Recently we explained what you can do with a Bachelor’s in Business Analytics, and today we’ll cover how to launch a career in business analytics.

Today, we’ll explain why you might want to consider getting into business analytics in the first place, what responsibilities you’re likely to have while working in the field, why it’s so vital that you get a degree before attempting to break into the industry, and what else you can do to improve your chances of achieving a successful lifelong career in business analytics.

After you’ve learned everything you need to know about launching a career in Business Analytics, fill out our information request form to receive additional details about our online Bachelor’s Degree in Management Information Systems and Business Analytics. 

If you’re ready to get started, submit your application today.

 

Is Business Analytics a Good Career Field?

There are three compelling reasons to think about becoming a business analytics professional:

  1. According to the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) the field is growing, with estimates showing employment for various business and financial occupations growing by 8% between 2020 and 2030.
  2. Business analytics professionals play an essential role in bridging the gap between information technology experts and business professionals, using data analytics to assess, process, and evaluate business needs so they can deliver data-driven business recommendations to management.
  3. Jobs in the industry offer great overall compensation, especially in terms of average annual salary, especially for the more advanced positions in the field.

If you’re considering a career in business analytics and are wondering whether or not this is a good career option to pursue, the answer is definitely yes. 

 

What Do Business Analytics Professionals Actually Do?

Business analysts are in charge of finding areas of improvement throughout an organization, optimizing operations, reducing costs and waste, presenting business improvement recommendations to management, and at times, training or coaching staff members.

In general, business analytics professionals are responsible for finding inefficiencies throughout a business and implementing creative solutions to improve the profitability of the company.

These professionals work in many different settings, including manufacturing facilities, various healthcare offices, and other important industries, but no matter where they work, they tend to share a number of key responsibilities.

Typically, business analytics personnel are in charge of tasks like:

  • Creating a detailed business analysis, outlining problems, opportunities, and solutions for a business.
  • Developing business improvement projects and monitoring project performance.
  • Presenting improvement ideas to upper management.
  • Working closely with senior management, partners, clients, and technicians.
  • Performing cost-benefit analysis of proposed business improvement changes.
  • Creating new initiatives depending on the business requirements and strategic focus.

As you can see, as a business analytics professional you may be required to work with many different departments. Some of your tasks may even cross over into other disciplines like human resources and marketing, so you’ll need a well-rounded education in order to be successful in this role.

 

What Skills Do Business Analytics Professionals Need?

Here are some of the important skills you should consider developing before starting a career in business analytics:

  • Research Skills - Thorough research must be done on new processes and technologies to understand how they can benefit the organization.
     
  • Strong Communication Abilities - Being able to present findings in a clear and concise manner is fundamental to making sure that everyone understands the analysis and can put recommendations into practice. People working in business analytics must be able to tell a story with data through strong writing and presentation skills. 
     
  • Critical Thinking Skills - Business analytics professionals need to think critically about not only the implications of the data they collect but also about what data they should be collecting in the first place. They are expected to analyze and highlight only the data that can be helpful in making decisions. 
     
  • Analytical Skills - Compiling large sets of data, breaking them down into manageable chunks, and analyzing what this data means and how it can be leveraged to make business decisions is critical to success.
     
  • Organization Skills - You’ll need to be able to stay organized while having multiple tasks and projects on the go at once.

When working in business analytics, you may also have the opportunity to specialize in various areas, like finance, operations management, or marketing.

Perhaps your interests lie on the financial side of the business? In that case, you could concentrate on managerial accounting or finance.

If you want to hone your skills in more specific areas within the business analytics process, you might also want to consider studying or even specializing in some of the sub-disciplines that are important to this career, like:

  • Human resources management.
  • Accounting and money management principles.
  • Business economics.
  • Supply chain optimization.

No matter what you choose to do in the industry, one thing to keep in mind is that it could prove difficult to achieve success in this field without first developing a robust understanding of industry best practices, and the best way to do that is to complete a degree in business analytics.

 

Do I Need a Degree to Get Into Business Analytics?

It depends. There are multiple ways to become a business analytics professional and not all of them require you to have a degree.

However, to significantly increase your chances of success in the industry, it is strongly recommended that you obtain at least a bachelor’s degree in a related field as this will help ensure you’re prepared to deliver real value from your first day on the job.

If you decide to pursue this path, obtaining a Bachelor’s Degree in Management Information Systems and Business Analytics would be the ideal way to prepare for a role in this field.

Getting your bachelor’s degree will provide you with a solid foundation in mathematics, statistics, and computer science, all of which are important to business analytics professionals. 

These skills and abilities will be extremely useful when you begin designing complex models, managing databases, and performing data analysis on large sets of data. 

No matter what your long-term career goals might be, the best way to start a career in this industry is to first develop a robust understanding of the fundamentals of business analytics, and getting a degree is the best way to do that.

Completing your degree is the best way to develop the fundamental knowledge, skills, and abilities required to succeed in the field, and it’s also the best way to demonstrate to companies hiring that you are prepared to provide real value to their organization from your first day on the job.

 

What Can I Do With a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Analytics?

Once you’ve completed your bachelor’s degree, you can pursue many different interesting, challenging, and rewarding roles in the industry, including jobs like:

The list above is just the beginning of your options because this is only a small handful of related jobs that you could pursue after completing your B.S. in Management Information Systems and Business Analytics. 

