Data is everywhere. When the term “data science” was coined in the 1960s, little did anyone know that data channels would grow exponentially in the next 50 years, and data collection and processing would be critical to all industries. In fact, an organization can never have too much data! Data and the analysis of data can advance an organization’s causes and goals in so many ways.
This is why analysts are integral members of any industry. There is great demand for analysts in the year ahead, so for professionals who wish to try out a new career path, or current analysts looking to change their role, this post might be helpful for you. Let’s discuss analyst roles that 2023 has to offer and how being an analyst provides career satisfaction and flexibility. This piece also aims to help you understand whether an analyst role is truly right for you.
Related Article: Reasons Why You Are Not Getting an Offer for an Analyst Job
What Are the Minimum Skills and Knowledge Needed to Be an Analyst?
The basic responsibilities of an analyst can be summarized into four tasks: gather data, interpret data, identify patterns and present findings. As you’ll notice, these are not menial tasks. Before becoming an analyst, you must have a solid statistical analysis background. After all, statistics is fundamental to data science. Knowledge of various data collection and interpretation apps is also essential for an analyst role. Apps can be used to generate surveys, lay down spreadsheets, and process data to show patterns and anomalies. Apps help analysts to process data as accurately as possible. Finally, analysts are responsible for reporting data findings, which is why communication skills are also required to become an effective analyst. For someone interested in becoming an analyst, take these skills to heart, along with patience to handle numbers and data, and a keen eye in sorting them out.
Read more: Analyze Your Analysis Team: How to Map Out Analyst Career Paths
What Makes the Analyst Role a Flexible One?
The analyst role is one of the best career pathways anyone can take. Every industry needs a data analyst. There’s always the need to collect data, make sense of the information collected, and present what it all means to the organization. According to Business Insider, analyst roles will remain relevant until 2030, and data science roles are the number-one in demand job of 2023.
Moreover, analysts can use the same skills and familiarity with the same tools even if they transfer from one industry to another. Very few roles are as equally flexible. For instance, engineers must have impeccable problem-solving skills and visionary minds to build different outputs specific to the work at hand. However, it’s an entirely different outlook for analysts. Data may come in different figures and wording, but in the end: data is data. As long as data analysts hone their skills, there is always an opportunity to practice data collection and interpretation in a new field or industry. The overlap of different data analyst roles in terms of skill set helps them be flexible and keep up with the demands of the times when it comes to data processing. This is why the analyst role has a lot of potential.
What Are the Analyst Roles Projected to Thrive This Year?
Data Analyst, Operations Analyst, and IT Analyst, just to name a few, are some of the current in-demand analyst roles this year. Per Indeed, the average base salary of the analyst role in the United States is around $70K, and depending an analyst’s experience and geography, salaries can easily exceed $100K. While your prospective salary depends on the industry you will be working in, the pay is very competitive compared to most roles. A career in data analysis is promising, and, as mentioned, the opportunity of moving from one industry to another is highly possible.
Consider the following roles to see if they are the next step in your professional journey:
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- Data Analyst. Many industries will need a data analyst. Programming and SQL skills come in handy if you consider delving into this role.
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- Operations Analyst. These analysts can act as consultants for organizations or be employed by them. They focus on organization operations and evaluate internal reporting systems, product distribution and manufacturing, and overall business operations. To be an operations analyst, you must be business-savvy and have a working knowledge of an organization’s technical side and the systems they depend on. A wide array of organizations, even the military, hire operations analysts.
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- IT Analyst. Aside from data collection and visualization programs, this particular analyst has to be a lot more tech-savvy and knowledgeable about information technology. The IT analyst must be familiar with information systems and even third-party tools to test out the software the organization may need for various purposes. IT analysts will definitely find work, with more organizations now relying on apps and programs to keep their business afloat.
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- Cybersecurity Analyst. While technology is in demand, malicious forces, such as malware and hackers, are out to infiltrate organization databases and systems. The cybersecurity analyst can be considered the watchdog of organizations when it comes to cybersecurity. The data they gather is critical in setting up security measures for the internet.
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- Business Analyst. Last but not least, the business analyst may be more in demand than any analyst role. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics sees business analysts grow by 25% by 2030. Especially with business becoming more competitive in the modern day, information about other products and services in the market and consumer trends must be monitored accurately. What’s also noteworthy about the business analyst role is that those in these roles can branch out to other positions beyond the responsibilities of an analyst. Exposure to heavy business data can give them the know-how to do marketing or even run a business in the future.
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FIND YOUR NEXT ANALYST ROLE AND BEYOND THROUGH ACS PROFESSIONAL STAFFING.
Here at ACS Professional Staffing, we have a long list of analyst roles to offer, and we would love to help you find a role in IT, engineering, or administrative support.. We provide high-touch service through our people-centric approach and we are a proud Equal Opportunity Employer. We hope your search experience with us will be filled with integrity and promise. We’ve led countless professionals, not only analysts, to their versions of success, so look no further.