Any good advice for a young recent grad looking for a business analyst position. Some of the questions i have are..... What are the interview questions I should be expected to answer? What is a typical work day for a business analyst? What is the starting salary? What are some good resources to brush up on any technical questions they may ask? Any good sites where they have jop openings for business analyst? I am a management information science major and this career seems to fit very well with what i have studied in school.
If you're in the Houston area, there will be a job fair for Oil & Gas, Finance, Business, etc. at Reliant on Wednesday January 30th. I know this as my brother was in finance on Wall Street when the 2008 collapse hit and he'll be attending trying to get back in his field.
Business Analyst is indeed pretty vague. I have seen this refer from everybody from IT analysts, to data analysts, and finance analysts at big companies. What is your area of expertise? What do you want to work in?
I suppose it is vague but these are the titles that i see posted on craigslist as well as careerbuilder. From what I understand it is a liaison between the IT department and other departments. Kind of like a middle man.....
Well it could be, but in many cases it is someone who does statistical analysis of various (or specific) aspects of a business. I've seen "analyst" attached to just about anything and everything, and sometimes the word "business" is thrown in front of it. Most schools have business analysis classes. I assume you've taken these? If not, and if you don't have any direct experience, then I wish you good luck and hope that you went to a reputable school. And just to add, I wouldn't get too hung up on the job title. I read a while back that the sexiest job this year will be "Data Scientist." So I asked my manager what I could do to be considered a Data Scientist. She said just order some business cards with that written on them. No one gives a damn about job titles. I wept.
That's still pretty vague. There are product specialists that share Biz analyst roles and people who serve as the liaison you mentioned. Some do both. It also depends on what kind of IT environment you're interested in. There's agile and waterfall, which carry different roles and definitions for the same position. One requires writing stories while the other helps make or write down technical specs and documents upfront without much (non-lead) developer collaboration.
I am not sure if you are in Houston but we (IT consulting company) are hiring Junior Business Analysts (entry level position). Let me know if you are interested. That is what this position more or less is.
I just assumed there would be a few Business Analyst folks here that could shed some light.....some of these questions you are asking me i'd hope some of you would be able to answer.
I've seen BA's who are very technical and others who are not so much. Some things they may do is gathering user requirements, mapping processes, working with QA to help with making test cases/testing, helping with technical documentation, etc. Something that may help you get your foot in the door is to learn SQL (I am assuming you are fully comfortable with Office). Learn about relational databases. Also Coursera is currently offering some data analysis classes from Johns Hopkins, take them. Be proactive about improving your skills. For something like an entry level BA, employers may understand you are not fully there on some technical aspects. But doing some of the things I mentioned illustrates a desire to learn.
Big Mak and Tree Rollins have pretty much answered your question. You can wiki Business Analyst (BA) to get a better explanation. And to clarify Invisible Fan, agile and waterfall are two different software methodologies. Both carry similar roles in that BA's are still required to gather requirements. It sounds like you talking about the IT BA role. Within the IT BA role, you can focus solely on being an IT Systems BA (data modeling) or an IT Functional BA (writing specifications). I don't recall many BA classes being offered at the undergraduate level. However, there are many programs that offer BA certifications and books you can read. Good luck
I'm interested in an Analyst position also after College. Getting a BS in Economics with a minor in International Business.
Indeed, thanks for the 411. I've had a few phone interviews but some of the questions are too technical and I can't seem to answer the question as thoroughly as they expect. This is why I think something like a "junior" business analyst might be ideal. I just wish more places offered these positions.
