Are you looking for a career that combines a passion for data with the ability to influence and support an organization? A business intelligence analyst does just that by analyzing complex sets of data within a company to determine recommendations for business growth and improvement.

It’s a great time to consider a career in business analytics and business intelligence for many reasons.

Data is seeing a sizable boom across industries. It’s a potential goldmine that could aid organizations with insights into their products, business processes, customer behavior, and the factors shaping their target markets. To get an edge over the competition, organizations are maximizing their efforts to gather, process, and extract insights out of the data extracted from a wide range of sources and customer touch-points.

Who runs the show, you ask?

Skilled data science professionals - business intelligence strategists. 

Who is a Business Intelligence (BI) Analyst?

Professionals who are both curious and skilled in observing and processing data and depict patterns, who know how to get around with a lot of data and dig out meaningful insights from there, are facilitating this proliferation of data and analytics.

The BI analyst role is becoming increasingly important as organizations move to capitalize on the volumes of data they collect. BI analysts typically discover areas of revenue loss and identify where improvements can be made to save the company money or increase profits. This is done by mining complex data using BI software and tools, comparing data to competitors and industry trends, and creating visualizations that communicate findings to others in the organization.

Why should you consider a career in business analytics or business intelligence?

• The supply is far from being saturated– A recent report by IBM found that data science and analytics jobs remain open an average of 45 days, which is a much longer duration than the market average. Businesses in all industries today need skilled data professionals, but there are not enough with the right skills to satisfy this demand. 
• The skills apply across industries– Analytics is being applied to a wide range of industries, including sports, manufacturing, banking, insurance, education, entertainment, and so on. 
• It is a highly dynamic career opportunity– Business analysts and business intelligence professionals have no dull days at work. These professionals face challenges every day and constantly learn and upgrade themselves. 

How to start your career in Business Intelligence?

If you are planning to explore a career as a BI professional, you’ve made the right choice as BI is trending, making it a holy grail for various aspirants.

There is no single route to a Business Intelligence career and one can begin their journey at different points. High school students, however, have the benefit of having the option to choose their major. If you ultimately aim for Business Intelligence jobs, you might opt for degrees related to domains like Management Information Systems, Business-related degrees, or any branch of Computer Science.

You’ll need to understand as much as you can about data before entering the profession, so look for classes in data architecture, database design, data mining, data visualization, and so on. You’ll also want to have strong Excel and SQL skills before graduating. 

Business intelligence analysts are expected to have work experience before entering the job, unless able to supplement that experience with something like a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA), which may suffice for some employers. One good way to begin your training is to get an internship in the financial industry, which will allow you to learn about the inner workings of a business.  

InternMart offers a wide range of internships in every field, so you may consider signing up for the same.

Business Intelligence Analyst Salary

According to data from PayScale, the average salary for a BI analyst is $66,645 per year, with a reported salary range of $48,701 to $93,243.

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