Becoming a successful Business Analyst (BA)

Thanks MKJ for this piece on BA. Would request you to throw some light on soft skills required for a successful BA. Similarly, please suggest how can someone groom and prepare self to be a good BA. Also what are various domains available for a BA;…

Thanks MKJ for this piece on BA. Would request you to throw some light on soft skills required for a successful BA. Similarly, please suggest how can someone groom and prepare self to be a good BA. Also what are various domains available for a BA; expertise, skills required for each domain etc, oppurtunity for each domain etc.

Hi,
I am in IT industry (Quality Assurance). Can you suggest how can mould my career towards a BA?
To be specific, what qualifications other than an MBA can help me get this job?
Right now I am 2yrs experienced.

This articles explains more of BA and its role:
businessgyan

Hi all,
I am currently working as a SE...I would like to change my career track to that of a Business Analyst....I gave the CAT for the last two years..got 96.6%ile & 98.3%ile respectively...missed the cut-off for IIMs last time around by a whisker...

But due to some personal reasons now, i wont be able to pursue a Full-time MBA...

Can any1 say that whether the certificate courses provided by NIIT Imperia in collaboration with the IIMs, are of any value...

Check the below link...
NIIT: Overview

I mean i would like to know that are ne of these courses recognized in the industry.

If i pursue any of this courses, will it be worth the time,efforts & money

Hi,


I am also in the same situation. working in an Indian MNC as sr. software engineer and have 2 yrs of experience in web technologies(java).

I want to give a new direction to my career like becoming a BA etc.

Now due to some constraints, I cannot go in for full time MBA. can you all provide suggestions on this like:-

1) Which MBA to go for part time / Distance learning and the preferred stream (IT, system, marketing etc).
2) will job switch be helpful and what to target ?.


looking hard for a change and salary increase.. :-P

hi

i want to be a business analyst. I am going to complete my MBA by March 2011.

Right now I am doing a majors in finance. From what I have come to know, business analysts have become very important to an organisation, even during the recessions. Also they are required in all kinds of sectors.
But the most number of jobs for them are available with IT companies. So I am trying to tailor make my resume accordingly to fulfill the job specification criterion.

After consulting the senior level managers of a few companies I have come to know that they require MBA graduates with an IT background and finance as their main domain. I do not have a work experience and my B school does not offer IT subjects.

So I am trying to find certifications, projects, whatever it takes to fulfill the former criteria.

I have read that OBIEE(oracle business intelligence enterprise) 11g is going to be released on 27 July. I was wondering if it is a widely used tool so that doing its certification will give me an edge. Also what if an MCITP(microsoft certification ) is available for business intelligence. Because now a days business project management and business intelligence go hand in hand.also will doing an ERP certification help me in the right direction?

i am confused and require the correct guidance.

Is part-time/ correspondence MBA acceptable in the industry for BA roles?

Is part-time/ correspondence MBA acceptable in the industry for BA roles?

wannabmanager Says
Is part-time/ correspondence MBA acceptable in the industry for BA roles?


Hi,
It entirely depends on the requirement of the organisation, where you are fitting in that requirement and how well you perform in the interview if you get a call.

Cheers
Hitesh
Hi,
It entirely depends on the requirement of the organisation, where you are fitting in that requirement and how well you perform in the interview if you get a call.

Cheers
Hitesh


In addition to that it also depends on which institute you have done ur course frm? Whats ur previous exp etc...

Trends suggest part time MBA is preferred over correspondence MBA!
hi

i want to be a business analyst. I am going to complete my MBA by March 2011.

Right now I am doing a majors in finance. From what I have come to know, business analysts have become very important to an organisation, even during the recessions. Also they are required in all kinds of sectors.
But the most number of jobs for them are available with IT companies. So I am trying to tailor make my resume accordingly to fulfill the job specification criterion.

Ya ya this is the same stuff they say about other roles as well...
During recession u need project mgrs to handle the huge influx of outsourcing projects, BA and Consultants to provide their expertise, Transition mgrs to help transition et al...:sneaky:

Truth is that BA out of all roles is the most common and easily available role in the IT industry for MBA pass-outs...they are always in vogue

After consulting the senior level managers of a few companies I have come to know that they require MBA graduates with an IT background and finance as their main domain. I do not have a work experience and my B school does not offer IT subjects.

Previous IT exp is not a requisite for a BA role...I have numerous examples of ppl frm my college with absolutely zero IT bkgrnd getting into BA/Ass Consultant roles.

So I am trying to find certifications, projects, whatever it takes to fulfill the former criteria.

