Are you a critical thinker who loves business and math? There may not be a better time for someone with your aptitudes to start or transition to a career in business analytics.
Three Categories: Which One’s Right for You?
Business analytics (BA) is at the core of every modern business function, and no company can do without professionals trained in a wide variety of analytic skills. Forbes classifies these jobs as business analytics professional, data analyst and predictive analytics professional. The first is ideal for those with a background in product or project management. The data analyst category fits someone with a data and engineering background, with experience in information management and data structure. Predictive analytics is good for someone with experience in statistics, computer science and algorithms.
Heavy Demand, Strong Earnings
According to IBM, the number of jobs for all U.S. data professionals will increase by 364,000 openings to 2,720,000 by 2020, and annual demand for the fast-growing new roles of data scientist, data developer and data engineer will reach 700,000 openings.
These are lucrative positions. Jobs requiring machine learning skills are paying an average of $114,000 per year. Advertised data scientist jobs pay an average of $105,000, and advertised data engineering jobs pay an average of $117,000.
And there’s a shortage of qualified business school graduates ready to assume these roles. IBM reported that the jobs it studied remained open an average of 45 days, five days longer than the market average. That figure is poised to grow unless America’s universities can attract and train more talented people for analytics careers. Incidentally, 59 percent of all data science and analytics demand is in finance and insurance, professional services and IT.
Big Data and Big Demand
Advances and cost reductions in big data collection and storage have enabled companies to amass data at increasingly fast rates. Big data now ranks among a company’s most valuable assets, as it is used to fine tune business models, improve business operations and automate processes. All of these applications, performed successfully, can result in substantial competitive advantage, but this won’t be achieved without analysts who can mine raw data.
Specialized BA Training in an MBA Program
UNC Pembroke is among the nation’s top state universities responding to the demand for analytics-trained MBAs. The online Master of Business Administration with a Concentration in Business Analytics delivers extensive training in BA skills, including data-to-decisions frameworks and influencing stakeholders. The program prepares graduates to gather, organize and optimize data to understand trends and forecast opportunities.
Students learn analytic software programming, including R and Python, and how to import and export data, manage the data frame, and write basic scripts. The curriculum details statistical methods for analyzing business time-series data and applying statistical tools to data problems. Students also gain experience solving real-world challenges by working together in business analytics teams.
A rigorous, accelerated program that can be completed in 12 months, UNCP’s online MBA positions students to graduate with the expertise they need to hit the ground running in business analytics at a time of unprecedented demand.
Learn more about UNC Pembroke’s online MBA program with a Concentration in Business Analytics.
Sources:
Forbes: IBM Predicts Demand for Data Scientists Will Soar 28% By 2020
SearchBusinessAnalytics: Definition of Business Analytics (BA)
Forbes: 5 Steps to Transition Your Career to Data Science
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