Top Skills for Business Analysts

Business analytics is an important tool in making modern business decisions and developing long-term strategies. If you’re curious about pursuing business analytics careers, it may be time to consider earning a relevant degree to be taught the essential skills for this field. A Bachelor of Science (BS) in Business Analytics degree will teach you all the basics of marketing, accounting, finance and statistics. You may also wish to pursue a master’s degree, such as a Master of Science in Business Analytics (MSBA).

So, what jobs can you get with a business analytics degree, and what sort of skills are important? Let’s take a closer look.

In This Article:

• What Jobs Can You Get With a Business Analytics Degree?
• Soft Skills for Business Analysts
• Technical Business Analytics Skills
• Types of Analytics That Are Useful in Business Analytics Careers
• Learn More About Business Analytics Degrees at GCU

What Jobs Can You Get With a Business Analytics Degree?

Business analysts look at the data collected by organizations to analyze trends and patterns in employee productivity, organization costs and other key measurements. Organizations look for business analytics experts to guide them through the data, using their findings to make an informed proposal about future business decisions.

Business analytics programs serve a crucial role in modern business. The process of collecting and analyzing important data helps businesses become more efficient, productive and lucrative. There are a number of skills that can help business analysts succeed in their role.

Soft Skills for Business Analysts

Soft skills are transferable skills that are useful across a wide range of sectors, industries and occupations. Business analytics professionals can benefit from having a diverse range of soft skills, including the following.

Attention to Detail

Business analysts are responsible for gathering and sorting through large volumes of data. They must also draw actionable insights from that data. It’s important to be able to pay close attention to detail.¹

Research Skills

Business analysts are tasked with solving the organization’s problems or figuring out the answer to a question. Research skills are helpful when developing an in-depth understanding of the matter at hand, and for considering possible solutions. For example, business analysts may need to conduct market research in order to consider the feasibility of a product or service.¹

Communicate Insights From Data

Business analysis jobs are rarely done in isolation. To analyze the data they receive, a business analyst must understand the context in which it was collected. They must be a fully integrated part of the organization and understand which projects are bringing in data and how the data reflects the work being done.

Data analysts communicate their findings and recommendations, so they must be able to work with employees and management at all levels. It’s important to have clear communication skills, which include being able to discuss technical topics with stakeholders of varying backgrounds.¹

Problem-Solving and Critical Thinking

Developing workable business solutions is critical for success in this field. An analytics professional looks at raw data and makes recommendations about how a business can move forward. To formulate solutions, they must troubleshoot and consider all possibilities. In other words, problem-solving skills are essential.¹

Business analytics skills include weighing options and making tough decisions before presenting findings to higher-level decision-makers. This process also involves critical thinking, as analysts need to figure out which data to collect and what the implications of those data are.¹

Technical Business Analytics Skills

In addition to soft skills, business analysts need industry-specific knowledge and technical skills that allow them to do their jobs well and help businesses make smart decisions. Some examples of technical business analytics skills are as follows.

Industry-Specific Technical Knowledge

Pretty much every organization runs on data. Crucial business information is typically collected through the organization’s database system. A business analyst needs the skills to understand where data comes from and how to navigate it.

Additionally, many of the decisions a business analyst may be required to consult on require an understanding of how information is stored in the organization. Business data analysts need to know enough about the technology used in their industry to make recommendations for products and services that could make their organization more efficient and profitable.

Computer Skills

Having industry-specific technical knowledge isn’t enough by itself; business analysts also need the skills necessary to apply that knowledge. In particular, computer skills are a major requirement of the job.

Business analysts can benefit from being tech-savvy. They need to know how computer systems work, how to use information technology applications and how to use a few different programming languages.¹

In particular, it can be helpful to know how to use the Python programming language. This helps business analysts perform advanced analyses on sets of data, as well as automate certain tasks.² Other programming languages, including Java, Visual Basic, C++ and PHP can also be helpful in this career.³

In addition, aspiring business analysts should work toward proficiency in SQL, as this allows them to extract, manipulate and analyze data that is stored in databases.²

Compiling, organizing and analyzing data is a major part of the job, but not the only part. Business analytics professionals also need to be able to communicate their findings in a way that stakeholders can act upon. One way they do this is via data visualization tools, such as Tableau and Power BI. These data visualization tools can help decision-makers understand the insights from the data and make decisions accordingly.²

Statistical and Quantitative Analysis

Business analysts sometimes work with machine learning models. In order to interpret these models and develop meaningful insights, they need to understand statistical concepts. Statistical analysis allows analysts to figure out the trends and patterns in the data, and to identify which areas could benefit from improvement.²

Documentation Skills

Documentation skills are another important technical skill for business analysts. They need to identify the best way to document their findings and insights.

Some examples of the types of documentation that these professionals may use include the following:³

• User documentation
• Source code documentation
• Process documentation
• System documentation

Types of Analytics That Are Useful in Business Analytics Careers

No matter which specific industry and niche a business occupies, making data-driven decisions is crucial for long-term success and competitiveness in the marketplace. A business analytics professional uses all their soft skills and technical skills to generate key insights for the business. Four types of data analytics can be helpful across a business's entire operations.

These four main types of data analytics are:⁴

• Descriptive analytics
• Diagnostic analytics
• Predictive analytics
• Prescriptive analytics

Descriptive analytics is a way to identify trends and patterns. Or, put more simply, it’s a way to answer the question, What’s going on? Business analysts use descriptive analytics to figure out what already happened or what is currently happening with some area of the business, such as a surge in seasonal sales. Data visualization skills are particularly helpful for performing descriptive analytics.⁴

After the analyst figures out what happened, the next logical question to consider is why that particular trend occurred. Business analysts may use their computer skills, applying advanced software programs to uncover more information about the involved variables or uncovering relationships between multiple trends to figure out why something has happened. This type of analytics is known as diagnostic analytics.⁴

Of course, businesses can’t move forward simply by reacting to past trends. To be truly useful, data analytics need to explore what is likely to occur in the future. By paying attention to detail and perhaps by using statistics skills, business analysts can make predictions about what is likely to happen in the future. This is known as predictive analytics.⁴

The fourth type of analytics is prescriptive analytics. It involves taking a look at all of the data and determining what the smartest move is for the business. In other words, what type of action can help the business take maximum advantage of historic and predicted trends? Business analysts often use machine learning algorithms to figure out the best step for the company to take next.⁴

Learn More About Business Analytics Degrees at GCU

If you are a critical thinker interested in business analytics careers, consider enrolling in the Master of Science in Business Analytics degree program with the Colangelo College of Business at Grand Canyon University. You will explore modern issues, emerging trends and technologies that can help move businesses forward. Fill out the form on this page to learn more.