As well, once you’ve developed some experience in the field, you’ll gain access to a much larger pool of related jobs, including nearly any position in the field of business analytics.

 

What Can I Do With a Master’s Degree in Business Analytics?

The short answer? Nearly anything! 

Completing a Master’s Degree in a related business analytics field will make you eligible for a wide variety of jobs, including positions like:

Remember, these are only a small sample of the types of jobs you could get after completing an accredited master’s degree in the field. 

The good news is that after earning a master’s degree, you’ll have the opportunity to explore many different career paths in this exciting and growing industry. 

 

What Else Can I Do To Increase My Odds of Success?

Getting your degree is without a doubt the best thing you can do to begin a successful career in business analytics, but there are other things you can do to further improve your skills, knowledge, and competency.

First, ensure you have worked on developing some of the most fundamental skills of business analytics professionals, including both hard and soft skills that are important in the industry.

Hard skills are those that are highly technical in nature and can be easily measured, such as business analysis reporting or creating data models.

For this industry, hard skills include things like:

  • Understanding coding languages such as SQL.
  • Using statistical analysis software.
  • Designing databases.
  • Implementing data mining techniques.

Soft skills are more difficult to describe but are no less important to a business analytics professional. These skills generally consist of things like communication or the ability to lead a team effectively.

Here are some of the most important soft skills for those entering the field:

  • Time management skills.
  • Leadership skills.
  • Ability to solve problems creatively.
  • Communication skills.
  • Public speaking and presenting skills.
  • Critical thinking.

As the list above clearly shows, the skills needed for a successful career in business analytics are quite diverse, but with the right education and training, you’ll be on your way to a rewarding and successful career in this fast-growing industry. 

One other thing you may want to consider doing before beginning your career in the industry, or when trying to advance your career, is completing relevant certification programs.

Certifications can help prove to employers that you have the specific skills and abilities needed for certain positions in the field, and there are a variety of certifications that you might want to consider completing here.

According to Indeed.com, some of the best certifications for people working in business analytics include:

  • Entry Certificate in Business Analysis (ECBA)
  • Certification of Competency in Business Analysis (CCBA)
  • Certified Business Analysis Professional (CBAP)
  • Certified Foundation Business Level Analyst (CFBLA)
  • Certified Advanced Level Business Analyst (CALBA)
  • Professional in Business Analysis (PBA)
  • Certified Professional for Requirements Engineering Foundation Level (CPRE-FL)
  • Certified Professional for Requirements Engineering Advanced Level (CPRE-AL)

Be sure to remember that these certificates are not absolutely critical to starting or advancing a career, but they could be valuable for enhancing your skills, abilities, and knowledge, especially for certain positions.

 

Should I Get My Degree in Business Analytics Online?

Yes, regardless of which degree or certification you decide to pursue, we recommend completing them online as compared to in-person for several reasons.

The most significant reason to earn your degree online is that it’s a much more efficient way to get your degree, as online classes allow for much more flexibility than programs from brick-and-mortar schools.

And should you choose to study online with us at CSU Global, you’ll get to take advantage of several excellent benefits that our unique, 100% online programs provide, including:

  • No set times or locations for classes.
  • Monthly class starts.
  • Accelerated, eight-week courses.

These benefits will be especially helpful if you’ve got a busy schedule of existing work and family responsibilities, as being able to avoid commuting and attending classes in person could save you a great deal of time.

If you’re worried about being able to find enough time for your studies, then you should certainly think about getting your degree online with us at CSU Global.

 

Why Should I Choose to Study Business Analytics at CSU Global?

Our 100% online Bachelor’s Degree in Management Information Systems and Business Analytics was designed to provide you with everything you need to launch a successful and happy career in the industry

This program is regionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, which ensures that your degree will be respected by hiring managers looking to employ skilled experts in the field.

This program also holds excellent rankings from third-party organizations, and our alumni report fantastic results from the job market as well.

Our Bachelor’s program in Management Information Systems and Business Analytics holds several excellent rankings, including:

  • A #1 ranking on Best Online Bachelor's in Management Information Systems Programs from Best Colleges.
  • A #1 ranking on Best Online Bachelor's in Management Information Systems Programs in 2022 from Intelligent.
  • A #3 ranking on 15 Best Online Business Analytics Bachelor’s for 2020 from Great Business Schools.
  • A #2 ranking on 25 Best Online Master’s in Data Analytics for 2020 from Best Master’s Programs.

CSU Global is also widely recognized as one of the best academic institutions in the industry, as it’s been awarded several excellent rankings, including:

  • A #1 ranking for Best Online Colleges & Schools in Colorado from Best Accredited Colleges.
  • A #1 ranking for Best Online Colleges in Colorado from Best Colleges.
  • A #10 ranking for Best Online Colleges for ROI from OnlineU.

Finally, we offer affordable tuition rates, and a Tuition Guarantee that promises your low tuition rate won’t increase as long as you remain enrolled with us.

To get additional details about our fully-accredited online Bachelor’s Degree in Management Information Systems and Business Analytics, please give us a call at (800) 462-7845, or fill out our Information Request Form.

Ready to get started today? Apply now!