Modern-day business is a maze, and a business analyst plays the role of the pathfinder that helps the contestants stuck in it make their way out using a neatly orchestrated strategy, rather than trial and error. Globalization and technological advancements have led to a cut-throat competition and have made the role of a business analyst all the more important. It’s a business analyst who, working in close association with both, the management and the clients, devices a clear-cut strategy, based on internal and external communication and the information provided, as to how to go about the proceedings that’ll help the organization utilize the best of its potential and improve its productivity. If business is where your passion is and you possess a strong know-how of the business field, problem solving, analytical skills, and sharpened communication skills, then being a business analyst is right up your alley.
Becoming A Business Analyst
Eligibility
The basic requirement for becoming a business analyst is graduation. However, a graduation degree can only get you entry level jobs in the field; after that it’ll be your experience that will count when you look for better opportunities. Some companies also demand an MBA degree (due to the depth of understanding required in this field of operation) as an essential to fulfill the eligibility criteria.
Courses Required
Interested candidates can either plan this early and start with graduating with specialization in business management or can pursue Masters in Business Administration from reputed universities, many of which have global recognition. The minimum eligibility criteria to get admission in graduation is high school diploma and minimum eligibility criteria to get admission in an MBA course is a graduation degree. During the MBA course, the students are provided with industry exposure and practical experience of solving many real business situations like case studies. The duration of the course ranges from 2 years to 3 years and almost all universities host on-campus recruitment. Apart from this, many professional business analysts’ courses are also in the market that you can opt for.
Skills Required
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Strong communicational skill in the form of both written and oral is a must, for the job requires communication being exchanged throughout the day.
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The analyst must possess smooth interpersonal skills, as the job involves dealing with people from diverse backgrounds and different mentality.
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As an unwritten rule, the analyst must possess strong analytical and problem solving skills.
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The analyst should be well acquainted with the technologies like J2EEE, .Net, HTML, ASP, and knowledge about SQL, Microsoft Visio, and Microsoft Office Automation will definitely come in handy.
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The analyst is required to gel well within different teams and work together as a single cohesive unit.
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In addition to MBA, a professional diploma or certificate as a business analyst will also prove to be helpful.
Roles and Responsibilities
Business analysts, more often than not, are required to work under pressure for longer hours and meet deadlines. The main responsibility that includes everything else is to look at the company as a whole and at the same time, scrutinize and isolate every single aspect of it, and then looking at it as a whole. Doing so will bring the problem causing areas under the scanner and will help in filling the gaps that are ruining the overall picture for the company. The analyst has to examine the current nature of the industry, which his/her company deals with, by doing a full-fledged research. The analyst also needs to interact with the company’s clients and deal with their problems. The analyst also has to delve deeper into the procedures and policies of the company, look for any deviations, and provide them with technically and financially viable solutions. If the suggestions or recommendations are approved, the analyst then has to work together with the computer programmers, software developers, and the software managers to implement the suggested solutions. In between all this, there’re a few unwritten responsibilities that are synonymous with the post of a business analyst like defining the scope of the project and estimating the cost involved, managing clients relationships, and being an integral part of the business development team to promote the company.
Career Prospects
With the rapid expansion of businesses around the world, the the business analysts are expected to be in great demand. Current and future business analysts can expect to be promoted to the position of the senior business analysts and even at higher administrative positions of the company they work for. The prospects seem to be even brighter as the growth is not just limited to any particular sector.
Career as a business analyst will prove to be a challenging and fruitful one, if you have a keen eye towards the business operations and possess a sharp eye to observe the minutest of changes to biggest loops.
