Business Analyst Skills: What You Need to Become a Business Analyst

This article will explore the kinds of skills you need to become a Business Analyst. It will also provide resources for learning more about business analytics. 

What Skills Do You Need to Become a Business Analyst?

Technical Skills

• Microsoft Excel is a core skill that nearly every Business Analyst relies on when working with large datasets. Excel is an industry-standard spreadsheet application. It’s one of the oldest and most powerful reporting and analytics tools available. Business Analysts often use it for cleaning data, performing calculations and budget analysis, and locating important trends or patterns from within the data. In addition, Business Analysts rely on Excel to create PivotTables, graphs, or charts to visualize data findings.

• Data mining skills are essential to help Business Analysts locate quality data.
• A background in statistical analysis is an asset for Business Analysts.

Programming Skills

Hands-on programming knowledge can help a Business Analyst perform faster and better data analysis. Because complicated problems can often be solved by writing effective codes, a background in Python or R is helpful since they offer a variety of packages and libraries devoted to data manipulation, wrangling, analytics, and visualization. 

Data Visualization Skills

Visualizing data findings is a must when working as a Business Analyst. Programs such as Microsoft Power BI and Tableau are commonly used to create stunning, accessible data visualizations that analysts can share with internal and external stakeholders to communicate data findings visually.

Research Skills

Research plays an integral role in a Business Analyst’s job. A solid foundation in research skills allows Business Analysts to explore any organizational challenge to identify a cause and propose a viable solution. Performing research into a business’s performance, finances, efficiency, and products is expected in this field, as is market research and competitive analysis. Research skills help Business Analysts know which questions need to be asked and guide them toward sources where they can retrieve relevant information. Without a foundation in research, it would be impossible to develop hypotheses or generate detailed reports on findings. 

Mathematical Skills

While it may seem obvious, mathematical skills play a crucial role in the daily tasks a Business Analyst performs. This is why they must be able to implement formulas and solve equations quickly. Algebra, statistics, and calculus are core skills Business Analysts all use.

Database & SQL Skills

Another vital skill for a Business Analyst is an understanding of databases and how to work with structured data. For this reason, knowledge of using relational databases like MySQL, NoSQL, and Microsoft SQL Server is helpful. In addition, having experience with SQL, or Structured Query Language, is essential for those working with business analytics. SQL allows Business Analysts to access, locate, manipulate, and analyze data.

Soft Skills

In addition to hard skills, soft skills, which are also known as common skills, are valuable to being a successful Business Analyst:

• Problem-solving: Business Analysts often work to identify problems or challenges at a business, and then find solutions. This process requires handling a variety of small and large problems and having the foresight to anticipate any future complications that may arise.

• An eye for detail: Performing data analysis is a process that involves careful concentration and focus, as well as attention to detail. Being detail-focused is also essential when writing reports that convey the findings from the data.

• Communication skills: Both oral and written communication skills are needed to be a successful Business Analyst. Those who pursue business analytics must be able to articulate their findings, conclusions, and recommendations in presentations, at meetings, and by using written proposals and reports. They must ensure that important or timely information is being communicated to internal and external stakeholders in a way that is clear and accessible, even to those who don’t come from a technical background. In addition, skilled Business Analysts also need to be skilled at communicating to regularly collaborate with other team members in their organization and those who work in management, as well as customers or clients.

Related Skills

• Negotiation skills are also valuable for a Business Analyst. Often, they must serve as a liaison between various parties, such as clients and companies, management and IT, or developers and clients. This requires establishing and maintaining a balance between what the business needs and what individuals want, which can involve interacting with different personalities to find a solution that benefits the organization and is acceptable to stakeholders. In addition, a Business Analyst uses negotiation skills to compete for client projects and maintain relationships between their organization and external parties.

• Having a thick skin helps Business Analysts handle the copious amounts of feedback they will likely receive on their documentation, suggestions, and proposed solutions. To get the most out of the various kinds of feedback offered, Business Analysts have to know the difference between the feedback directly related to work and the feedback that may tend to be more based on your personality. Thick skin can come in handy to extract constructive suggestions, critiques, and criticisms from other less-helpful feedback.

Where Can You Learn Skills to Become a Business Analyst?

If you’re looking to acquire the skills needed to become a Business Analyst, many learning options are available to accommodate learners from all backgrounds, from novice to expert. In addition to college and university-level business-related coursework, educational instruction in business analytics is also available from many other reputable educational providers in the in-person, live online, or on-demand format. For example, top education providers such as Noble Desktop have certificate programs in Business Analytics. Courses like these offer students industry-relevant training, real-world business examples, and small class sizes. Relevant skills such as Excel, Tableau, and SQL are covered in Noble’s hands-on program, which is offered both online and in-person in Manhattan.

Learn Business Analytics by Enrolling in Hands-on Classes

If you are looking for additional study options in business analytics, over 140 live online classes in business analytics are currently listed by top educational providers around the US. These classes offer an excellent opportunity to study essential business concepts and skills like PowerPoint, Tableau, SQL, and Microsoft Power BI.

Those interested in finding learning options close to home can also use Noble Desktop’s Classes Near Me tool to browse through more than 250 live online and in-person business analytics courses in topics such as SQL, PowerPoint, and Excel for Business, among others.