Businesses thrive on data. They collect, organize, and analyze it to make future decisions that may include budget allocations, quarterly priorities, and future product development. But to do this all, companies rely on an army of experts that deal with data all day, every day. Data scientists and data analysts are two of the common titles.
But those data experts who take on a role that deals with the business and decision-making side more closely take on a different title: business analyst.
Two U.S. Department of Labor job classifications that are most related to the field—data scientist and management analyst—are growing at rates much faster than the national average. And with companies increasingly relying on exponentially growing levels of data, it is clear that the business analytics field is one that will similarly continue to grow over the next decades.
One of the seemingly endless paths toward pursuing a career in business analytics is to enroll in a namesake graduate degree. As part of Fortune Education’s commitment in helping prospective students navigate the complicated and ever changing education ecosystem, we are releasing our ranking of the best online master’s in business analytics for 2024.
Our expert panel
In preparation for the release of our new ranking, Fortune sat down with two experts at top tech companies who have been interacting with business and data for decades to discuss the entire business analytics educational ecosystem:
- Jan Ackerman: Senior Vice President of Global Recruiting at Oracle
- Yao Morin: Chief Technology Officer at JLL
By asking questions centered around the importance of business analytics, how it interacts with data, and what they value in a business analytics education, we hoped to gain a better sense of how to effectively provide guidance to those hoping to pursue a career in the field. Neither expert was involved in the ranking of any programs directly.
What sets apart a good analyst from a great analyst? ‘Soft skills’
The data field is becoming more and more mature, as compared to 10-15 years ago, in part due to the rapid technological developments within generative AI and digital advertisements, Morin says. Thus, the need for business analysts is becoming greater.
“The requirement for business analysts has been going up in the sense that you are required to be able to crunch a large amount of data, you are expected to be able to tell a story from seemingly very messy, very large amount of data that is different from before,” Morin says.
She adds that the three most important buckets of skills for a business analyst to have are:
- Technical skills (including data wrangling and visualization)
- Storytelling (reading dashboards)
- Curiosity
The final point—soft skills—is what she believes can truly set a good analyst apart from a great analyst
“Every business needs business analysts,” Morin explains. “I always think about business analysts as a Swiss army knife and you have to be curious as to running all kinds of business problems across different industries because you are needed everywhere.”
Additionally, while it is important to be knowledgeable of technical skills like programming in SQL or utilizing Tableau and Looker—staying up-to-date with those skills can be equally as crucial due to the frequent industry changes.
Morin admits that business analysts may not be as “sexy” as data scientists or other data roles, but they are an integral part of any modern business.
“Business analysts are actually (who are) really in the trenches with business stakeholders, to really leverage data to tell to get insights and make decisions,” she says.
Do your homework before picking an educational pathway
Ackerman reiterates that business analysts are paramount to every business that’s out there—with their skills being used to help companies grow and be successful.
While roles have evolved greatly over the last few years to build out specific data career paths like data engineers, machine learning engineers, or data analysts—what makes business analytics stick out is the emphasis of solving business problems.
“The domain knowledge, the technical skills, and the strong business foundation—bringing that all together, that’s really where business analytics kind of differs,” Ackerman says.
But for a business analyst themselves to be successful, striking a balance between hard and soft skills is key, including
- Technical programming: Python, R, SQL
- Data visualization: Oracle Analytics, Tableau, Power BI
- Soft skills: Communication, problem solving
In terms of education, Ackerman notes that following a degree can be a good idea because it often teaches you much more than the basic tech skills—it rounds you out as an individual. At the same time, countless individuals have been successful in the tech and business space without formal training.
The most important piece of advice Ackerman provides is to simply do your homework; research what a program truly has to offer—and ask questions like who are the professors, what is the school like, what specializations are offered, and how much does it cost? Ultimately, he adds, keep in mind the 5 Ps: “Prior planning precludes poor performance.”
“We’ve really come full circle in the industry over the last 10 to 15 years,” he notes. “And business analytics is at the forefront of helping large corporations, small businesses, to really understand data and data analytics.”
Methodology for Fortune’s ranking of the best online master’s in business analytics
Selectivity (50%)
Having an updated curriculum, taught by the best and brightest professors are key parts to any business analytics program. But a program cannot exist with its students. Fortune evaluated the strength of each program’s incoming class to gain insight into the selectivity of each school on the ranking.
To calculate the Selectivity Score, we started by looking at the average undergraduate GPA of incoming students. In addition, we looked at the average number of years of work experience (the higher, the better) of those same students.
We also weighted the program’s acceptance rate, as programs that are challenging to get accepted into tend to attract a stronger cohort of students.
Demand Score (20%)
If programs aren’t successful, they won’t be able to continue to attract and graduate top students year after year, and a larger student body often translates into a resourceful alumni network. Because these business analytics programs are offered online, price is a big factor. That’s why we measured the number of applicants for the most recent year as well as the out-of-state tuition rates.
Success (30%)
Once students are in a program, a variety of factors can affect their willingness to stick it out until the end—especially for online offerings. What’s clear is that the quality and support systems within a program can affect student success, and the outcomes of a degree program is critical. That’s why we look at the retention and graduation rates of programs.
