Every time I attend any analytics forum or interact with students, two questions stand out on account of number of times they are asked:
I am an undergraduate (or any other) student & want to pursue career in Analytics, what should I do?
or
I want to build a career / shift my career in Business Analytics, how should I go about doing so?
Further, I receive multiple queries through mail / social media / comments asking the same. In order to make sure these queries are addressed in best possible manner, I thought it’s best to write an article on this and provide a starting platform for everyone.
![How to start a career in Business Analytics](https://www.analyticsvidhya.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/How-to-start-a-career-in-Business-Analytics.jpg)
While the subject itself is wide, I’ll provide an overview of various things which can be done and focus on specific sub-topics through additional posts later on.
Before I delve into the ways of building an Analytics career, let me quickly cover why to build a career in Analytics first.
Why build a career in Business Analytics?
Analytics, as an industry is set for exponential growth. With more and more data being available in digital form, need for smarter, faster, data based decisions is only going to increase. Consider following facts to substantiate what I am saying:
- According to Harvard Business Review (October 2012 edition), job of a data scientist is the sexiest job of 21st century.
- According to the McKinsey Global Institute (In a May 2011 report): “By 2018, the United States alone could face a shortage of 140,000 to 190,000 people with deep analytical skills as well as 1.5 million managers and analysts with the know-how to use the analysis of big data to make effective decisions.”
Imagine what would be the number across the globe…
I understand Analytics will become big, but I don’t know how do I start a career in Business Analytics?
Its difficult for a newbie to find out the best way to start a career in Analytics due to following reasons:
- The industry in nascent stage, hence, it is difficult to find proper guidance.
- “Analytics” or “Business Analytics” are losely used terms, which makes it difficult for people to understand and appreciate the role
- There are limited structured & well laid out path which you can follow to enter the field.
While the first factor will improve with time and I had written an article mentioning second point here, this post aims to address the third point.
Two approaches to build a career
Like any other employment skill, there are 2 approaches to enter / start an analytics career:
- Approach 1 – Get hired by a company which trains you (on job / internal trainings) on the necessary skills. These would be companies which have Analytics in their DNA and use it for their day to day decisions. While this approach is better from long term perspective, it takes time and investment (especially if there is no structured training in the companies). Some of the companies known for using cutting edge Analytics (in India) are:
- Technology leaders: Google, Facebook, Linkedin
- Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI): Capital One, American Express, ICICI, HDFC
- Telecom companies: Idea, Vodafone, Airtel
- Analytics Consultancies: Fractal, Mu-Sigma, Absolutdata, ZS Associates
We have also prepared an comprehensive course on how to ace data science interviews. If you are expecting to face an interview with any of these companies, that’s your jackpot!
One of the alternate route to get into these companies can be internships. So if you have a 2 – 6 month break, give a try to becoming an intern in these companies.
- Approach 2 – Get Business Analytics related certification: While these certifications provides you with the technical skills required, these would not be able to compensate for experience on the job. Following are some options of training available (in India):
- For people with work experience, various leading academic institutes run certification courses. If you have the required experience and resources, I would recommend the course from ISB
- For freshers, there are certification courses run by various institutes, including Analytics Vidhya. Getting these certification courses can increase your chances of getting hired in some of the best companies.
What else can be done?
While these are specific paths for starting a career in Analytics, there are smaller steps you can take to increase your awareness. Some of them are mentioned below:
- Continue reading on the subject: Keep reading about the subject through various blogs and communities.
- Attend Industry forums: There are various industry forums, meet and conferences which you can attend to gain understanding of the subject. DataHack Summit (held annually) is one of the places to meet some of the best people in industry
- Try internships: Internships are awesome way to start your career. They provide you a flavor of the work before you take a plunge and the employer gets to assess you without significant investments.
- Connect to people: Since it is a small industry today, most of the people know each other. Find out how can you connect and talk to people in industry. They are your best sources of information.
- Go through training material available on the web: Google provides basic training for Google Analytics free. There are various websites running basic courses which can be accessed freely. Some universities provide access to course notes freely. Consume as much as you can.
- Books: Read some good books on the subject like Scoring Points (on Tesco); The new Science of retailing, The Signal and The Noise are some good books on the matter.
If there are any other resources which you have found useful to learn more on the subject, please add them in comments below.
Image credit: aibworld.net
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Thanks for this info.Can you forward some soft copies to me to aid my analytic skills.
Hi Adebiyi, Thanks for your interest. Please subscribe to our email distribution list, which will ensure all the articles are delivered to your email address on the day they are published. Thanks, Kunal
Hi Kunal, This site is loaded with all the information and answers that's running in back of my mind for which I'm seeking a guidence. This site have all of it compared to the other sites that have come across. Big Kudos to you. But still, i have few clarification. I'm again one of an experienced fresher for this Analytic Industry and decided to step-in with no two ways. After the "Three Mistakes of My Life" 1) 7 Job Changes in 9 years 2) 5 domain Changes 3) Multiple work envionment -Starting from 30,000 member organization to 2000 member to 800 member to 50 Member to 40 Member then finally a work from home job and now back to a 500 member team. With all these I have completely shattered my professional carrier path just for the sake of earning and now I earn jus NUTS if i do a market correction towards my salary. As said, I have madeup my mind for analytics and need your suggestion for 1) How & Where do I start now to reshape my carrier. 2) How does analytics treat maths haters 3) Can I Persue Domain specific Analytics ( E-commerce , Mobile and Media Is my preferred Domain) Please advice. -Harun
Thanks Harun for going through the information on site. Specific answers to your questions: 1) Assuming you have no prior experience in Analytics, you would almost need to start afresh. You should aim to get your foot in industry rather than pushing for higher salary or bigger role at this stage. Openings in MIS / Analytics units of any of the Organizations you have worked in past can be a good way to start your search. 2) If you hate Maths, I would ask you to seriously re-consider a career shift to Analytics. You will live in ocean full of numbers and would need to make sense and stories out of bunch of numbers in unstructured problems. Even though there is no filter for people who don't like Maths, it could be a serious career limiter in the industry 3) Yes, you can. Getting started with web analytics could be the way to go. Kunal
Hi Kunal i need your help in deciding a career shift to analytics. i am 35years and have worked in HR industry for 7 years. now i want to go for analytics career. my GMAT score is 680. will i be accepted at ISB, if not then which is the other best institute. i hear a lot about jigsaw academy, is this a good institute and do they have placemets
Hi Kunal, At first, thank you very much for sharing such useful information. Please continue the same in future as well. Further please suggest that keeping analytics industry in mind what kind of hobby one should develop parallely which could be relevant in having more command towrds this industry and impressive from interview point of view as well. I would like to spend more time on this which could improve my knowledge further for the industry. Regards, Vivek Anand.
Vivek, Your hobby should be based on your interest rather than something which is impressive from interview point of view. Trust me, the decision in interview will not be based on how impressive is your hobby. If you want to prepare for an interview, here are some tips. If you want to develop knowledge about the industry, there is a lot on the internet. Additionally, you can read some of these books. Thanks, Kunal
Thank You very much. I want to ask one more question that which academic backgound are preferable to break into analytics companies?
Rohan, Typically companies prefer people from Quant background (i.e. Engineering, Maths, Statistics, Economics etc.) or MBAs with good numerical skills. Kunal
Hi Kunal, Thanks for your great insights! I am market research professional worked in procurement space for 3 years.Now, that I wanted a profile shift to analytics, I have started online professional and training certifications in tools such as SAS,advanced excel and SQL. But, would my market research experience be a hindrance to enter into analytics space? I often hear from boutique analytics firm recruiters that they hire people only with sound hands-on experience in tools rather than with certifications? How assured I can be to get a job if I just complete certificate courses in analytics and seek an entry - level job in analytics companies? What are the other skills I may need to acquire? kindly advice! Janani Thanks in advance!
