Business Analyst Schools and Career Info

School and Career Surprises: Tips From People on the Job

Career: "I was surprised to find the depth and breadth of responsibilities this role has to offer as it formsan umbrella over all functions in the organization. I have to be credible with my analysis as it helps in decision making and hence have to be always on my toes with very minimal margin of error. It requires excellent Excel and Powerpoint skills and need of being an excellent communicator."

School: Studied Business at Thunderbird School Of Global Management in Arizona; completed Master degree in 2011
Career: Business Analyst - Strategy, male, 1 years of experience, currently based in Texas

School: "I was surprised to find that others had the same amount of knowledge as me in the business field after attending much more expensive colleges. My state-run university does not have a high ranking but actually scored in the top 12% for business schools on a standardized test we took as seniors."

Career: "I was surprised to see that my major at UNH did not matter that much in my profession. I have learned everything I have needed to know through my company's training. I was also surprised that I could make a respectable salary right out of college."

School: Studied Business Administration at University Of New Hampshire in New Hampshire; completed Bachelor degree in 2012
Career: Business Analyst, male, 1 years of experience, currently based in New Hampshire

School: "I was surprised that my school offered so many outside, real-world experiences as a part of my degree. It is in a fairly small area, but I was able to work with multiple outside organizations as an intern to get real career experience."

Career: "I was surprised that the policy analysis skills I learned while working on my degree translated so much to my job in the technology world. I use the same analysis skills to analyze the user interactions with the websites I work on and to evaluate proposed changes. My career requires the same methods of thinking that I developed during school."

School: Studied Policy Studies at Syracuse University in New York; completed Bachelor degree in 2011
Career: User Experience Researcher, female, 1 years of experience, currently based in Virginia

Best & Worst Things About This Career

"The best part of the job is the variety tasks that come with it. You meet with a client one day, write up requirements the next, test the application on a third day. Each client is a little different so even though the tasks may be the same they will have a different twist with the new client. The worst part is that you sometimes run into time crunches when something is due on a specific date and you do not have time during the day to complete it. Your options are to work overtime or see if someone else on the team can help you out."

School : BA, Science, Longwood College (Farmville, VA) HR certification, Babson College (Wellesley, MA)
Career: Senior Business Analyst, currently based in Massachusetts;

"The best part of the job is problem-solving, working with a wide variety of people and learning various business processes and technologies in detail. The more I learn, the more value I can bring to my customers. Technology changes so fast and the job of BSA is a great way to stay connected to a wide variety of technology. Programmers tend to specialize in a particular area but the BSA must work with all of them and thus is exposed to everything. The hardest part of the job is managing deadlines, many of which are outside of my control. In order to be successful I must continuously manage my customers expectations and deliver results."

Tips for Succeeding in This Career

"1. Learn as much about the business analyst process and tools as possible. 2. Google the International Institute of Business Analysis and read their Body of Knowledge book. 3. Learn as much about the industry in which you will be working as you can. 4. Have a good working knowledge of word processing, spreadsheets, PowerPoint and databases. 5. Learn to speak in front of people. 6. Learn how to present your ideas/questions in a non-confrontational manner. 7. Learn to be assertive."

School : BA, Science, Longwood College (Farmville, VA) HR certification, Babson College (Wellesley, MA)
Career: Senior Business Analyst, currently based in Massachusetts;

"Work on being a good communicator, listen to what is being said and what is NOT said. Work on your written communication. Learn to write clearly and explain a process logically. Ask questions and be willing to learn as much about a business as possible (and as many businesses - such as healthcare, finance, manufacturing). Also, invest time in understanding technology. Take some programming courses, learn about databases and how data is stored and structured. Read trade journals and join professional groups, such as "Modern Analyst.""