Business Analyst Career Guide and Counseling

Question: Business Analyst? I am working as business Analyst(4months as BA Total work exp 5yrs) in a s/w company. I would like to know what are tht prospects. How to grow. Is there any certification regarding the same. Pls help me

Answer: consider training/certification in a continuous improvement areas such as six sigma

Question: What does a business analyst do? What course do you take to become a business analyst? I came across a chart showing the avarage salaries of business analysts in IT/Computer software/Computer hardware. I do not know what a business analyst does exactly. What course should I take in college to become a business analyst. Currently I'm planing on getting a degree in Business with IT in college, will that enable me to become a business analyst?

Answer: Yes, the courses you speak of will help you to become a Business Analyst. A BA can be on the client side or the IT side. If on the client side, they are interfacing with work group domains that process the work and review what they need. They generate requirements and then work with the IT side to update or generate processes and applications to fullfil the business needs. If you're a BA on the IT side of the house, then you're taking all the requirements and developing processes and application solutions. Your job is to work with the client to generate a business solutions document (there are many names for it) and get signoff. Then, you need to make sure that solution becomes reality by working with systems analysts, programmers, and testers. You're generally responsible for the delivery of the solution. Although, if the solution revolves around process changes with other work group domains, you normally work with a PM (Project Manager). Never the less, you have end to end responsibilities for the IT delivery to insure the client gets what they need (and paying for). With the offshoring of work to cheap labor, to remain associated with software development, the BA role is a good profession.

Question: What does it take to be a Business Analyst at a company? Hello, I work as a programmer and have a masters in computers. Though I like my job I would like to shift towards some business side and bit away from technical side. What does it take to be business analyst at a company? Do I need to do an MBA necessarily? I do not want to go to school again but I am sure there must be some reading I can do on my own to apply for Business Analyst jobs? Thanks. Sorry for missing out, yes I am talking about business systems analyst, related to computers.

Answer: I'm assuming you're talking about a business systems analyst- Basically you're writing test cases and translating requirements from the business side to the technical side. Since you already have a computer background, this should be extremely easy for you. The only thing you really need is the ability (and patience) to communicate effectively to both the non-technical and technical people and maybe read a book or two on SDLC and use case modelling. If you really want to impress them, there are business analyst certifications you can get that don't require the same amount of dedication as an MBA. If you do plan to take an MBA, you would probably be too overqualified to be a BA; a job as an IT manager would be better suited I don't think it'll be too hard for you to transfer over to the business side. At bank I use to work at, there was some guy who was programmer for 20+ years that transferred over to my team as a BA.

Question: What to do to become a business analyst? I am a student. I want to know what I have to do to become a business analyst. Which degrees should I take and how much years it will take.

Answer: The above poster is correct. Your business degree should also include some IT subjects like systems analysis or the systems development life cycle (an IT specialization would be good) An MBA with IT specialization is of course valuable - but they can often be done in as little as a year. An IT Masters degree would be useful as well - you may like to leave the MBA until you have had significant job experience and get something like an executive MBA. Thanks Bill

Question: Is it a good idea to enroll in a business analyst certificate program? Is it a good idea to enroll in a business analyst certificate program? I will be graduating this upcoming semester with a BA in Psychology. I don't want to pursue a career in Psychology right away. I was thinking of enrolling in a business analyst certificate program. Is it a good idea to pursue this particular field?

Answer: I've never heard of a business analyst certificate program, but it does sound like a good idea. Business analysts are used in IT projects, liaising between the client and the software company. For example, a business analyst might analyze workflow at the client site so that a software company can design a database or configure their application for a client. Money is good, but there can be extensive travel. A little more info on what's covered in the cert program would be helpful.

Question: Will taking the following courses help me become a business analyst on the IT side? Please can any business analyst or It person guide me .I have a bachelors degree in business ,but no experience in computing .I am going back to school to take these courses : Management information systems , object-based programming and object-oriented programming.Will taking these courses help me become a business analyst ?If not , then what courses are relevant to this field?

Answer: Yes, a business analyst needs to be able to interface between the client (i.e., the business user or end-user) and the provider of the solution (i.e., the people who will architect and program the software). This involves watching how the client works, discovering what his domain (i.e., his specific area of work) rules he follows, interviewing clients, and discerning possibly heretofore unknown problems in daily work flow or whatever the topic of the software solution is. Thus MIS,OOP, and OBP will help you understand the way programmers operate, think, and pattern their solutions. After these courses, the best way to becoming an excellent analyst is work experience.

Question: How to become a business analyst in supply chain management? I am 32 & a plain B.Sc. graduate .I am working as a pharma salesman.I want to become business analyst in supply chain management.What to do? Should I get a MBA degree by correspondence from SMU? Another qn,Is SMU degrees recognized in the job-market by employers in India?

Answer: U can do a MBA (Supply chain management). SMU is not that good university,moreover it's correspondence.

Question: What's the difference between a product manager, a business analyst, and a end-user representative? In the Web/Software/Systems development world, what is the difference between a product manager, a business analyst, and a end-user representative? It seems they are all different names for the same position, but maybe not.

Answer: Every company defines them differently, but here's what my company would say: PM: Responsible for understanding the work the user is trying to do and then translating that into requirements for development. Also responsible for demos of the product, overview for marketers to create copy for websites and other customer materials. Business Analyst: Broad title that could cover any kind of job where there is a lot of data to be gathered "analyzed" and summarized. In software, this is often something around product usage, website visits, etc. End User Rep is not something I've heard of, but it sounds like it is either Technical Support or something more like a Customer Advocate that plays a more narrow role than a Product Manager. The CA would really just champion customer issues to drive resolution and wouldn't be as focused as the PM on creating the right product for the future. Overall, my belief is that the PM is one of the most important positions in a software company, but if you are just starting out, pick anywhere in a good company that you are excited about and it will all work out over time.

Question: What is the best method of finding an IT/business analyst job in San Diego? Any advice for someone from NYC who is looking for a job in San Diego, CA? i graduated with an IT/MIS degree and currently a business analyst/IT consultant with 3 years of experience, looking for a similar position...ive been looking and havent found that many jobs :( what are the major companies or major headhunters in san diego? do you think they will neglect my resume when they look at my NYC address on my resume?

Answer: Try http://www.craigslist.org

Question: What does a business analyst do? Is it a good job? Im planning to take Business with IT in college I've been checking out the career choices I'll have later in life when I came across 'Business analyst', What does a business analyst do? Is it a good job? Does it pay well? How is the state of job availability in such a field?

Answer: What do they do? A business analyst is responsible for analyzing the business needs of their clients and stakeholders to help identify business problems and propose solutions. The business analyst typically performs a liaison function between the business side of an enterprise and the information technology department or external service providers. Common alternate titles are business systems analyst, systems analyst, and functional analyst, although some organizations may differentiate between the these titles and corresponding responsibilities. Does it pay well? According to the US Dept of Labor: Average annual earnings of computer systems analysts were $66,460 in May 2004. What is the job outlook? Employment of computer systems analysts is expected to grow much faster than the average for all occupations through the year 2014 as organizations continue to adopt and integrate increasingly sophisticated technologies. Job increases will be driven by very rapid growth in computer system design and related services, which is projected to be among the fastest growing industries in the U.S. economy. Good luck!