There is currently an estimated number of 806,400 business analyst jobs in the United States. The business analyst job market is expected to grow by 14.3% between 2016 and 2026.
Business analysts typically report very high levels of job satisfaction and work-life balance, and the field offers competitive compensation and a wide range of employment prospects.
There are countless opportunities for success in a career in business analysis. Due to the fact that a business analyst can work in all areas of operations, on any kind of business team, and in any sector, two business analysts can have quite different career trajectories.
To some extent, the nature of the work itself determines if a career as a business analyst is the best fit for you. Your success will be greatly influenced by the abilities and skills you possess.
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Why Should I Consider Business Analyst Jobs?
The number one item on the list is the high need for business analysts. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), demand for particular business analysis specialties is likely to skyrocket. For instance, the demand for management analysts is forecast to increase by 11% over the following ten years, creating around 93,000 new employment in the United States alone. This is to be “far faster than normal” development. Things seem even better for market research analysts, who research market conditions to estimate prospective sales of a new good or service, as 130,000 new employment, or an 18 percent growth rate, are forcast in the near future.
Due to the great demand, jobs are often secure and pay is quite competitive. The BLS reports that the median pay for the aforementioned position of Management Analyst was $94,000 in 2019. Even in less technically difficult positions, business analysts commonly make an average income that is comfortably in the upper five figures, and business analysts in senior positions frequently make six figures. In fact, some estimates claim that the top 10% of business analysts make $150,000 or more annually. A high demand also means that there are more options for business analysts to work remotely or move to new locations or even countries.
Transferable Skill Sets
Business analysts are particularly able to transition to different industries or occupations since their talents are so highly transferable. This fact also illustrates their capacity for professional advancement. Business analysts have positioning to contribute to developing overarching business strategies, company and information systems architecture, process and program management, and project management because of their resourcefulness, diverse skill set, and high level of technical expertise. These top-tier aptitudes translate into a higher level of job satisfaction and can lead to executive positions.
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Business Analyst Jobs: Choosing a Suitable Career Path
Business analysts work in almost every type of company and in almost every industry, including non-profit, public, and governmental organizations. They touch on practically every aspect of business operations. Career pathways in business analysis are as diverse as business itself. All of which is to imply that there are an almost limitless number of employment options in business analysis. There are many more, but these are only four of the most typical general categories in which a business analyst might start their career.
IT Business Analyst
It should come as no surprise that business analysts frequently work in the information technology industry given how frequently business analytics focuses on the operational processes that firms use, particularly the information systems or technological communication tools that they employ. Of course, creating a thorough IT strategy is typically a significant component of firms’ modernization. For a business analyst, it makes perfect sense to first research the needs of the organization, then crunch the figures to ascertain which solutions will best address those needs and advance the objectives of the organization’s stakeholders.
Since it relies on a much deeper comprehension of how technology can integrate into business management, particularly different operating systems, data requirements, and process requirements, and how each of these figures into a company’s overarching strategic objectives, the role of IT Business Analyst is similar to an evolution of a more generalist Business Analyst.
Management Analyst
Management analysts focus more deeply on how businesses operate, much as IT business analysts are focus more deeply on an organization’s information technology. Since management analysts are more likely to work for outside companies than for internal companies, they are similar to management consultants. Despite this, a lot of management consultants still focus on a narrow area of expertise, serving clients in industries like finance or the public sector.
Operational effectiveness is the focus of management analysis. Instead of coming from a tech background, those working in this fieldare more likely to have a business administration experience. Management analysis still largely relies on data and what it may tell about the hidden ways firms operate. Although not being as technically oriented as IT business analysis. As a management analyst, your duty is to gather data on corporate operations and analyze it for trends. Thereafter, use it to generate estimates or forecasts so that managers can make better decisions and handle restructuring. Naturally, management analysts also interact with stakeholders across a business. From the C-suite to specific team members, so effective communication skills are essential.
Quantitative Analyst
A quantitative analyst, as the name suggests, deals with numbers, particularly dollars. Quantitative analysts, sometimes referred to as financial analysts or financial engineers, use data from a firm to create mathematical models. They can use this to generate forecasts that can be extremely useful to organizations making decisions with significant financial repercussions. To help remove risk from decision-making, quantitative analysts look at the numbers, in other words.
It is common for “quants,” as they are commonly known as, to have backgrounds in math, statistics, economics, or finance. They frequently hold a master’s degree in one of these disciplines. Quantitative analysts are more specialized due to their greater level of education and disciplines. They are also paid more than business analysts.
Data Scientist
Analysts with the most training and expertise are eligible to become data scientists. Data scientists look for insights by examining what the data can tell them, which doesn’t limit to business. Additionally, Data Scientists are problem-solvers who use computer science, mathematics, and statistics to uncover significant patterns in data. Therefore, eventually supporting organizations in making better decisions. This is similar to all Business Analysts. Data scientists may also work with less straightforward data sometimes. Such may be non-numerical data or data sets with a large number of highly dissimilar data points. This could make drawing correlations difficult.
The ability of data scientists to operate at an advanced level, employing sophisticated statistical methods. As well as, machine learning to create forecasts that can be put into action, differentiates them from business analysts. In this regard, data science is an exploratory field, just like all of science. Experimentation commonly replaces a preset roadmap when attempting to solve a riddle. Expecially for which there isn’t a clear path to developing a solution.
Entry Level Data Analyst Career Outlook and Salary
In Conclusion:
With an A- rating for employability, business analyst jobs should have plenty of job prospects in the near future. The US forecast says the country may need 120,400 business analysts during the next ten years. This figure is based on the retirement of 5,200 current business analysts and the hiring of 115,200 new ones.