Business Analytics Job Outlook: What is the Career Outlook for a Business Analyst?

Most organizations use data to drive their decision-making process regarding customer service, product development, and marketing. Because more data than ever before is being created, the need for Business Analysts to help organizations analyze and utilize this information is greater than ever. This article will explore the career outlook for Business Analysts in 2023 and the growth rate for this profession.

What Does a Business Analyst Do?

Business Analysts are hired by organizations to review their operational procedures, software, and processes to propose innovative ways to improve their efficiency and performance. They play an integral role in helping their organization stay on top of current business trends in technology, ahead of challenges, and competitive in an ever-evolving, competitive market. Business Analysts often work with different company departments to observe how they are performing so they can suggest new strategies and procedures for improving work efficiency not just for those employees but for everyone within the organization.

In addition to analyzing business-related data, Business Analysts are also tasked with evaluating business models to see how well they integrate with different forms of technology. They must also document this entire process for later reference if they need to revisit their findings or share them with others. Those working with business analytics are often involved with their organization’s financial well-being. This can involve identifying and solving problems, proposing new goals, and monitoring operations across departments to ensure the desired results are achieved within the established time constraints.

What is the Career Outlook for Business Analysts?

If you’re considering pursuing a career as a Business Analyst, now is a great time to do so. The career outlook for 2023 is strong. Organizations in nearly every industry, product sector, and service sector are looking to make better professional decisions. They are interested in hiring individuals with the skill set to help them run more efficiently and be more profitable. They are searching for candidates who can handle large datasets that likely will grow in complexity and volume over time and are willing to compensate them well for their efforts.

Another factor contributing to the current high demand for qualified Business Analysts is that some professional sectors are experiencing a shortage in the data analytics skill set, which means more jobs are available than professionals who can fill them. In addition, this skill set shortage will likely expand in the future. The positive side is that this situation creates an excellent opportunity for those with a background in business analytics to use their technical, analytical, communication, and research skills. It also provides more professional options when deciding which type of business analytics to pursue as a career path.

The digital revolution has also created a corresponding need for Business Analysts. While some businesses have existed for decades or longer, their ability to collect huge volumes of data regarding operations has changed in the recent past. This data is only helpful if it can be analyzed and translated into actionable insights with the help of a qualified Business Analyst. Collecting data has many benefits for a company:

• It can indicate past and current trends and outliers that indicate potential problems.
• The company can use it to predict customer behavior.
• It helps establish realistic targets.
• It allows managers to make more informed, data-driven decisions.

In addition, many businesses are transitioning to sell digital services or products or to use a digital platform to sell products. These changes have led organizations to invest in business analytics.

Another critical factor that has led to a strong career outlook for Business Analysts in 2023 is that there are relatively low barriers to entering this field compared to other occupations. In some ways, the field of business analytics is young compared to more established professions like engineering or accounting. Additionally, the skills a Business Analyst acquires have applications for various other professional roles. This means those who work as Business Analysts can eventually transition into higher-profile positions in project management, program management, or business architecture, among others, with higher salaries.

Growth Rate for Business Analysts 

A growth market takes place in situations where the size of the market continues to expand at an increasingly fast rate. When a growth market expands, it’s not only associated with the organic, steady growth that occurs with a growth in population or existing customers but reflects that new customers are also being acquired. 

Currently, some consider business analytics to be experiencing a growth market as more companies and organizations begin to understand the value of data analysis and how it can benefit their bottom line. However, it’s challenging to prove concretely that Business Analysts are experiencing a growth market since most job reports don’t specifically note “Business Analyst” as a role or mislabel it to other professions such as Project Manager, some estimate that this profession is growing at a rate five times faster than other career paths.

Even though the Bureau of Labor Statistics doesn’t keep track of “Business Analyst” positions, it does report on the growth rate in fields that fall under this category. Between 2020 and 2030:

• Financial Analyst positions are projected to grow by 6%.
• Management Analyst jobs are expected to experience a 14% growth.
• Market Research Analyst positions are projected to increase by 22%.
• Operations Research Analyst jobs are likely to grow by 25%.
• Information Security Analyst positions are expected to grow by 33%.

As these numbers indicate, the growth rate projections for Market Research Analysts, Operations Research Analysts, and Information Security Analysts are well above the national average projected growth for overall employment in the U.S. Financial Analyst projected growth rates, however, are expected to match the national average over the next eight years. 

This means that there are currently many career opportunities in business analytics for those with the necessary skills, experience, and industry knowledge. There will continue to be positions available in the coming years.

Enroll in Hands-on Classes to Learn More About Business Analytics

If you’re looking to start a career as a Business Analyst, a variety of courses are currently available for beginners, intermediate, and advanced students who hope to brush up on their business and analytic skills. Noble’s Business Analyst Certificate is a great learning option for any aspiring Business Analyst. Relevant tools and skills such as data analysis, Excel, Tableau, and SQL are covered in this program. Those enrolled in this intensive course can elect to study online or in person in Manhattan. This class comes with the option of a free retake for learners who wish to revisit course material. 

In addition, an excellent resource for finding business analytics classes close to home is Noble Desktop’s Classes Near Me tool. You can use it to search more than 250 live online and in-person business analytics courses currently available in topics such as SQL, PowerPoint, and Excel for Business, among others.