Janani, I don't think past experience would be of any hindrance in getting an entry level jobs. Recruitment policies vary from company to company and there is a preference for people with hands on experience. Having said that, there is a lot of recruitment happening in industry, which can present some good opportunities. A good way to take a shift is to look out for companies which have expertise in market research analysis as well as advanced analytics. Absolutdata is one such example. I always emphasize structured thinking as a must have skill for analysts. See if you can learn / strengthen it, depending on whatever is the case. Hope this helps. Thanks, Kunal
Hi Kunal, Thank you for your Articles. you are deeply helping me(and many of us) rocking towards Analytics. l am looking to make my Career change to Analytics. I did my BCA and having 2+ Years of IT experience. am i eligible for this ? will companies seek a person with BCA as UG? and dont have any PG degree. I am planning to go for external training also. how would be the salary range for freshers like me? how this Analytics will be after 5yrs from now? Please provide your help.
Hi Mathan, Recruitment policies vary from company to company. Hence, it is difficult to give an accurate answer. Specifically, in your case, since you do not have a PG or quant background, it might become difficult to get into the shortlists. A part time degree or training can help you with this. On the salary range, it depends on the company and the role you get. Typically freshers in analytics can get any where between 3L - 10L. In the last part, if you are asking about Analytics as a field, it is expected to be one of the sectors which will see highest growth in next 5 years. Thanks, Kunal
Hi Kunal, I am exploring opportunities in Analytics for a new career.Where do I start ? How is R different to say QlickView ? Please advice ! Regards, Jay
Hi Kunal, After going through other articles your blog, i have my answers. Please ignore my query. Thanks ! Jay
Kunal, Please suggest me some ground works to do or some books, as I will be in to SAS basic level training or Jigsaw acadamy's FOUNDATION COURSE IN ANALYTICS USING THE SAS LANGUAGE in next two months. Also let me know, if i'm selecting the right course here. -Harun M
Hi Kunal, I am a fresher from a reputed NIT & have got a job in Mu-sigma, I want to make a career in analytics but i am confused about my future with mu-sigma, What are your suggestion regarding how i should look at this job,should i consider it as a short term job & look for my exit options in better companies or should i plan a long term career with it? and talking about my exit options,what do you think will be my options after working for Mu-sigma for some time & what will be my value as a employee for a potential employer?
Vikash, Would suggest that you take first job with longer Outlook. Personally, I am not a fan of short term switches. I would suggest that whatever company you join, you should spend quality time learning fundamentals of analytics. You should only seek opportunities if it adds meaningful next step. Thanks
Thanks Kunal for your clarifications. I am working on Pre-sales from past there years, I am BE and MBA. My job role involves mostly on the Business problem solution, Functional presentations and proposal preparations. I want to be in functional business solutioning and performing business analytics. I have never coded and i am looking for a career growth in Analytics . I am little confused on enrolling in SAS or Big data. Can u please suggest on the career paths in both the cases and which one suits to my current role. Thanks in advance. Satyaal.
Satyaal, I would recommend doing BA course with SAS rather than Big Data at this stage. Big data can be taken up as second level course, as need for Analytics is far higher in most of the Organizations in India compared to Big data. Thanks, Kunal
Hi, I am Sales Manager having 8+ years experience in Industrial sales with B.E.,MBA Qualification. Could u please advise on how to get into Functional Consulting - Business Analytic s. Thanks Paulson
Hi Paulson, The best way is to get into a domain specific Functional Consulting in the same domain where you have your experience. You will have extensive understanding of business processes and challenges. Combined with some learning, you can start functional consulting role. Let me know if you have any specific question. Kunal
Hi Kunal I am a banking professional having career experience of 14yrs of which 8 years are in banking. I am BE (electronics) and MBA (marketing). I am exploring opportunities in Business Analytics but dont know where to start. Could you please guide me Thanks Ashish
Ashish, There are a lot of jobs posted in Analytics in various job portals (like Naukri, iimjobs, Headhonchos etc.). You can also get in touch with various consultants like Michael Page. One of the good ways (which draws on your experience) could be to take up a client facing role with some consultancies. Hope this helps. Kunal
Hi kunal, I've been following analytics and big data websites for past four months. (btw This website is great. Kudos to you). I've gained an interest in the field. I have one year work experience in IT infrastructure production support for a US based bank through a big consulting company. I've completed SAS training this month and plan on completing certification soon. Please let me know where to start with respect to interview related questions and other skills that I must learn to get into the analytics industry. Thanks.
Karthik, You can get guidelines for the same here, here and here. If you have any specific question after this, I can try and answer them. Thanks, Kunal
hai, kunal.. thanks for ur information. i am thinking to go for a training in sas . can u clarify me about this course and if not which would be the best in the initial stage.
Sashidhar, If you are at initial stage, I would recommend base SAS training. Once you are comfortable with SAS and have spent some time working hands on with data, you can go with predictive modeling course from SAS institute. Thanks, Kunal
Hi Kunal, Thanks for the article which helps a lot in understanding roles in business analytics: The query i have is, What all the things is must to know before thinking to start the course in business analytics. Also what to know what is SAS? Is it must to undergo SAS training...? Thank you, Deepu
Deepu, While the pre-requisite would vary from course to course, most of the courses might not need a lot of prior knowledge. However, it would be a good idea to read about the subject and familiarize yourself with commonly used terminology and technologies. It will help you maximize the learning out of the courses. It is not must to undergo a training in SAS. All you need is a tool for performing analysis. R / SPSS / Matlab - any of these can be good. Thanks, Kunal
Hi Kunal Sir, This is Sushant Srivastava from Ghaziabad.I am a Fresher Engineering Graduate and I want to start my career in the field of Business Analytics.I just want to know that what should I do for this.I dont have any experience . Regards Sushant
Sushant, Please refer to the article above which mentions various things which can be done. Please let me know if there is any thing specific I can help with. Thanks, Kunal
Hi Kunal, I have 3.5 yrs work ex in Oracle PLSQL , SQL, telecom inventory & order management and I hold MCA degree. I am very inclined towards big data analytics. I dont have much exposure in present company to get hands-on on analytics.Hence I have decided to get some external training from a good institute.However, I am not sure if I will get the oppurtunities outside on analytics , just based on training knowlegde. Please guide me if I am doing the right thing. Regards, Divya
Divya, The best way is to find trainings which can provide live projects, more hands on sessions or have tie ups with various potential employers. From Big data perspective, Jigsaw Academy and Venturehire.co are two training providers who have some sort of placement tie-ups. You can check out the details and see it that is helpful. Thanks, Kunal
Hi Kunal, I am a Data warehouse developer working in the ETL/data integration & quality space for the last 10 years. I have done my M.Tech in IT from a reputed college ( not IIT though ). I am very much interested in moving into data analytics/business analytics. I am currently living in a foreign country. I was trying to get an admission to a Master of Stat course first. Now I have some doubts. I don't want to join as a fresher or even at a junior level. That way I am going to lose my seniority and salary advantage. I am trying to figure out whats the best way to move into Analytical/Statistical role with my experience. I am learning Stat and Machine learning myself. - D S
DS, It comes down to what you want to do when you say that you want to move into data analytics. If you want a hands on job, which needs slicing and dicing of data, there is no other way but to start at relatively junior level. If you want to stay in a leadership / mid-management level, attending and networking at some of the executive courses happening in Universities abroad might help. You can find list of courses at KDNuggets.com. Although, personally I think you that the journey through junior role to get hands on experience will be far more enriching. Thanks, Kunal
Hi Kunal, I am a Btech and have 2 years of exerience in SAS programming on Mainframes . Now I looking to shift my career towards analytics field. I am also planning to join an online course in Jigsaw academy. Just wanted to know that will it be difficult for me to get a job in analytics fields since I not having MBA degree niether I am a Btech from NIT's or IIT's. I have heard companies mostly look for a candidate from good institution or MBA. Will that be a hindrance for me. However , I have good programming skills for SAS and SQL. Thanks, Anvesha
Anvesha, The hiring policies vary from company to company. There are multiple training providers, which have some sort of placement support (Jigsaw Academy and Venturehire.co). You can talk to people who have passed out from these courses to get true picture. While companies do prefer to pick people from best institutes. It is mainly to ensure that they get people with problem solving abilities and structured thinking. Not being from these institutes might mean you may have to put in extra efforts to come in industry, but if you have the right skills, you will find an opportunity. Also, since you are already working on SAS / SQL, it might be a good idea to search for analytics opportunities with in your current employer. Thanks, Kunal
Hi Anvesha, I am in the exact position as you were when you posted this.I too am looking forward to join jigsaw..well wanted to know whether it helped or not. Regards Pratik
Hi Kunal, Really informative! I think I have reached the right place. I want to ask something regarding mid career switch. I am working in an international BPO (backend support-non voice) for the last 7 years.....have a great interest in numbers (Maths and Stats). I am 36 years of age..though I think age is just a number but dont know what recruiters think. I have done BCom (H) in 1999 and MBA (Finance-distance learning) in 2011...have also cleared CT3 (Probability and Mathematical statistics) exam of Actuarial science. Currently I have completed a 1.5 months course in BASE SAS....would like to move to an analytics (preferably statistical) field (where I can find lots of data work where I can play with the numbers). Could you please advise me what should I do next and in future and how can I secure an entry level job? (I stay in Delhi). Any help would be really appreciated! Thanks and Regards, Arvinder Singh
Arvinder, Glad to see your interest in the subject and willingness to switch career at the stage you are. Your best bet might be to reach out to people in your network or to take up some assignment in Ops Analytics or BPO analytics. In terms of learning, you can also go through the Machine learning course on Coursera Thanks, Kunal
Hi Kunal, I seek your guidance.I am B.E(Electronics & TC) and have 10 years of working experience in Sales in Telecom Company.Within the company, they donot allows us to shift to other domain.I have got bored out of this profile and wants to shift to this growing analytics industry. I have a question whether will i be accepted with this experience in analytics industry.If yes then with what specialization of Analytcs study will help me. Plz suggest Rgds Santosh
Awaiting your suggestion.
