Like it or not, tech has made its way into every aspect of the business world. At all levels of operations and from the day-to-day to long-term strategic planning, decisions large and small are made by collecting and analyzing massive amounts of data. It keeps a business on track and it drives innovation as it charts its way toward the future.
To succeed in this competitive environment, companies need people who not only understand how to gather and interpret data but also know how to apply it in a business context. It’s a need that has opened career opportunities across the gamut of industries from startups to established organizations in fields including healthcare, telecommunications, utilities and manufacturing as well as government and non-profits.
If you’ve been thinking about an MBA to advance your career, take a look at getting one of the best online master’s in business analytics instead. It will give you a firm understanding of data science combined with subjects including consumer behavior, supply chain management, human resources and other relevant business concepts, and this degree will make you the data-fluent, results-driven expert that more and more organizations are looking for.
Here are the facts:
What Is Big Data?
Big Data and business intelligence are sometimes used synonymously. They are related but they’re not the same thing. Here are some fast facts:
- Big Data refers to the massive amount of information that’s generated by the digital technology that has permeated everything in our lives. It’s been said that every two days there is as much data created as there was in the thousands of years since the first written record until the year 2000.
- Business intelligence, or BI, is an umbrella term that includes the production, collection, storage and access of all that data.
- Analytics is the process performed on the data that has been delivered by BI, and its purpose is to generate the insights that drive data-based decision-making. BI uses historical data to inform current performance, and analytics is predictive, looking to the future for strategies of change.
Is Analytics the Career for You?
The higher you can score yourself on these four basic attributes of a good analyst, the more likely it is that you’ll not only enjoy doing the work, but also be successful at it. Here are those attributes:
- Logical: You’re a logical thinker, proficient in both verbal and quantitative reasoning, and have the ability to see patterns in the bigger picture.
- Curious: You have an intense interest in what works, what doesn’t and the why of both instances. You like the search for knowledge as much as you like reaching the conclusions it leads you to.
- Methodical: You’re driven when you’re solving a problem. You define what you’re looking for, break it down into its elements, form an hypothesis and start your digging from there. When you’ve got all the facts, you put the whole picture together.
- Focused: You keep your focus on the data and don’t let the technology take over. Your goal is finding the solution to a problem, and you don’t let yourself get sidetracked.
Beyond those four qualities, you know how to communicate clearly and how to collaborate on working teams.
Careers in Big Data
“Data scientist” is the catch-all term used broadly to encompass most positions in the field, but job titles vary widely. With a degree in business analytics, you can find an array of employment opportunities based on where your background, your talents and your interests lie. Some examples include:
- Management analyst/consultant
- Marketing analyst
- Data scientist
- Big Data analytics specialist
- Operations research analyst
- Services or manufacturing operations manager
- Data analyst
- Project manager
- Supply chain manager
- Market research analyst
- Predictive analyst
What You Can Expect
The field is growing daily. Across a wide array of industries more and more companies are relying on analytical insights derived from data to inform decisions at every level. In demand are people who can organize and understand mass quantities of unstructured data and interpret this information in ways that benefit functional operations, influence the high-stakes business decisions that improve the bottom line and drive the continuing innovations that create long-term success.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics foresees a higher-than-average increase ranging from 19 percent to 32 percent in jobs in the general field through 2026, with the expectation that the demand will continue to grow.
As reported by salary.com, per April 29, 2018 the median annual salary of a business analytics manager is $116,620, with a range usually between about $103,000 to over $130,000.