I have read that OBIEE(oracle business intelligence enterprise) 11g is going to be released on 27 July. I was wondering if it is a widely used tool so that doing its certification will give me an edge. Also what if an MCITP(microsoft certification ) is available for business intelligence. Because now a days business project management and business intelligence go hand in hand.also will doing an ERP certification help me in the right direction?

i am confused and require the correct guidance.

Confused...good for you!!!
Anyone who isn't confused really doesn't understand the situation :biggrin:
On a serious note, dude, do not waste money on doing all these certifications for the following reasons:
a. they will restrict ur expertise to a particular domain/app
b. they are expensive
c. companies hire u for ur talent and not for ur skills. Such cert can easily be done (at company cost) once u r in the indistry

Can someone shed light on the following as well :

# What are the major tasks that take up most part of BA role?
# key challenges as a BA
# how imp is technology knowhow : do BAs need to keep updated on new technologies?
# how's the life - is very stressful?

Thanks!

Hii all ,I hv done B.Tech(IT) and nw pursuing PGDM (Finance + Marketing)
I am a fresher and want to become BA..
Tell me on what areas should i focus and for fresher is there any opportunity in the same area??
plz help me out 😐

hi !!!
please help me on this.I have completed b.tech in petroleum engineering in june this year.I was campus recruited at infosys.They told us that we would be given a job profile of business analyst (i guess after one year as system engineer) like domain consultant for oil and gas projects,i find this appealing and promising so i didnt sat for core companies.They are calling me on january next year so ive this six months to spare.What should I do in this meantime?
1.) Do a course which would benefit me in future(SAP? or?) im not rich enough to go for expensive courses (like >20000) in india.
2.)Prepare for MBA? like Gmat (score valid for 5 years),work and after 3-4 years do MBA,preferably in india (some college take gmat score too )
3.) Search for job with no experience? or something else?
thanks in advance

Hi Seniors,

Could you please share some details about

"Post Gradute Program (Full Time) in Business Analytical"

ICICI and Praxis working together for this programme

:: Praxis

I want to Know:

1.How is Praxis College in terms of placement and faculity
2.Last Year minimum and maximum package
3.No of compnay visted the campus

Hey Gaurav!!! The PGPBA is a speciliazed program offered by Praxis in the field of Business Analytics which will start from 7th of November. It is a full time program based out of our campus in Kolkata. This will be a hardcore analytics course with a flavor of management in it to prepare you for a business analyst profile in any organization. This program is an industry supported program with ICICI Bank and PwC being our knowledge partners i.e they have been a part of the designing the course and they will also be a part of the delivery as well as the placement process once the course commences. Apart from these two companies there are other companies like Dell Analytics, HP Analytics, HSBC Analytics, IDC and Target Analytics who have shown an interest in recruiting students from this course.

This will be the first batch of the BA program so I wont be able to provide you with any past statistics. But I can give you the stats for the PGPBM program:
1. In terms of placement Praxis has always given 100% placements and a huge emphasis is placed on the type of profile that the companies offer. I being a student of Praxis I can vouch that the faculty team here is one of the best you can have. We have an appropriate mix of academicians and industry personnel. The industry interface is also very good that results in regular guest lectures and workshops conducted by eminent corporate personality
2. For the 2011-13 batch the minimum salary was 3.2 lakhs while the maximum was 7.09 lakhs
3. We usually have 15-20 companies who visit the campus for placements.

The admission process for BA is on you can apply(if you wish to) by filling up the form in the link you have provided. For any other query please get in touch with me.

I am curretnly doing mba and i want to see my self as a good ba how i can apply in it company?

Hi I am currently pursuing MBA from one of the top 15 MBA colleges in India.
I have 3 yrs prior experience in IT industry as test engineer.
I have planned for a shift towards business analyst role after my MBA.

Kindly suggest what are the good companies offering good profiles and what is the salary and growth I can expect in this role in India.

Hi I am currently pursuing MBA from one of the top 15 MBA colleges in India.
I have 3 yrs prior experience in IT industry as test engineer.
I have planned for a shift towards business analyst role after my MBA.

Kindly suggest what are the good companies offering good profiles and what is the salary and growth I can expect in this role in India.


Dear Harshal,

Business Analytics runs as a layer across most large organizations. India is rapidly emerging as a hub for Analytics.

To name a few firms, you have companies such as PwC, Deloitte, Genpact, Hp Analytics, IBM who offer analytics services to other organizations. All telecom companies (Vodafone, Airtel), BFSI firms ( ICICI Bank, HSBC, Kotak, Fidelity), retail majors (Bharti Walmart, Target) have in house divisions typically named as Business Intelligence Units.

For more updates on the domain, you may visit Analytics India Homepage This is a forum of analytics professionals of India.