Santosh, Regret the delay in answering. Have been busy for last few days. I am not entirely sure what you mean by accepted with this experience. If you mean whether you will be considered at par with an analytics professional with experience, the answer is no for most of the roles. Analytics is a specialist skillset. Your Sales experience would have probably given you a lot of exposure to business, which will help you once you take up a role. If you still want to enter the industry, the best way could be to do a MBA from a premier institute and take up certifications in parallel. Hope I have answered your question. Let me know if I have mis-understood something. Kunal
I graduated from iit this year with a core job that i dont want to work in anymore. i wish to get a 9-5 or 10-10 city job with 5 days a week work schedule ( they make you do no-brainer non technical work from 9-8, 6 days a week for peanuts). I am intrested in data analytics cause i have always been very good with numbers, statistics and co-ordinate geometry. By reading your article i understand best way to get an initial jobs is to use my institute network and not to expect much in terms of compensation. where i am confused is to switch jobs right away or wait for 1-2 years to get into a mba programme then switch job from there. also how useful it would be if i go for cfa or frm, friends who have cleared frm say its better in terms of beign more mathematical but limits ur job/career options more as compared to cfa
Rahul, Your IIT network might still be the best bet. The focus should be on learning, compensation should be in accordance with the profile and may or may not be good (it depends on your expectations as well). There is no reason to believe it would not be good. If you get a job, switch ASAP as ultimately you get more experience under your belt. CFA L3 pass candidates are looked upon highly in investment profession. Thanks, Kunal
Sir, I am an applied economics student, wanting to join Analytics industry. I would like to ask u the following questions : 1) How popular is Python and Hadoop compared to SAS? 2) I am already learning SAS. will learning Python and hadoop help me advance my career even more? 3) What kind of jobs to Python and Hadoop knowing people get? which companies in India hire such people?
Suvayan, Here are my views: 1. In Analytics Industry in India, SAS is more popular compared to Hadoop and Python. That is because most of the Organizations have not embarked on big data journey or are in initial stages. 2. I think learning Python and Hadoop will add a lot of value and knowledge as a data scientist. You are preparing yourself for future. Just relying on SAS might be risky in long term. Having said that, it might make sense to focus on SAS for now (i.e. till you get a job in industry). 3. Experts in Hadoop and Python currently find 2 kind of opportunities:
In some big companies with advanced tech who may have analytical set ups in India; or A lot of startups who are starting there data analytics journey from scratch. For example, Redbus works on some of these tools.
Hope this answers your questions. Thanks, KunalHi Kunal, Need your opinion, I am a Engineering graduate with MBA in IT and been working past 12 year in telecom domain. I am looking for a switch in career and was wondering whether it will be right age for doing so. During my academics I was good in maths and did recent course on coursera & found it interesting. Thanks Sam
Sam, Your work experience will get lost if you move to Analytics domain. If I was in your position, I would have tried to excel in my area and at some point take up a leadership position where Analytics falls under IT ownership. Kunal
Hi Kunal, I am currently working as Statistical Programmer for past 3 years in a Clinical Reasearch Organisation. I am technically driven professional with strong SAS skills and plan to shift to Business Analytics field. I've been reading all the posts here and want to thank you for making us understand the basics of Analytics field. In your opinion will I have any problems in switching to Analytics as my professional back ground is in Clinical domain. I also plan to enroll for one of the business analytics for ISB. But, the problem is I am not sure will this switch help me to get any job in Analytics because of Clinical domain tag. Although, I use EG & Unix SAS in my daily responsibilities so I am sure I will be fine with programming part, But not with interpretation of it. Will these courses help me interpreting these results? Thanks in advance for all the insight about the industry Abhishek
Abhishek, Here is the good news: I personally think that your background is very much suited for a career in Business Analytics. Good knowledge of Stats and SAS is exactly what you need to succeed. You should be able to find good jobs as long as you work on Business interpretation. Here are some ways in which you can enrich business thinking and interpretation: 1. Instead of simply looking at numbers, think of what they tell you about the business. What would you do if this was your business? 2. Solve case studies, which should provide you ways of putting structure to open ended problems and then how do you put numbers around it. Thanks, Kunal
Hi Kunal, You have done an excellent work with all the information you have provided me. Thanks for that. I am working with Deloitte for 2.7 years but into taxation. In Aug 2013, I have completed my SAS global certification in Predictive Modeling using Enterprise Miner 7 (from SAS India Partners - Ultramax). I have put down my papers in Deloitte and will soon start looking for a job in Analytics. Just wanted your thoughts and suggestions. For now I will be traveling back to Mumbai and will be visiting the institute from where I have completed my certification. I am also planning to do research on topics, collect data and then interpret them for my better understanding of the process and knowledge of the software. Do you know any website from where I can directly pick up data and start using them, because collection of data might be a little waste of my time. Also will these cases that I will be solving will they help me in my future search for jobs? And can I show this period as free lancer? One more thing I have been getting a lot of calls for SAS but the problem is they are asking for at least one year of experience in SAS or analytics background. I am willing to do an internship as well. Really appreciate you help and if you would like to add few things like what else should I be doing, What additional course if any that can help me? then please let me know. Thanks, Sidd
Sidd, Here are a few things you can try out: 1. There are various competitions running on Kaggle which provide datasets for experimenting. Give them a try. 2. You can register on elance and get assignents from various people looking for help on SAS. It might be a good way to show some experience as well. Hope this answers your question. Thanks, Kunal
Hi Kunal, I appreciate your comments and inputs on Business Analytics career options. I am an MBA in IT & Marketing with an experience of 6+ years in IT Sales ( Networking & Info. Sec). I want to know whether my existing profile will in any way compliment Business Analytics as a career option going forward. Please advise on any courses, certifications or programs i need to undertake to build my career around Business Analytics as a field.
