How to pursue a career in business analytics?

Business analytics is a vast field and an important tool in modern business organizations. Analytics is a process that enables us to make data-driven decisions to improve our business performance. If you are looking to develop your career in this field then we must say, it is worth a try! In fact, business analytics has been one of the trending careers these days. There are many ways through which you can get into this field like getting an undergraduate or master’s degree or going for a diploma or certifications in the same.

Here, we will provide you all the information about careers in the field of business analytics. We will go through all the information you need before you set your foot into the field. So, let us get started by understanding the basics.

What is Business Analytics?

Business analytics is a data management solution and business intelligence subset, referring to the use of methodologies such as data mining, predictive analytics, and statistical analysis in order to analyze and transform data into useful information, identify and anticipate trends and outcomes, and ultimately make smarter, data-driven business decisions.

Career paths for Business Analysts

Some of the opportunities that one can explore in this field are –

Firstly, IT Business Analyst

As data collection increases and technology continues to develop, the role of the IT business analysts is expanding as well. Job descriptions are developing beyond IT and software to include business components with the ability to focus on the strategy aspect of their roles – and this transition presents a spike in career opportunities.

In addition, Data Analysis Scientist

If you have a knack for picking apart collected data, drawing up actionable insights, and putting together pieces of the big data puzzle, check out the growing path of a data analyst scientist. Data analyst scientists are extraordinarily hard to find, given the combination of necessary skill sets and the requirement of data science education.

Also, Business Analyst Manager

It takes a team of organized analysts to develop, implement, and collect data, and business analyst managers hold the responsibility of overseeing their ongoing education and coaching.

Furthermore, Quantitative Analyst

Think of a quantitative data analyst as someone who develops, implements, and presents mathematical models to support financial decisions on risk management, investments, and pricing structures. Commonly referred to as “quants”, their #1 goal is to reduce business risks while setting up maximum profits for brands.

Moreover, Data Business Analyst

If you’re a numbers person who excels in statistics, programming, and research skills, a data business analyst position could be for you. These professionals work with large sets of data to identify trends, develop charts, and create visual presentations to assist with business making decisions. Employers tend to seek data business analysts with a graduate level degree in business-related fields and career experience.

Why choose Business Analytics as a Career?

Business Analytics is an important tool for modern businesses. This will teach you data analytics to avoid common pitfalls in a business & become a leader in business organizations. Moreover, It covers the topics like decision models, statistics, probability, predictive modelling, data visualization, regression analysis, forecasting, data mining, optimization and decision analysis to enable you to meet challenges related to analyzing business data.

Skills required to become a Business Analyst

There are no specific set of skills that this profession demands. However, there are certain set of skills that can make your journey more interesting and more successful if you develop them into yourself. Some of these skills are –

• Firstly, Oral and written communication skills
• Also, Interpersonal and consultative skills
• In addition, Facilitation skills
• Also, Analytical thinking and problem solving
• Subsequently, Being detail-oriented and capable of delivering a high level of accuracy
• Furthermore, Organizational skills
• Moreover, Knowledge of business structure and Stakeholder analysis
• In addition, Requirements engineering
• Also, Costs benefit analysis
• Furthermore, Processes modeling and Understanding of networks, databases and other technology

Let us now look at what roles and responsibilities a business analyst is expected to carry on during his job.

Roles and responsibilities of a Business Analyst

Business analysts are responsible for creating new models that support business decisions by working closely with financial reporting and technology teams to establish initiatives and strategies to improve importing and to optimize costs. A business analyst typically deals with the following set of responsibilities –

• Firstly, Creating a detailed business analysis, outlining problems, opportunities and solutions for a business
• Secondly, Budgeting and forecasting
• Also, Planning and monitoring
• In addition, Variance analysis
• Also, Pricing
• Subsequently, Reporting
• Last but not least, Defining business requirements and reporting them back to stakeholders

There are numerous way through which you can get into this field. Obviously, each way requires full dedication and hard work from your end. Let us look at different ways through which you can set your foot into this field.

Let us now look at the market demand of a business analyst and average salary for this post.

Market demand

A Certified Business Analytics Candidate will find employment in Top MNC’s and organizations like Groupon, Amazon India, TCS, Accenture, Exide Life Insurance, Mastercard, JP Morgan Chase. This field involves teaching you about the basics concepts of business analytics, its application & usefulness to businesses. You will gain the skills to improve performance using data, statistical & quantitative analysis & predictive modelling to make important decisions.

The average salary for an IT business analyst is $67,762 per year, according to data from PayScale. The highest-paid BAs are in San Francisco, where the average salary is 28 percent higher than the national average. New York is second, with reported salaries 18 percent higher than the national average; Boston comes in third, with a 7 percent higher annual pay.

How to start a career in Business Analytics?

No way can beat the actual experience of working into the field. But before you get along the way of gathering experiences, let us get to know the ways through which you can get a start in best possible way –

Getting an undergraduate degree in the field of business analytics

You can get an undergraduate degree right after completing your class 12th. You can begin your career in this field through this and after getting started, you will be promoted to the position of a manager after some time.

Getting a masters’ or PGDM in Business analytics

Going for post graduation in this field becomes essential after a point of time. However, it is highly recommended that candidates gain some practical experience of this field or in general, dealing with the analytics, before they go for a master’s degree course. You can go for PGDM in business analytics or in business administration.

Certification courses by verified sites or educators like Vskills, Udemy, Coursera etc.

The certification courses from various vendors as Vskills, Udemy, Coursera etc. are becoming very popular. The certifications have emerged as real currency of 21st century which can be used to secure a real job. Many companies hire the certified candidates. Certification also help you get an edge over others in the same domain no matter if you are already working in this domain or have started fresh in this domain.

