3 answers
Jacob
Student
Canton, Georgia
1
Question
Asked
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5 questions I have about becoming a business intelligence analyst
1. What is the hardest part about being a business intelligence analyst?
2. What would be a good skill to have if I were to become one?
3. Do you create good friendships with others you work with?
4. Does it pay well?
5. Is there anything I should know before becoming a business intelligence analyst?
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3 answers
Rajeev Nair
Investment Banking Data Management & Technology
1
Answer
New York, New York
Updated
Rajeev’s Answer
Great questions Jacob.
As a data practitioner, I agree with Lauren's response and would like to add some more perspectives based on my experience.
One of the core skills for Business Intelligence Analyst is the ability to work with data across the following spectrum:
- Variety of data (different types of data - finance, pharmaceutical, manufacturing..)
- Volume of data (ranging from few lines of data to millions)
- Velocity of data (data that changes daily, hourly, or in seconds)
Though data skills take time to develop, you can shorten the learning curve by being data curious. Many times it's about uncovering the story that is buried under the data. Think of data variables as people and try to understand their behaviors (data trends) and the relationships (correlations).
Business Intelligence Analyst is certainly an opportunity with good learning and earning potential. It also helps to build data analysis skills and provides a very transferable skill that can be carried over to other data intensive jobs.
As a data practitioner, I agree with Lauren's response and would like to add some more perspectives based on my experience.
One of the core skills for Business Intelligence Analyst is the ability to work with data across the following spectrum:
- Variety of data (different types of data - finance, pharmaceutical, manufacturing..)
- Volume of data (ranging from few lines of data to millions)
- Velocity of data (data that changes daily, hourly, or in seconds)
Though data skills take time to develop, you can shorten the learning curve by being data curious. Many times it's about uncovering the story that is buried under the data. Think of data variables as people and try to understand their behaviors (data trends) and the relationships (correlations).
Business Intelligence Analyst is certainly an opportunity with good learning and earning potential. It also helps to build data analysis skills and provides a very transferable skill that can be carried over to other data intensive jobs.
Matthew Johnson
IT Business Analyst
1
Answer
Tampa, Florida
Updated
Matthew’s Answer
Lauren and Rajeev are spot on. As a Business Analyst, I perform similar functions as a BI Analyst in that I often analyze data, looking for insights. Taking that a step further, which is my favorite part, creating summaries which can be interpreted by others. To me, looking at data, organizing it, then looking for patterns is fun. While this may seem technical and a bit geeky, these fact finding missions tend to produce surprising results. Like the scientific method of creating a hypothesis then getting out there and seeing if the facts support the theories.
Judging by your well crafted questions, I believe you will be a great analyst. I've been a BA for over a decade now and never get tired of it. It feeds my analytical mind and presents me with new challenges each and every day. I wish you the best and hope this advice was helpful to you.
One final note, the skills you obtain as a BI Analyst are extremely transferable and in high demand.
Continue researching what a BI Analyst role does?
Try finding an opportunity to meet a BI Analyst working with a school counselor, it may not be possible but worth trying.
Other role you may consider researching is a Data Analyst. Or if you are interested in software, a Product Owner is a great role to explore too.
Don't only rely only on school to teach you new skills, get out there and explore data tools, many can be used for free and there are large sample datasets out there to download and play with.
Judging by your well crafted questions, I believe you will be a great analyst. I've been a BA for over a decade now and never get tired of it. It feeds my analytical mind and presents me with new challenges each and every day. I wish you the best and hope this advice was helpful to you.
One final note, the skills you obtain as a BI Analyst are extremely transferable and in high demand.
Matthew recommends the following next steps:
Lauren Gallant
Manager, Technical Support Innovation
17
Answers
Plymouth, Michigan
Updated
Lauren’s Answer
Hi Jacob,
These are some great questions. Although I don't work as a Business Intelligence Analyst, I have worked closely with this job in my field. The hardest part of this job is often working with very large sets of data and trying to find discrepancies or trends that influence business outcomes, but this is also what makes the job very rewarding. For example, a BI analyst may be the first person to know that sales are down in a specific division at a company, and must look at the data to provide suggestions on how to improve. You will likely interact with a lot of other internal teams such as engineers, product managers, account managers/sales, etc. and if you get along well with others then it is usually a job where you can make great relationships across a company.
Some BI analysts create dashboards with those data sets or create data processes using basic coding. At my previous company, BI analysts learned SQL language in order to pull data out of relational databases and this is an easy technical skill to learn. If you are looking to go into this job in the future, I would recommend having a lot of experience in Math and Statistics. More practically, have skills in Excel (formulas, pivot tables, spreadsheet data analysis, and chart creation) and familiarity with data visualization programs like Tableau and Looker.
Because of the technical skills involved, this job usually pays well and has a good career trajectory with multiple options such as more senior positions in Data Analysis, Data Engineering, Data Science, or Education (when you become an expert).
These are some great questions. Although I don't work as a Business Intelligence Analyst, I have worked closely with this job in my field. The hardest part of this job is often working with very large sets of data and trying to find discrepancies or trends that influence business outcomes, but this is also what makes the job very rewarding. For example, a BI analyst may be the first person to know that sales are down in a specific division at a company, and must look at the data to provide suggestions on how to improve. You will likely interact with a lot of other internal teams such as engineers, product managers, account managers/sales, etc. and if you get along well with others then it is usually a job where you can make great relationships across a company.
Some BI analysts create dashboards with those data sets or create data processes using basic coding. At my previous company, BI analysts learned SQL language in order to pull data out of relational databases and this is an easy technical skill to learn. If you are looking to go into this job in the future, I would recommend having a lot of experience in Math and Statistics. More practically, have skills in Excel (formulas, pivot tables, spreadsheet data analysis, and chart creation) and familiarity with data visualization programs like Tableau and Looker.
Because of the technical skills involved, this job usually pays well and has a good career trajectory with multiple options such as more senior positions in Data Analysis, Data Engineering, Data Science, or Education (when you become an expert).
Thank you, this is amazing! I really needed it.
Jacob