Nikhil, A Sales experience would typically not be counted to any advantage for Business Analytics. Having said that, following are the things which might provide you some advantage: 1. Maturity as a professional - coming from work experience 2. Since you have worked in a related sector, you might know some fundamental concepts already. If you still want to build a career in Analytics, you should try out the course from ISB. Following article can provide you my views. Thanks, Kunal
hello kunal, i have seen your article but im little bit confused about this course as i have done my bachelor's under management stream im in a dilema what to do next. but im very much intretsed in analytics can you please suggest me some steps to get into analytics field. please let me know some courses where i can get a job as analyst . i dont even have any experience so please let me know about courses
hello kunal, im a undergraduate with no experience but i want to make my carrer in analytics. but im little bit confused about where to start my carrer .so please let me know what are the courses i can opt for and please tel waht steps should i make to become as an analyst .
Aishwarya, You can start by reading more and more on the subject on the internet. There is a lot of material and courses available Online for your reference. Machine Learning Course at Coursera is a good place to start. Once you have gained some understanding of various topics, then you should go for some of the certifications / trainings outlined in this article and in this article additionally. Thanks, Kunal
Sir, For a better career in analytics industry, are post graduate programmes available in US universities? If so, which are the most popular and effective ones?
Suvayan, Check out KDNuggets for exhaustive list of US universities running the courses. There are some hundreds of programes which have come up in last 2 years. Thanks, Kunal
Sir, I have completed my graduation B.Sc (Maths, Physics, Computer Sceince). I have 11years of experience in a domin which is not related to IT or analytics. First i started my career as security officer in a private firm and later shifted to secretarial functions. now i have almost 9 years experiance as personal secretary. I have completed my graduation B.Sc (Maths, Physics, Computer Sceince) and maths is my favorite subject. I recently heard about Data Analytics, I am very much keen to switch my career to this field & I am 31 years old now. At this stage & with my qualification is it good idea to switch. Pls suggest how to begin. regards, Siva
Siva, In terms of job satisfaction and growth prospect, it is definitely a good idea to look for a change in analytics industry. However, given your work experience, you may find it difficult to get the break through. Even if you get a break through, it will most likely be an entry level job. If you are fine with this, you can compare various Business Analytics certifications available in India (various IIMs / ISB / Greak Lakes Institute of Management) and then try and find a job. You can also start with a few free courses on Coursera on Business Analytics to get a flavour of the courses before hand. Regards, Kunal
Recently NIIT has launched a course in Analytics. It looks that some good people are on board for teaching. Do you recommend to go for this one ? Its course fee seems to be reasonable. Can you please advise me what to do ?
Dewki, It is a good option but difficult to comment on given that they have just started. I would wait and watch how the course evolves after 1 or 2 batches. Thanks, Kunal
Hi, Are there any books I can read up on analytics methodologies or SAS before i sign up for a course. You have suggested a few books, but they are talking about analytics helps the industry etc. I would like to read up on the subject first. Could you please help me with a few names
Samridhi, Please find the following articles, which might be of help to you: 1. Business Analytics 2. Web Analytics 3. Data Visualization Let me know if you have any specific need. Kunal
Kunal, Great work for making us more aware in the field. I just want to know how bad grip over Probability and Permutation and Combinations might affect career progression in Analytics field. My Maths overall is decent and I have good command in "Hows" of maths in general. But Permutations and Probability is nightmare for me. So please suggest. Thanks
Abhinav, While there might be aspects and ways to still succeed in Analytics industry, if you are not a big fan of probabilities (e.g. Pre-Sales and Marketing roles in Analytics consultancies). However, probability and so called "Hows" of Maths make up this subject matter. If you don't enjoy them, you should seriously ask yourself, why do you want to pursue Analytics. Thanks, Kunal
Hi, Kunal Very nice blog....but i am bit confused regarding my career. I have more than 4 years experience in retail industry in mid manager level in one of the largest retail chain in India...ie in store operation level. Prior to this exp I have done MBA in Retail Management and Graduate in Science ....Now i am very much interested and decided to start career in retail analytics... Can u pls guide me .... 1)how should i start...or preparation. 2)how books or course should i pursue... 3)Shall get job in a marketing research firm after pursuing these courses or study or preparation Thanks & Regds Ajit
Hi Ajit, Here are my answers: 1. One of the options you might want to try out is finding for an internal transfer. Since you are working in one of the largest retail chain, I would expect an internal Analytics team in place. This would be the best option for you and some thing which can land you in middle of action directly. 2. There are multiple articles on the website mentioning various Books and courses. Here are links to some of them: a. Books to read Business Analyst, web Analytics and data visualization b. Courses: Certifications, Additional trainings, Edvancer. You can also look at Jigsaw Academy. 3. Marketing research firms is one of the options you can look at. There would be other options as well. However, none of these trainings provide active placement services. Thanks, Kunal
Kunal , i'm writing this note as your fan , who is just 3 days old. My BG : Btech in IT (2010) and PGDM in finance ( 2012) from a Tier II Institute in Chennai. Current work : working as a Business analyst /Consultant in an reputed IT services firm in Chennai.Responsible for Requirement Gathering /Analysis/Documentation work for a project with a bank.By this Feb , i'm completting around 20 months in this firm. Future Plans 1. Planning to take up FRM Certification in May/Nov 2014 2. I'm also in plans to take a certification course in Analytics ( i got this info , only from your site) 3. I have interests in Risk Management ,Financial Modelling areas in Finance. Having said all about me , i have few questions , for you. 1. Am i a right candidate to take up Business Analytics Carreer ? 2. Will my work experience help me in getting selected in Institutes , providing Analytics Courses.? 3. Tell me , whether i'm shaping my career in the right path? Expecting your replies at the earliest . Thanks in advance.
Hi Gokul, Thanks for your feedback on the website. Here are my views on the question you mentioned: 1. In terms of education background and work experience, you have the right mix. However, whether you are the right candidate depends a lot on your interest, attention to details, love with numbers and stats. You are the right person to answer whether you have these or not. 2. Your work experience is not completely relevant. Having said that, it is not irrelevant as well. So, you would get benefit against candidates with experience in completely non related domains (e.g. Sales). But the experience can not be put at par with experience in Analytics. Since you are working in a reputed firm, you should expect some benefit from experience in selection process of these institutes. 3. Again, this depends on what you want to achieve. If you want to build a career in Risk Management and Financial modeling, you are definitely thinking in the right direction. Hope this answers your questions. Regards, Kunal
Hi gokul, I have the same background as yours and wish to take take my career in same direction as you have mentioned. I would really like to know if you have taken any steps in building your career in analytics. If you happen to read this could you please advise me on the same. My email id [email protected]. Thanks. Thanks kunal for guiding us through your informative blog.
