenging to master, and accordingly companies are loath to let even junior business analysts go unless they absolutely have to. Business intelligence careers are also more lucrative, on average, than most non-technical roles, starting out at just below six figures. And of course, once you have valuable work experience in the field, you’ll find many more roles open to you as a result, both in and out of tech.

As a junior business systems analyst, you’ll be able to tailor your career as it develops, with the benefit of being able to choose whether you focus on your technical skill set more, or your business skill set. Whether you decide to remain a generalist, or you’d like to upskill into a specialist position, the opportunities are excellent regardless. A few of the more common business systems analyst roles are:

• Business Systems Analyst: These experts work with the massive amounts of data generated by companies as an effect of doing business. They review this data to discern any patterns or trends that arise, making recommendations for technological improvements as needed.
• Senior Business Systems Analyst: Experienced and savvy, senior business systems analysts conduct deeper explorations into specific organizational processes, recommending optimizations for key systems, software, or operations as they deem necessary.
• Business Systems Architect: This leadership role requires a seasoned professional to own the creation of all the business’ architecture (which basically refers to the set of all of the processes a company uses). It’s a big job, but if you can do it to perfection, you’ll drive business results that must be seen to be believed!

Business data analyst jobs are exciting positions that let you collaborate with experts from across the organization to help guide the company’s next steps. Since every company runs slightly differently, with many possible business goals in mind, it can be challenging to create a one-to-one record of a day in the life of a ‘typical’ BA analyst. Here are a few generalized responsibilities you might be asked to take on:

• Review and understand key business requirements
• Interpret data models to comprehend the levers that may affect a given KPI
• Propose solutions addressing new strategies or edits to existing plans
• Measure and optimize outcomes of new and subsequent data-driven decisions to assess solution effectiveness

If your goal is to become an IT business analyst, you’ll need to make sure you have what companies are looking for in terms of qualifications and experience. While some tech-heavy roles may still not require much in the way of formal training, eschewing it in favor of real-world results, these jobs involve more than just tech, and so they’re each a little different. In general, to make a splash as a BI analyst, you’ll need:

• A bachelor’s degree, typically in a quantitative discipline (e.g., math, data science, or finance).
• A master’s degree is not required for most entry level positions, but attaining an MBA or master’s in data science may be to your benefit for senior roles.
• Related professional certifications like Google’s Data Analytics Professional Certificate and others.
• Proven work experience as a business analyst or similar role.
• Superior communication, teamwork, and problem-solving abilities.

Lots of industries are starting to recognize the potential in letting a specialist advise their decision making, and as a result some organizations are almost always hiring for BA roles. Since the skill set in question is so relatively rare, you might find that you don’t need this list of the best industries for BA jobs in your job search – but just in case, we’ll still post it here:

• Information Technology
• Management/Consulting
• Healthcare
• Banking/Finance
• eCommerce and Retail