Internships and apprenticeship programs

You can also do various internships or apprenticeship programs to gain experience in this field because at one point it becomes essential to have practical knowledge along with the theoretical knowledge for getting a job. So, instead of getting a job which is less paid just because you lack experience, you should do a lot of internships or apprenticeship programs.

Out of all the above mentioned ways, certifications seems to be the best resources which will help you gain in the best possible way and that too in minimum available time. Let us have a look at one of the verified certification on business analytics by VSkills.

How to become a Certified Business Analytics Professional?

Vskills Business Analytics certification will enable you to improve business performance using data, statistical analysis, quantitative analysis & predictive modeling to make important decisions. With such advances organisations can make effective decisions about pricing, marketing & products. Major corporations have started using Business Analytics to efficiently run their organisation.

This certification will teach you the basics of business analytics, it’s application & usefulness to businesses. You will gain the skills to improve performance using data, statistical & quantitative analysis & predictive modelling to make important decisions.

Study & Learn

• R Programming language and Decision Analysis
• Linear & integer Optimization
• Data Mining
• Simulation & Risk Analysis
• Forecasting Techniques
• Regression Analysis
• Predictive Modeling
• Statistical Inference
• Probability Distributions, Sampling & Estimation
• Descriptive Statistical Measures
• How to Visualize data

Test Details

• Duration: 60 minutes
• No. of questions: 50
• Maximum marks: 50, Passing marks: 25 (50%).
• There is NO negative marking in this module.
• Mode: Online exam.

Benefits of Certification

• Firstly, Government Certification
• Also, Certification valid for life
• In addition, Lifelong e-learning access
• Furthermore, Free Practice Tests
• Moreover, Get tagged as ‘Vskills Certified’ On Monsterindia.com
• Above all, Get tagged as ‘Vskills Certified’ On  Shine.com

Content Details

The certification will cover the following topics –

Introduction

• Evolution and Scope
• Data for Business Analytics
• Decision Models
• Problem Solving and Decision Making

Analytics and Spreadsheets

• Excel Formulas
• Excel Functions
• Spreadsheet Add-Ins
• Spreadsheet Modeling

Visualizing Data

• Data Visualization
• Data Queries
• Summarizing Data
• Frequency Distributions
• PivotTables and Pivot Charts

Descriptive Statistical Measures

• Statistical Notation
• In addition, Measures of Location
• Also, Measures of Dispersion
• Subsequently, Measures of Shape
• Furthermore, Measures of Association
• Excel Descriptive Statistics Tool

Probability Distributions

• Probability Basics
• Discrete Probability Distributions
• Continuous Probability Distributions
• Distribution Fitting

Sampling and Estimation

• Sampling Methods
• Statistical Sampling
• Sampling Distributions
• Estimation
• Interval Estimates
• Confidence Intervals
• Prediction Intervals

Statistical Inference

• Hypothesis Testing
• One-Sample Hypothesis Tests
• Two-Sample Hypothesis Tests
• ANOVA

Predictive Modeling

• Logic-Driven Model
• Data-Driven Modeling
• Analyzing Uncertainty and Model Assumptions
• Risk Solver Platform

Regression Analysis

• Simple Linear Regression
• Residual Analysis and Regression Assumptions
• Multiple Linear Regression
• Regression with Categorical Independent Variables
• Regression Models with Nonlinear Terms

Forecasting Techniques

• Qualitative and Judgmental Forecasting
• Statistical Forecasting Models
• Time Series Forecasting Models

Simulation and Risk Analysis

• Monte Carlo Simulation
• New-Product Development Model
• Newsvendor Model
• in addition, Overbooking Model
• moreover, Cash Budget Model

Data Mining

• Data Mining Basics
• also, Cluster Analysis
• furthermore, Classification
• moreover, Association Rule Mining
• also, Cause-and-Effect Modeling

Linear Optimization

• Building Linear Optimization Models
• Excel Solver
• Optimization Models for Prediction and Insight
• Applications of Linear Optimization

Integer Optimization

• firstly, Solving with General Integer Variables
• secondly, Integer Optimization Models with Binary Variables
• thirdly, Mixed-Integer Optimization Models

Nonlinear and Non-Smooth Optimization

• firstly, Modeling and Solving Nonlinear Optimization Problems
• also, Quadratic Optimization
• thirdly, Spreadsheet Models

Optimization Models with Uncertainty

• Stochastic Programming
• Risk Analysis in Optimization

Decision Analysis

• firstly, Decisions with Uncertain Information
• also, Decision Trees
• furthermore, The Value of Information

R Programming Language

• firstly, Objects and Arithmetic
• secondly, Summaries and Subscripting
• thirdly, Matrices
• fourthly, Attaching to objects
• also, Statistical Computation and Simulation
• lastly, Graphics

You can also use the online tutorials and free practice tests by VSkills to prepare for this certification exam. There are also some reference books suggested which can help you to grasp the concepts in a better manner.

Vskills Online Tutorials

Vskills provides its own online tutorials and training courses. These tutorials and courses are most reliable ones as they are prepared by experts itself. However, there are many reliable sites too that provide you with the trainings. Many highly skilled professionals provide such trainings and the sites also guarantee you success. These classes are interactive enough and helps you clear your doubts along with developing a strong conceptual understanding. You can access Vskills online tutorials here.

Business Analytics Free Practice Test

Practice is the way out to judge yourself. Practice as many sample papers, test series and exercise questions as you can. This will let you identify weak portions and loopholes. You can improve to a massive extend by practicing more and more. Again, there are various reliable sites that offers practice papers and test series on regular basis which helps you to evaluate your performance. Try a free practice test now!

Give a boost to your career by getting the specialization of Business Analytics Professional. Hurry up and start preparing now!