Hi Kunal, Very much impressed with your website. Cheers.:) I did MBA from NMIMS and currently working on SAP SD in Infosys. I have 3 yrs prior MBA work ex on SQL and .net. I want to pursue career in analytics. Please answer my below questions. As an MBA graduate I am expecting a consultant/manager role in analytics company. Is it necessary to learn technical aspects like cleaning data,running models,applying statistical tests etc..? If so how much proficiency they expect from me? I am already learning R and a bit of machine learning by following courseera website.Let me know is learning SAS necessary to get a job in analytics? Please guide me on how to prepare for analytics interviews?(pls share any soft copies if you have) Thanks in advance
Nagaraju, Thanks or your appreciation. Here are answers to your questions: * My view is that until and unless you learn and experience the technical skills, it will be difficult for you to fill in the shoes of a consultant / manager. You need to go through the grind, in order to appreciate the finer details of the role. * When I look out for candidates, I look out for people you are inherently curious and have high attention to details. Both the things contribute significantly to technical abilities. My view is that you need to be on top of technical details before becoming a manager / consultant. * SAS is not necessary and the policy would vary from company to company. SAS has approx 50% – 60% market share in India, so your chances of getting a job increases. Having said that, there is very little competition on R jobs. So even though the number of job postings would be less, the competition would be low as well. Having said that, you would likely need demonstration of hands on experience / capability for the role. Regarding the preparation of interview, you can go through the following articles: 1. How freshers can prepare for analytics interview? 2. Tips for cracking a guess-estimate 3. How to identify a good (and bad) business analyst? In addition to these, there are multiple articles in pipeline emphasizing on this topic. So, I would recommend that you subscribe to our emails and stay tuned. Let me know, if you have any further questions. Thanks, Kunal
Hi Kunal, ( I sent a mail to you from "Contact Us". I am putting my query here too.) I went through couple of articles in your blog. I like it very much. You have very good clarity in your thought. I am looking for a career change. I need a suggestion. I did my MCA and I have 18+ yrs of experience in IT. I am working for an Indian IT company, in a managerial role, which I am not finding it interesting. I worked as a Mainframe architect for sometime. (I also have exposure to Web technologies and bit of Informatica also). Later when mainframes was down and I was pushed into management roles, which is not of my choice. Though I tried couple of times, earlier, to change the technology I could not do, for various reasons. I don't find the managerial roles interesting in Indian IT companies. These are like clerical jobs and easily replaceable, first target for layoffs, not easy to change jobs. As I don't have interest I am not able to grow in these roles. 1. Would it be a good choice to start my career in Analytics or Business Intelligence (at this age (43) and experience. I have very good analytical skills. I was technically very good when I was developer. Even now, I didn't loose the touch of coding.) Please suggest how should I approach. 2. I am thinking to gain experience outside India, even working at junior levels for few years, in Singapore or UK or US and come back to India in managerial roles. Is this right approach? 3. How to get Analytics jobs in Singapore or UK? How to get visas? 4. Is there anyone processing H1 for USA? Thanks in advance for your help.
YV, Here are answers to your questions. 1. It depends entirely on your passion and skills. The last think you would want at this stage of career is taking up something which does not excite you again. So, you have to be first sure that this is what you can continue to enjoy or the remaining period of your career. A word of caution, you will be treated as a fresher in the industry and hence lose all your experience (except for the wisdom you might have gained). 2. It is a good idea to gain experience in some of the developed markets as they are more evolved. However, it might be more difficult, given the Visa requirement and other formalities. If you already have some lead or contacts in these nations, it might be a better option. 3. For jobs, you can access some of the popular job portals. However, not many companies might be ready to sponsor a Visa. Both the nations have various categories of Visas and different requirements. I am not the right person to advice on this matter. 4. Again, I am not aware / not the right person to comment on this topic. Thanks, Kunal
Hi Kunal, I have gone through a couple of your blog posts and find them to be very informative. I am contemplating a career change and i am here to ask your suggestion. I have done my BE and have 10 years of experience in Microsoft web technologies. I am working as a senior consultant in a software company in Hyderabad. 1. I have come across a certificate program in BigData Analytics and Optimization () from an institute called INSOFE in Hyderabad. Can you tell me if it is worth attending that program. 2. Also, i am not sure if switching to an Analytics career at this stage is a right move. Thanks in advance for your help.
DS, Check out the course from Jigsaw Academy. They have the highest market share in terms of people undergoing training with them. Thanks, Kunal
Hi Kunal I reached your blog today itself and I found it very impressive. I have an MBA degree (year 2000) with specialization in Information Systems. I have always liked Mathematics and analysis & logical thinking excites me. Now I have 14 yrs of IT experience working mostly with Indian IT services companies. I had been into application development (programming) and now into a project management role. This does not excite me anymore and analytics excites me. I really do not find direction on how to start a career in analytics. I was enrolled for analytics program in IIM Ranchi. But due to extremely busy schedule I could not go ahead with the course. Now I have following queries 1. With no experience in analytics, can I get a good start by pursuing the same course from IIM Ranchi? 2. At this stage I do not have liberty to quit job and go for full time course. Is IIM Ranchi course good enough? 3. I understand that I would be entering afresh into this field. How much minimum salary you expect? I cannot afford lower salary than the current level (a little less 5-10% is fine to start a new career). Thanks Rajat
Rajat, Here are my answers to your queries: 1. Getting a good start only from a course from IIM Ranchi might be difficult. You should try and check in case IIM Ranchi can provide any useful statistics about the batches passed till now. 2. Check out the course from ISB. They have higher amount of classroom interaction and do not expect you to leave your job. 3. The cut depends on your current salary. Typically salaries of freshers lie any where between 5L - 12L p.a. Thanks, Kunal
hi, I have done by MBA in finance regular and has worked as BA for 1 years but for quite a few years i couldnt work with marriage and baby.now i want to resume for job and i was thinking business analytic being a good career option please suggest how to do that and kick start my career in IT. Thanks snvig
Snvig, In my opinion, you should approach this in 2 pronged manner. Firstly, you should refresh your knowledge of Business Analytics through various trainings available. There are a bunch of courses available at Coursera for free, which can be a good starting point. Secondly, try and find out Analytics jobs in your network, past employer or take up internships in between to gain more experience in the domain. Hope this answers your question. Thanks, Kunal
Hi kunal, First of all your blog is very informative. thanks for the pointers of where to find course details and appropriate institutes for new bees. I have been working on BI tools in retail domain for six years now.I have around four years development experience in a service company with BI, one year with a retail giant in developing a bi tool for campaign management. finally now with a analytics concern as a developer again. i want to shift my career and move on to become a retail analyst. Please can you direct me to the appropriate way to gain knowledge in becoming a retail analyst? . i aim at creating a retail analytics product focuse on customer segmentation and predective analysis after i gain some experience in analytics field. please let me know your thoughts. Thanks.
Lakshmi, Since you have domain knowledge already. The best thing would be to read up on these techniques along side. THere might be relevant courses on Coursera. I think Jigsaw Academy also runs a course on Retail Analytics. These course can give you functional knowledge. Once you have that, you can ask your management for a good opportunity. Regards, Kunal
Dear Kunal, First of all let me thank you for all the support and guidance that you share with us by addressing everybody's query. Currently i have been working as a Business Analyst in Supply Chain and Retail domain for past 5 yrs and i am planning to pursue Business Analytics Long term certification course from IIM bangalore for which i have already applied and awaiting for selection. As i have to deal with lot of raw data from the customer to optimize and suggest a better process,so i would like you to suggest me whether the certification will be relevant for me or not in my domain. Sometimes i feel it will give me necessary edge if i am equipped with analytic skills in long term and also if i switch to any analytics job, my domain experience would be counted. I am really confused please suggest. Thanks Manish
Manish, I think the certification would help you in long term, but may not help you immediately in short term. It will give you benefit if you want to make a switch. Thanks, Kunal
Hi Kunal, Your website is a plethora of information on Analytics. Amazing work I have to say.. After reading your blogs, I always have a big smile on my face because every blog gives me a better understanding in this field and clears my mind. From the last 2 months I have been doing my research and I think now I am ready to enter this field. I have done Masters in Economics and am currently working as a Research Analyst. My total work experience is 2.5 years. As I am from a Non IT background, I need to understand which path should I choose from the following to enter this field. A) Join a course for SQL/PL SQL/ Oracle at say NIIT to understand data management tools and do a certification in Base SAS foundation by learning SAS from Jigsaw or SAS institute side by side? (BTW,which one is better - Jigsaw or SAS Institute?) OR B) Should I enroll myself in a one year certified course from say ISB or IIM L or IIM K or Lake viewers and forget about point (A). ISB looks difficult because I am based in Singapore. OR C) Should I start from point (A) and then get into an entry level Analytics job and then pursue a certified 1 year course from institutes mentioned under point (B). D) NIIT course is Business Analytics is getting some attention in the market - should I consider this? E) A NEW PATH better than above would be great. Your help in finding me a right path would be of great help to me.. Thanks, V
