If you want to become a business analyst and pursue a business and data integration career, it is essential to find out what a day in the life of a business analyst looks like. We will also cover the average salary of a business analyst and their job outlook projections.
Keep reading to find out what’s it like to be a business analyst and what a typical day in the life of a business analyst looks like. This guide is also a great source for project managers, customer engagement experts, and professionals looking to work in SCRUM and Agile environment-based projects.
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What Is a Business Analyst?
A business analyst is a business tech and data professional who conducts market research analysis, business processes analysis, and customer interaction analysis to help improve business performance. The primary focus of a business analyst is to collect, process, and analyze raw business data and use it to advance the overall business strategy.
The amalgamation of a wide range of lucrative subject areas offers positive impacts on a business analyst’s job satisfaction rates. You will need to master data analysis, business administration, user stories analysis, business intelligence, and statistical analysis to succeed.
What Does a Business Analyst Do on a Daily Basis?
The daily job duties of a business analyst vary depending on the business operation cycle, employment industry, job designation, and business goals. Below is an overview of what a day in the life of a business analyst will typically look like.
- Identify the business issues. An initial job duty of business analysts is to identify potential business issues. They do this by communicating with several integral teams regarding their operational and management issues.
- Data collection and recording. The foundational premise of a business analyst’s position lies in collecting and analyzing data. This duty also turns into a valuable asset for an organization. Business analysts work with customer experience management, business workflow, and business clients teams to decide the categories of data types of recording.
- Business analysis. The central job task of a business analyst is to offer business analysis services. To execute this task they need to process data, identify useful data findings, and visualize data structures into graphical illustrations. This duty also requires them to communicate solutions and data patterns to product development and operations teams.
- Data solutions evaluation. The vast nature of big data can provide several data solution options and the implementation of those solutions might disrupt the business flow. A business analyst takes business requirements and goals into consideration and further evaluates the options to find the best solutions for business strategies.
- Present the business solutions. Once they have recorded and analyzed business data, they will then present it to team leaders, business clients, and their superiors. This job is highly team-based and requires interpersonal skills. They will need to successfully convey the data findings and solutions without using overpowering jargon.
How Can I Become a Business Analyst?
There are plenty of educational and training routes you can take to become a business analyst. Your chosen pathway should coincide with your personal preferences, financial background, time commitment, transferable skills, and career goals. Below are the top educational routes you can take to land business analyst careers and further your career in the business tech sector.
Business Analyst Degrees
If you want to meet the industry-standard educational requirement, a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Analytics is best suited for you. You can also get a bachelor’s degree in other relevant subject areas including data analytics, business intelligence, or business administration.
A bachelor’s degree isn’t your only option. You can also get an associate degree to enter this profession. If you want to land a senior business analytics job, a Master’s Degree in Business Analytics is a great option.
Business Analyst Online Courses
Online courses offered on massive open online platforms allow people to become career builders and skill enhancers. There are tons of free and paid business analytics courses you can take on Udemy, Coursera, and edX.
Depending on your learning preferences, you can opt for self-paced or live learning schedules. You can also pay for verified course-completion certificates to enhance your resume.
Business Analyst Bootcamps
Coding bootcamps are the current educational game-changers that prepare you for an entry-level job within a matter of weeks. You can attend the top data science, business intelligence, or data analytics bootcamps to get extensive career preparation and training material. Job services from bootcamps can land you an entry-level job in business analytics.
Business Analyst Certifications
Adding professional certifications to your portfolio will help you stand out in the highly competitive business analytics job market. Your choice of certification specialization needs to match your professional competencies and educational background. The Certified Analytics Professional and IIBA Certification of Capability in Business Analysis are good certifications for career advancement.
How Can I Get a Job as a Business Analyst?
To get a job as a business analyst, the steps will differ according to your choice of educational routes. To get a job as a business analyst, you must showcase industry-relevant skills paired with essential data and business education. Below are the steps to finding a job as a business analyst. You can customize the steps to match your personal and professional goals.
Steps to Finding a Job as a Business Analyst
- Get a business analytics education
The first step to getting a job as a business analyst is to get a business analytics education. You can learn business administration, data analytics, business intelligence, or statistical analysis to get prepared for this career.
- Master industry skills
The next step in your job search is to create the right skillset. In this step, practice your theoretical knowledge of business and data analytics skills using online datasets.
- Build a professional portfolio
Once you have acquired both theoretical and practical skills, you are now ready to build a professional portfolio. An impressive portfolio is a key to standing out among the candidacy pool and increasing your chances of being hired. This step is especially important, as business analytics is a competitive career.
- Get industry certifications
The next step is another effort to boost candidacy, and adding plenty of these elements is crucial for landing a job. Research professional business analyst certifications to increase your professional credibility.
- Apply for business analyst jobs
The last step to finding a business analyst job is to start researching. You can search for job openings on popular job search boards including Indeed, Glassdoor, and LinkedIn. Directly applying on a company website is another great way to find business analyst jobs. You can also join online networking groups for business analysts to find potential job opportunities.
What Is the Average Salary of a Business Analyst?
The average salary of a business analyst will vary depending on your job designation, educational background, state of employment, and professional skills. According to Glassdoor, the average yearly salary for a business analyst is $77,218. Glassdoor further reports Deloitte, IBM, Amazon, CGI, and Capital One to be some of the highest-paying business analyst employers.
Salary for an Entry-Level Business Analyst
According to Glassdoor, the salary of an entry-level business analyst is $55,793. The page further reports the highest entry-level salary to be $74,368 for this profession. You can increase your salary range by looking into the top-paying companies and states for business analytics.
Salary for a Mid-Level Business Analyst
A mid-level business analyst’s salary is close to the national average salary for the occupation. According to Glassdoor, the average salary for a mid-level business analyst is $85,381. The page reports the highest salary range for mid-level professionals to be $117,093.
Salary for a Senior-Level Business Analyst
According to Glassdoor, the average salary for a senior-level business analyst is $101,277. Having ample industry experience and data analytics skills opens up senior job opportunities across the business analytics field. You can become a senior IT analyst, business systems analyst, or a senior data analyst.
Job Outlook for a Business Analyst
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the job outlook for management analysts is projected to grow by 14 percent between 2020 and 2030. This outlook rate applies to business analysts, as BLS categorizes them under management occupations.
Should I Become a Business Analyst?
You should become a business analyst if you want a future-proof and rapidly growing career across several lucrative industries. Business analytics requires highly in-demand data science and business intelligence skills, and pursuing a career in this profession will make you a sought-after candidate.
A Day in the Life of a Business Analyst FAQs
What does a business analyst do on a daily basis?
A business analyst’s daily job duties include identifying business issues, collecting and recording data, analyzing data, and evaluating and presenting data solutions. They work with several groups including customer service management, product development, business operations, and business clients.
What are the essential skills needed to get a business analyst job?
The essential skills needed to get a business analyst job are data analytics, business administration, statistical analysis, market research, user experience research, and customer service management.
Is business analytics worth learning?
Yes, business analytics is worth learning as the subject area opens up a ton of lucrative career possibilities along with a high compensation package. If you are interested in the combination of data and business, this job is for you.
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Do business analysts need programming skills?
No, business analysts do not need programming skills to do their jobs. They do need the technical skill needed to maintain and use statistical software and relational databases.
