It’s been five years already since the Harvard Business Review declared business analytics the “sexiest job of the 21st century,” and students who are graduating with a business analytics degree today are finding the market thriving for their skillset. Analytics continues to become increasingly valuable, as technology is facilitating the storing and processing of more data.
The Career Connections Team at Rady guides the Master of Science in Business Analytics (MSBA) students to best communicate the value of their degree to the employer. While “Analytics” may be a specific department, the focus is really that of an informed approach to decision-making. Generally, analytics positions are not housed within an analytics department but have various internal clients – either a business or a product owner for a specific segment of the company.
All successful businesses rely on data and models to make decisions, opti
mize budgets, manage inventory and gain competitive advantage. Data is used to monitor and track a number of insights, including customer behavior, supplies, operations and financial transactions. Having an employee who is capable of identifying trends, organizing large data sets and transforming data into insights is invaluable to the success of a company.
According to Top Universities, career opportunities are being found in areas such as market research, supply chain management, project management, talent analytics or consultancy. The Career Connections team sees these same trends with our Master of Business Analytics students landing in analyst roles across various departments.
Ultimately, students are graduating with the ability to assist business leaders in business modeling and decision-making with the use of quantitative methods and evidence-based data.
The career path also requires more than analytical skills, as there can be a lot of subjectivity and/or assumptions to analytics – different people in the organization may have different agendas. The Rady MSBA program provides students with the business acumen needed to help them be creative problem solvers and navigate all of these challenges. MSBA students receive career support from Career Connections through personal coaching, an array of programs and resources and a commitment to creating access to opportunities. Whatever the career aspirations are for MSBA students, Career Connections enhances their potential for success.