You’re probably interested in business analytics careers if you’re reading this. And why not? This field is overgrowing and offers excellent opportunities for those with the correct skillset. Today’s article will introduce you to some of the most common business analytics jobs. We’ll also discuss the skills required for each position and provide some tips on preparing yourself for a successful career in business analytics!
The Basics of Business Analytics
In simple terms, business analytics is the practice of using data to make informed business decisions. The process can be used to improve business performance by identifying areas of improvement and implementing solutions that can address these issues.
Business analytics generally falls into four categories: descriptive, diagnostic, predictive and prescriptive. To fully understand business analytics, you need to be familiar with all four types. However, most business analysts only focus on one or two types of analytics.
Still, knowing the basics is essential, as it will guarantee that you have a strong foundation for your future business analytics career.
Descriptive Analytics
The first type is all about describing what has happened in the past. This type of analytics is used to provide insights into business performance by analyzing the organization’s existing data and identifying patterns. Descriptive analytics is the simplest form as it only implies data aggregation and mining. It helps investors, shareholders, and business owners get an overview of the business’s performance.
Diagnostic Analytics
Diagnostic analytics find the inefficiencies within an organization so they can be addressed correspondingly. This type of analytics is focused on identifying the root cause of business problems. It goes beyond data aggregation and involves a deep analysis of business processes.
While applying diagnostic analytics to your business matters, you will get a chance to spot the probabilities and likelihoods of business-related issues and events.
Predictive Analytics
While the previous two types were mainly concerned with the present and past, predictive analytics deals with the future. This type of analytics uses historical data to identify trends and predict future business performance.
Predictive analytics is used to forecast business outcomes, such as sales figures, customer behavior, and future market trends. This type of analytics is essential for business planning and decision-making.
Prescriptive Analytics
The final approach provides recommendations on what should be done to achieve specific business goals. Prescriptive analytics takes predictive analytics one step further by using data and algorithms to generate recommendations for optimizing business processes.
This type of analytics can be used to automate business decisions and improve business efficiency.
Business Analytics Careers to Pursue
Business analysts are the so-called data angels that help companies improve their operations and processes by analyzing and interpreting data and making business recommendations based on their findings.
A business analyst is, therefore, responsible for bridging the gap between business and IT. They need to have a deep understanding of business processes and technical systems to communicate effectively with companies and IT stakeholders.
If you consider yourself a strong candidate for a business analyst position, you should focus on developing your business acumen and technical skills. We will further explore some of the most common jobs in business analytics and discover the main duties for each.
System Administrator
Average Annual Salary: $76,277
Systems administrators (sometimes called server administrators) are responsible for the smooth operation of computer networks. They install and configure computer systems, diagnose hardware and software problems, and provide technical support to users.
Business analytics majors can find jobs as systems administrators in various industries, including healthcare, finance, and manufacturing.
Market Research Analyst
Average Annual Salary: $51,236
Market researchers need to possess strong analytical skills in order to be able to collect and interpret data effectively. They use their findings to help organizations understand their target audience’s needs and wants and make business decisions accordingly.
If you’re interested in a career as a market research analyst, then you should focus on developing your research and analytical skills, as well as have a good sense of monitoring and forecasting trends.
Statistician
Average Annual Salary: $87,411
While working as a statistician, you will be responsible for data analysis and interpretation through mathematical formulas and statistical techniques. Polls, experiments and surveys are some of the most common data sources that business analytics majors use to generate business insights.
Statisticians help big corporations and governments make better business decisions by analyzing and interpreting data. If you want to pursue a career as a statistician, you should focus on developing your mathematical and statistical skills.
Information Security Analyst
Average Annual Salary: $92,767
Information security analysts work in private and public sectors supporting the development and implementation of security policies and procedures. They are responsible for ensuring that computer networks and systems are secure from unauthorized access or theft.
Cyber security skills are essential for business analytics majors who want to pursue a career as an information security analyst.
If you’re interested in this field, you should consider investing in self-education and learning a coding language. Not only will this make you a more attractive candidate to potential employers, but it will also give you a better understanding of how computer systems work and how to secure them from hackers. WildLearner has custom-tailored and easy-to-follow free courses for everyone who wants to learn a coding language and upscale their professionalism.
Business Analytics Career Pitfalls
While business analytics is a rapidly growing field with many opportunities, there are also some potential pitfalls that future employees should be aware of before deciding to pursue a career in this field. Let’s go through the main challenges that you may encounter:
- Automation: As businesses become more data-driven, they are investing in software that can automate tasks previously done by human employees. This means that machines in the future may replace business analysts. To avoid being replaced by a machine, business analytics majors should focus on developing their interpersonal and soft skills and business acumen.
- Big Data: The business analytics field is driven by big data. This can be both a good and a bad thing. On the one hand, it provides business analytics majors many opportunities to find jobs in various industries. On the other hand, it also means that business analytics majors need to have strong technical skills in order to be able to analyze and interpret data.
- Lack of Team Spirit: Another potential pitfall of working in business analytics is the lack of team spirit. Teamwork helps independently working professionals focus on developing their interpersonal skills to communicate with their colleagues and build strong working relationships.
The Bottom Line
Business analytics is a rapidly growing field with many opportunities. Business analytics majors can find jobs in various industries, including market research, information security, and customer service. Still, being aware of the potential pitfalls of working in this field will help future professionals develop as well-rounded business analytics experts.
Which business analytics career path are you considering? Share your thoughts with other like-minded people from our community!
