New_scooby_04

iTrader: (4)

Hi all,

My other half has just finished her PhD and doesn't want an academic role, so is venturing out into the big wide world of business! She's very good with numbers and analysis and has secured a bit of experience working in a company dealing with quality assurance, preparing reports for consultants etc... but the role really isn't sophisticated enough to allow any real skills development or career progression.

Is anyone on here a business analyst and can offer advice on how to secure an appropriate junior position with somewhere that will offer proper career development and prospects e.g. some good websites on which to search for junior positions, any advice on CV refinement for such roles and any tips for someone looking to work their way up the career ladder?

Thanks in advance,

Ns04

SJ_Skyline

Good luck considering the current economic climate.

My experience of BAs is limited to the consultancy houses where they are typically used for requirements and business process analysis and articulation. I would certainly look at the main consultancys although many of them (my mob included) have headcount freezes on at the moment and the likes of HP/EDS have had pay cuts.

It might be worth looking to expand along the QA route as a junior here and then gaining experience with TickIT / 14000 / 20000 / 27000. Another route is through financial reporting - our projects report monthly on their finances and whilst it is each project manager's responsibility to put their report together it is often passed over to a project office role (particularly on the big projects with casts of hundreds) to put the report together.

Sorry it's a bit of an all over the place brain dump but there are some pointers in there.

finalzero

Bit of a grey area this one as the term BA can mean many different things and not all BA's are the same (some are just BA's by name).

But don't let that get you down - what your other half needs to do is to first get up to speed on business process terminology, ideally learn the basics of BPP language, modeling (using something like Visio etc to create business process diagrams) and finally some level of uderstanding of what Project Management is.

That lot will set any person on the right path but then it's a grey area as I mentioned because it all depends on you want to do as a BA i.e. what market sector you are going to get involved in.

A technical analyst like myself is will have crossover skills (I am a seasoned programmer, server/app support analyst but also have lots of business analysis & customer facing experience).

The other side of that would be non-technical e.g. working in the hospitality sector so as an Analyst there you would be focusing more on the business delivery where technical architectures are meaningless (to a point).

Confidence is the main thing, you need to be dynamic as an analyst but again depends on what area you focus in (BA's working in a technical sector tend to be multi-skilled and very proficient with things like Database & Software Design, SQL/T-SQL and Crystal Reports).

The CV should show the core skills but also anything relevant to Project Managent, Analysis and Management/Ownership of at least one project from concept to delivery (even if it's a dissertation paper, if you can present the work as a project to the prospective employer you are on a winner).

Don't BS... I have worked with a lot of PM's and BA's who talk out of their **** so if you say something back it up with facts and if you are going to do some blue-sky thinking at least present it in a way that makes sense to the wider business audience.

Obviously any kind of post-academic business related studies/courses help a lot but most if not all is done on the job.

Main thing is to assess company you are approaching for work, check what kind of prospects you will have (how easy/hard is it to progress in your role, what kind of training and incentives do you get), what is the working culture like (does the company allow people move around in different roles dept to dept)?

You know if you are on the right kind of role when you are allowed to think outside of the box and outside of your role, you are allowed to flex your muscles and use any new skills you gain and importantly you are allowed to get involved at any stage of a project (preferably the early stages).

Hope that helps

SJ_Skyline

Damn, I thought I had got away with it...

Pretty much agree with what you've written though

[-(o)-]

iTrader: (1)

I'm a Data Analyst, and work with a couple of BAs. I think the key thing is to have an analytical mind and solid IT skills. Not talking serious programming, but I can write SQL + rough VBA and a lot of my time is spent going between IT and the business ensuring both sides understand what the other wants.

This isn't much help, but I ended up where I am more or less by chance and from those I work with I'd say its similar for them. Most have a good degree (I'm meant to be an Engineer) that then hasn't led directly to that career. I'm not sure if there is a route as such, from my experience companies tend to recognise people with the appropriate abilities and then training and specialisation seems to follow.

My boss recommends jobserve.com

ChefDude

If she wants a challenging job, then she should train as a quantitative analyst for Financial credit, structured or risk.

Numerix provide analytics in exactly this space and they employ about 50+ quants at Phd level.

If she can do the job well, then she'll be on at least £150K. Some quants in the states are on double that.

If I had any brains, it'd be the job i'd be doing. as it is, I'm a dumb OTC/Fixed income consultant.

finalzero

lol so true, I sometimes wonder if I could have been earning double what I am on now.

All the posts on this thread are bang on imo - you either walk into a BA role or you fall into it by chance (usually because your role evolves into something more).

Good look for your other half, sure the right oppertunity will turn up.

New_scooby_04

iTrader: (4)

My thanks to you all for your help. The other half is grateful.

All the best.

Ns04

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

Isn't it what you do in IT when you cant hack the techie side ?


And then end up bossing techies about, which is likened to "Herding Cats" at our place

nixxon

Very true!
Train to be a Chartered Accountant. At least people will know you've some serious **** goin' on!
It's all very well being able to analyse numbers, but the ACA training will give you experience in a wide range of businesses, very quickly.

philhasasti

my friend is in BA!

he gets mad money! 320pounds a day!!!!
but he only does contracts on monthly bases eg, 4months with one company then 2months with another company!
but he can also go for months with no income!!!
not my cup of tea, im happy with decent money and a sucure job

DJ_Jon

iTrader: (7)

A good solid knowledge of how IT systems work would be a good start, I don't mean programming, but as said above some SQL or the like would be good. I work with BA's in my role as a tester & a good BA (in my line of work) is someone that knows the solution inside & out & can translate that into words that a normal person can understand.

I fell into my role whilst working in the civil service & was just lucky to end up with some useful skills in the real world. maybe a Goverment job would be a good starting point - they will certainly pay for lots of training.

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

Thats not that "Mad" in IT, by the sound of it he is a contractor so £320 a day is actually towards the lower end of the scale,

Business Analyst Contracts, Contractor Rates for Business Analyst Jobs

finalzero

Yeah another good qualification to have, I recommend visiting Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales Home Page | ICAEW for more info on what you can train for.

finalzero

Haha yeah see that a lot, I am fortunate as I sit in the middle somewhere between techies and BA's so I still get to flex my technical muscles - only reason I started focusing on the business side is because I am an ambitious **** and I am carving out a path for myself.

But I will never leave the techie side, I am an addict (I will happly go home and spend another 6 hours in my small computer lab tinker with stuff) but hoping eventually I can create a role in my department for myself, something like a solutions architect.

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

Im a DBA, Oracle, SQL and whatever they point me at, it's funny, about as techie as you get really, I can do the people thing as well as computers so I do ok !