Vinay, Thanks for following us. Ideally, I think you should take option (B) and then learn about (A) on the job / through courses available on Coursera. However, if you plan to stay in Singapore, doing a certification from SAS Institute might be the best option. Course from NIIT is too new to comment any thing on it yet. Hope this answers your question. Thanks, Kunal
I am a MBA systems student, I have done graduation in Bachelors in Comouter Science. I do not have any experience. What are pre-Reuisites for Business Analyst career. I want to pursue Business Analysis as a career. Please tell me about it. Satish Sutar
Satish, In terms of skills, you need to have good grasp of numbers, statistics and mathematics. Apart from this, you should have structured thinking and ability to think about solutions to business problems. If you have any speific question, please feel free to ask. Thanks, Kunal
Hi Kunal, I came across your portal while exploring Data Analysis as a career opportunity. I am looking for some true guidance on what should be the path that I should take to successfully enter and survive in this career path. Or, will it be a good choice or not as far as my experience is concerned. I hold an Engineering (Computer Sc) Degree and have done my MBA in Marketing & IT from a B category institute. I have 5 years of work experience and most of my experience is in Social Media Marketing & Online Reputation Management where I have not being involved in any type of analysis. It would be a great help, if you could spare few minutes guiding me here. Questions that I wanted to ask are: 1. What stream of Analytics will suit me best? Since I have experience in Social Media Execution and Online Reputation Management, is there any stream where my past experience would benefit me? 2. What course/training/certification would be helpful? 3. What are the possibilities of landing up with an entry level job in some big organisation which I am keen for. Till now i have worked for startups and mid size firms only. Your suggestions would be awaited! Thanks Tripti
Tripti, Here are my answers to your questions: 1. I think web analytics is the best stream to start with. You would already possess domain knowledge and can quickly come up the learning curve. 2. There are several courses on web analytics. You can search Coursera as a starting point. The best training I have found on the matter is by Market Motive. Following article might also help you further. 3. I think, given your experience, you should try and take up a job with mid-size / big startup. A lot of e-commerce websites are setting up their web analytics units, which can be a good starting point. Hope this answers your question. Thanks, Kunal
Hi Kunal, I have dropped you an email as well with the same query. Your guidance would be of great help to me. Waiting for your kind response. Regards, Vinay
Sir, I am a Charetered Accountant in practice. I want to know if there are any companies looking for finance analyst outsourcing work. And also can we practice only in finance and accounts analyst or do i need to learn other branches of analyst like web analyst etc. Regards Arpit
Arpit, Financial analysis is a big field, especially so in Investment banking. A few analytics consultancies I know, already work on these kind of projects. There is nothing which restricts you to Finance only. If you can learn the subject, have the right aptitude and attitude, you can venture in any branch. Thanks, Kunal
Hi Kunal, Your site is very informative and Im sure this site is benefiting a lot of people. I have 13 yrs of IT experience working in an IT services company. I had been into application development and now into a project management role. I would like to switch my career to analytics. I m planning to enroll into one year business analytics course offered by great lakes chennai or ISB. a. Im not clear if these courses by Great lakes or ISB will help me in switching my career to business analytics. b. After doing these one year courses, what sort of roles can I expect in Business analytics, should I start at junior level or can start as project manager. c. Apart from one year course, is there any other course I should take to help me in switching my career in analytics. d. What is your view on the course provided by Great lakes Chennai. (they are offering the course in Chennai this year). Im eyeing on this as i m staying in Chennai currently. Thanks, Mahesh.
Mahesh, Here are your answers: a. These courses are probably the best bets you have currently. Mid career shift into analytics without analytics knowledge and background is almost impossible. There are the best options available in India b. Since most of these courses have started recently and do not provide placement services, it is difficult to answer this question accurately. However, since you do not have any previous experience in Analytics, you should expect a role junior compared to your current role. Alternately, you can look at some supporting roles like Sales consultant where the chances of role degradation are less (but the role would not be core analytics) c. The more you can do. the better it would be. There are various free courses currently running on Coursera / Udemy / MITx which you can undergo to accelerate your learning d. THis is just starting. I would prefer course from ISB compared to Great Lakes. Thanks, Kunal
Hi Kunal Sir, I was going through this website and I can tell you that its really helping me out of sorting some problems which I was facing. Your answers to every questions is amazing. Actually I am B,Tech I.T Graduate and presently working as a Project Coordinator in a small firm. I want to pursue my career on data analysis. Recently, I am gaining lots of interest on Big Data and Hadoop. I also downloaded some pdf and tutorials from internet to get more depth info. Should I opt for the course of Big Data Analytics using R and Hadoop? Actually I am not that kind of a guy who is good in coding and love to hang out with it!! With regards Debayan
Debayan, As of now, you can't be a good data scientist / big data expert until you are good at coding. Please think what you would really want before proceeding further. However, if you are interested in more traditional practices, you can find ways without knowing coding. Regards, Kunal
I am seeking job as Business Analyst.
What do you guys think about getting a MS degree in Business Analytics from an university in the US? What can be done get best results before, during and after graduating from those programs, job wise?
Ikhtiyar, Just replied to your query in other thread. Let me know if you have further questions. Thanks, Kunal
Sir , I m pursuing MBA in Finance from Anna University Chennai, I have two years of past experience in Banking field as Credit Analyst . I have just come to knowledge about emerging field of Analytics....as I want to get job in good management consultancies and professional services firm...can you plz suggest how the training you mentioned above in the post in analytics can help myself to get the dream job. Is the Analytics is core IT field or Management field?? If the training is really helpful then which institute will be best to join so that they can guarantee the placement after the completion of the course? Pls suggest!!
Binod, I am not sure I understand your query completely. Analytics is a blend of IT / management / programming. Placement through these courses None of the courses mentioned will provide a placement guarantee. Regards, Kunal
Hello sir, As you hav mentioned that institutes like jigsaw and venturehire are having placement tie-up, I just wanted to know what kind of services they offer with such tie up to their aspiring students. On the otherside, there are so many institutes having their strong advertisement based on the ground of placement guarantee. That means all those institutes assuring the placement after successful course completion are supposed to be fake. Plz guide on this as per your depth of knowledge in this field and Market.
Hi Kunal, thanks for providing a great platform for the people who want to know and pursue their careers in BA. I have query on my profile whether its suitable for taking BA course. I am B com ( with statistic as subject) - 66%, HSC -- 73% , SSC --87%.. marks. --- Pune university 6 years of experience in Stock broking firms a Relation Executive & Dealer equity. From the last 6 years i am doing my Independent Financial Planning advisory. ( Freelancer - Mutual Fund Advisor, Insurance Consultant. ) So total 12years experience Financial services sector. Now i am 36 years old and really want to switch to analytical world. I have started to study statistics and coursera course of Machine learning. then i am planning to do BA course from NIIT Pune. I have a strong interest in stats and analytical area. My question is/ In recruiting.. will company consider students of my Age, Qualification or I will have a tough time to find a job considering Age 36, B com ( statistics as subject). what are the chances that i will get the job / placement after completing BA course So is it advisable to enter it so late from getting job perspective. Please guide Kunal. Thanks & Regards, Amol Kankanwadi.
Amol, Your concern is valid. Given the background, it might be difficult to find the right role. However, recruitment policies vary from company to company and I know of companies which do not look at age as a factor. If you really enjoy analytics and stats, you can get a good job with slightly longer horizon. There might be struggle in the short term. Regards, Kunal
Hello Kunal, I am an IT professional with 10+ years of experience in software development. Currently I am on a career break. I would like to change my career in to data analytics. Without prior experience in analytics and having a career gap , will it be possible to relaunch a career in analytics. Thanks and Regards, Jayashree
Jayashree, It is possible to relaunch a career in Analytics. It depends a lot on quality of your prior experience and analytical bent of your mind (and love for probabilities). If you need more specific advice, kindly mail me your CV. Regards, Kunal
Hi, Could you please tell me what is the main difference between Analytics course offered by IIM bangalore and great Lakes? I have 7 years experience in IT service and planning to shift to Analytics role. Which course will be more suitable for me. Thanks, Ramkumar
Kumar, The course from Great Lakes is designed better (keeping in mind the need of industry). IIM Bangalore is a better brand overall. Between the two, Great Lakes will provide better learning experience. Regards, Kunal
sir can you pls suggest which institute i would join for analytics training : there are two institute i have browsed: ( in bangalore) 1.Jigsaw academy 2.Edupristine if you will allow me i will send the detailed course structure of both plss.. send your mail id. Other than these institute if you can suggest any other it will be pleasure I am really confused.... please suggest I have completed B tech ,Persuing MBA in distance mode.. i dont have any reference and any real relevent experience can i get job after persuing this course... plss suggest me regarding fresher openings
Pranay, Jigsaw Academy offers online courses, so it doesn't matter if you are in Bangalore or not. Jigsaw has better reviews than edupristine. You can also look at course from NIIT. Thanks, Kunal
I am in my 1st year of Msc Statistics.My placements will be starting from next semester and i am interested in starting a career as a business analyst.Can you please help me out as to what certificate course i pursue in order to get an edge over the other students?
Nabanita, Which college are you doing MSc from? You can start by doing course on Coursera. You can also try Jigsaw Academy. Regards, Kunal
Hii kunal.. Your blogs are so informative and its of great help for the budding Analysts.. I'm into my final semester of Masters in Statistics from Department of Statistics, DU. I got placed at Genpact as Business Analyst. I am looking for better options now and i am even interested in studying further( india or abroad) in the field of analytics or data mining. what do you suggest i should go for the job and then go for further studies or immediately look for an option. and do suggest me some options available for further studies??
Hi Kunal I am a Mechanical engineer and have got 20 years of Sales & Marketing experience on Industrial products. I am not from IT field. Got a break in career and contemplating to shit my career. Do you think Data analytics / intelligence can be a field for me ?? If yes, how do you suggest to for it ? SD
SD, While there is no restriction on work experience and when you can join the industry, your experience is very difference from what Analytics would offer. I think you should do more research about what analytics role would entail before taking a decision. Also, as you might have seen in the comments above, freshers face difficulty in getting a job. Regards, Kunal
Hi Kunal, I am working in pharmaceutical channel sales and want to pursue my carrier in analytic I have a great passion for data crunching and case analysis.Please suggest me some certification courses (except global SAS) which help me to enter in this industry I am MBA(MARKETING) and Eco(H) student and having work experience of 3 years. Also suggest me how I can try for pharma analytics. Regards Mainak
You can look at ISB of Great Lakes. Jigsaw is a good cost efficient offering as well. Thanks, Kunal
Hi Kunal, i would like to congratulate you for this wonderful website u have stared, it's really a life saver for most of us who are beginners in the analytics industry. I want to switch my career into analytics but i m really confused whether my academic qualification would hinder me getting a job in analytics, I am a science graduate with no Maths and statistics in college, but i am comfortble with numbers and graphs. I have already started with basics and intermediate of stats thru books and online. I m really passionate about data and analytics. I have 4 yrs of experience in financials services industry in Trade operations and asset mgmt, Technical skills-SQL and Advnced xcel. I am planning to do a short term course on Business Analytics thru Edupristine.(www.edupristine.com) Please suggest if it is a good career move Let me know ur thoughts. Watiing for ur reply
Sashikant, Where have you graduated from? Why Edu-pristine and what are your expectations from the course? Thanks, Kunal
Hi kunal, I have graduated from Sambalpur university, orissa, I did a lot of resarch about the training institutes like Edupristine, Edvancer and also came to know abt Jigsaw academy thru ur website. Since all the trainings were online except Eduprisitine which provides both online and class room training and the course curriculum is aslo preety much same if i comapre all these institutes. But i really liked the foundations course of jigsaw academy but they have video based tutorial which i think would be just like reading something online and asking ur doubts later, s so i thought that wont be a good move if u r a beginner and also if u want get ur concepts right. They also have instructor based training but the course fee is on higher side. Comparing two on the basis of these two variables(mode of training/Course fee) i zeroed in with Edupristine. Please let me know ur thoughts and also i wud like to know something abt my career move. Thanks in advance. Sashikant
1.the review of edupristine is not that good.they say that they will provide placements but practically thats not true. 2. trainers are relatively new. 3. Jigsaw course is very good & simplified but the problem in doing case studies & practicals so better you should go for 1. SAS Certified Statistical Business Analyst Using SAS 9 is more beneficial in terms of getting job 2.if you are working then jigsaw is good in terms of fees= 26000/42000 or else go for ISB OR IIM = 4.5 LAKH
Shashikant, As mentioned by Pranay, the reviews for Edupristine are not good. Jigsaw has a better offering. Kunal
Hi Pranay. when u mentioned "1. SAS certified Statistical business analyst" Is it a certification provided by SAS. Please specify
yes
Hi Kunal.. i came across this site as a part of my quest to change my career track. I have 10 years of experience , out of which last 5 years is in institutional relationship management cum acquisition in banking sector. Prior to that i have 1.5 years sales experience in FMCG sales. i have done mba(mktg) and b.e. please guide me, 1. would my existing profile be adaptable to career in business analytics 2. how easy (or difficult) it would be to get job in business analytics 3. which course and from which institute would relatively assure me of a job immediately in analytics thanks
Rahul, 1. Any profile is adaptable to a career in Business Analytics as long as you love numbers, probabilities and logical thinking. If that is the case, it is only a matter of time before you get a break through. Having said that since your entire experience is in BD / Sales, that experience will not be counted / considered in analytics jobs. 2. Getting into Analytics Industry is the biggest pain point for people outside the industry. Companies typically prefer people with analytics work experience at time of hiring. Having said that, this is a sector with shortage of good quality man power. Hence, if you enjoy the subject, there might be short term challenges in finding a job, but there are no concerns on long term prospects. 3. ISB has the best offering among all the courses in India. Thanks, Kunal
Hi Kunal, I have overall 4-5 years of experience in IT industry. Currently I am working with the Adobe systems as a support engineer. I am looking for switching my profile to analytics .I already read your blogs however I am not sure how to start. there are few doubts in my mind and I am sure you can clear those. 1.I am a BA(mathematics) graduate from Delhi university. Do you need any knowledge of scripting languages while using the analytics tools like Adobe site catalyst(omniture). 2.What is the difference between analytics and web analytics. are these two different diversions. 3.NIIT has started a course on analytics. Would that be a good to start. would that help me entering the industry or an experience on the same profile is a must. 4.NIIT says that the enter level packages start from 40,0,000/annum is that true or it is just to attract students. Thanks Rahul
Rahul, Regret the late response. Missed your comment. Here are the answers to your queries: 1. Adobe Site Catalyst uses its own configuration settings. You don't need any specific knowledge before hand. However, having idea about Dimensions and metrics would help. 2. Web Analytics is part of Analytics and not different from it. If you meant Business Analytics, the focus of two streams is different. Web analytics focuses on website journey and behaviour in an Online environment. Business analytics is much broader and is applicable for many online / offline problems. 3. NIIT course has received mixed reviews, you can check comments from other people in this thread. 4. The stat about salary is true. Regards, Kunal
Hi Kunal, First of all, its a great websites for the people who has queries for their career in Analytics. I have done Engineering in Computer Science from Amity University in 2011. I didn't get any job from college. After that I did sales job in a very small company for 9 months. After that I joined Igate as a L1 application support but client took its business from the company and currently I'm working in service desk calling profile. I have made up mind to move into analytics field, now I have a dream to become Business Analyst and to work in best companies of the world. Can you please assist me for: 1) How can I become Business Analyst? 2) How should I start my career in analytics? 3) What are the skills required? 4) Can you please tell me from where I must get the best training and which subjects and books I must study? 4) Do any companies offer internship? 5) In which companies I should Apply? 5) Salary packages? Sir, this would be my biggest help, as I'm not getting any clarity. Please help. Thanks Aseem 09871004144 [email protected]
Aseem, Somehow, I missed your comment. Hence, the delay in reply. Following are the answers: 1. & 2. are answered in the blog above. 3. - You can read this article 4. There are 2 options: Institutes like Jigsaw Academy offering certification on SAS or doing certification from SAS institute itself. You can start reading following books to understand the domain 5. This varies over time. You can check out internshala.com They have a good collection of internships. 6. You can check companies like WNS, various KPOs, iYogi, Absolutdata. They usually have openings available. 7. Salaries can start anywhere from 3.5Lakhs p.a. to 12 Lakhs p.a. for freshers depending on role and your skills. Thanks, Kunal
HI Kunal, A very interesting read. Thanks to you for the info.. I am currently pursuing my MBA from chennai I have an engineering back ground with two years of work experience as a JAVA developer. I have my interest in making a career out of business analytics. Saying that i would like to know your inputs on the following points. 1- How fruitful will it be for me to opt Business Analytics as my major(keeping in mind the background).Since it will be a career shift so will i get the necessary industry exposure doing a major in BA and minor in Operations & IT. 2- What job profile should I be looking forward to post my MBA in BA field? Regards, Deblina
Deblina, 1. Both the fields, Analytics and web development have great future. You should decide the one you want to pursue depending on what you enjoy more. If you shift, your experience will not count. However, your ability to code will help. 2. You would typically start as an Analyst / Sr. Analyst, depending on where you have done your MBA from and the company you are talking about. Thanks, Kunal
Hi kunal, An interesting article once again. Thanks a ton for sharing this. I am statistics graduate. (2012). After that due to serius health issues there is almost 2 yrs gap in my career. now i am doing a certification in business analytics. Recently i got selected as Research analyst . It is not an analytics company.The work is Data analysis n data mining using excel. what will be your suggestion at this point of time? Shoud i take this opportunity and continue looking for opportunities in analytics industry alongwith the course or I should complete the course first and try to get into analytics industry. Please guide me.
Vaishalee, I would say take the first option. This will give you exposure to a related field. Also, it will relieve from any stress of getting back to job ASAP. In case the Organization has an Analytics function, you can also look at internal switch at a later date. Thanks, Kunal
HI KUNAL , I am an MBA graduate fresher with my U.G in B.TECH(INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY).Write now i don't have experince.I am really interested in analytical and mathematical models.companies offering jobs in business Analytics hire students directly from IIM'S. Internship is also not possible bcoz normally companies prefer internship to the students from prestigious institutions.is there any tier 2 or tier 3 companies providing jobs in business analytics?how can i approach now?provide a suitable remedy..
Jagath, You can look at start-ups / small analytics consultancies to get these kind of jobs. The reason, why recruiters prefer people from top institutes in analyst profile is because there is a high surity on analytical skills. If you can showcase your analytical skills, the employers will definitely be interested. Thanks, Kunal
Hey, it was a nice read! can you please give me some suggestion: 1. I am planning to pursue a 1 year MS in analytics (North Carolina, Connict,,,,) do you think it is a good investment (say if tution cost goes around 22lac for an year) for getting an appropriate punch into analytics world. 2. Business Analytics or Plain Analytics - if my long term goal is into either marketing, product development, social network. 3. I have an offer from wipro, can you candidly elaborate if an experience there will actually be of any help. 4. I am enrolled in the data science specialization course under coursera.org - will the certificate which is not graded (just pass/fail) benefit me. Background: B.Tech Mechanical '14 (fresher) I will be very happy if you could take some time and detail out. Thank you in advance :)
Dip, Here are queries to your answers: 1. It depends on what is your aim. If you want a global exposure and job experience in US, taking a bet on MS might make sense. If you want a job in India, the course is not that recognized. 2. Can you explain your understanding of the 2 terms to me? They have been used loosely in the industry. 3. Again, it depends on what profile you are getting into. If it is an analyst profile, it might make sense to stay there for some time. 4. The course will definitely aid your learning. The benefit form the course will be as much as your learning and understanding. Also, please mention, where have you done your B.Tech. from? Regards, Kunal
Hi Kunal, I have 6+ years of experience in IT consulting, none of them is related to Analytics. But I want to move into analytics, is there a way to do that? please advise. Thanks!
When there is a will, there is a way! You can look at the courses from ISB & Great Lakes to start with. It might take a bit of time before you get a break, but if you are really interested in numbers, probability and coding...you will get the results. Regards, Kunal
Hi Kunal, Presently i am working as a statistical analyst and i am plannig to do MBA. But actually I don't know Exactly which specialization (like finance or marketing or some else) is more suitable to me for increasing my future option can you Suggest me Please?
Veeru, This is a very broad query. Something, I can't answer over this forum. I would suggest that you look for specialization basis your interest rather than future options. Any specialization you have will provide good options, if you are interested in it. Regards, Kunal
Hi Kunal, I am a software engineer with 3.6 years of experience with an IT MNC. I have been working on SQL based Business Operations project where we are validating some business data in different stages in a data warehouse by doing some quality checks, root cause analysis using excel and getting the data corrected to be sent downstream into dashboards since 2 years now. I am inclined towards a career in analytics and have been trying my luck since a long time now but I am not getting any interview calls. I eventually learned SAS programming by taking up some E&R courses in my company and reading some books(learning SAS by example). Since I don't have any hands on experience in SAS, I dont know how to use this in my resume for my benefit to get into an Analytics company. Should I fake that I have worked on a SAS project for a period of time? Need suggestions. And I really appreciate the efforts you put in to answer all our questions. Thanks in advance, Shashank
Shashank, Faking is the worst way to start a relationship. I will advice strongly against it. It you are confident about your skills, you can start participating on competitions on Kaggle.com Also, you can enroll on elance.com to find freelancer opportunities. You may need to put low prices for few initial projects, but it can be very rewarding in long run. Thanks, Kunal
Sir, I am in my last semester of mba in marketing and presently am doing my internship from airtel money. I have finished base sas and presently doing advance sas. How will i find as a data analyst after my mba ?
Kaushik, You can look out for jobs through any of these companies: WNS,Citi, CAPGEMINI,COGNIZANT ,ING,UBS , Capital One (Bangalore office), Analytics consultancies like Mu-Sigma, Fractal, Absolutdata etc Thanks, Kunal
Dear Kunal, First I would like to thank you for giving so much time to give your views on various inquiries. I got most out of the above conversations. Can you please help me in identifying the genuine institutes in Delhi NCR area for SAS training as there are so many but I doubt there authenticity. Best Wishes, Ankit
Ankit, The best would be to get it from SAS Institute themselves. However, it might be a bit expensive. Please provide me your contact number, we'll discuss the options and what you are looking for through this course offline. Thanks, Kunal
sir , i am Fresher completed my B.tech in Information Technology with an aggregate of 70 in graduation. I am Interested to MBA with Work Experience, i need a course that can easily fetch me a job related to information Technology.which course would u suggest me Tera Data,Big Data. SAS,business Analyst,Oracel DB,java(least preference) . will us suggest me a institute that 100% job assurance any where in India.
Ajay, There is no institute which can provide 100% job assurance, because the efforts you need to put in depend more on you and less on the institute. Even IITs and IIMs don't provide 100% job assurance. Your best bet would be to take up a certification in SAS and take up a job. You can always enhance your skills at a later date. Thanks, Kunal
Hello Sir, First of all, I want to congratulate you on the commendable effort on this website. I had been thinking about how to go about Analytics whether it be latest developments, career options , courses or talking to like minded people, but this website has done it all. Now, I would like to mention that I have just completed my MBA. Prior to that, I have done my B.Tech.(CSE). I have no work experience. I want to start a career in Analytics. How to go about it? I have fairly good logical and analytical abilities. What courses should I go for to make me employment friendly? Also, what companies should I target witht his kind of a profile. Because most of the companies I see offer profiles to people with min. 2 years of experience. Where should a fresher like me apply to? Thanks and Regards
option 1: As a fresher you should go for analytics using SAS certification which will give you an edge over others. option 2: If you dont want to go for sas then you can opt for big data & hadoop, but for that you need to have some basic java skills. it depends on your interest......where you are you located, which college you are passed out from...... And about the institute you can try for jigsaw,epoch etccc... as you cant apply for IIM bangalore,kolkata or ISB hyderabad becaz they asks for exp.. you can try for WNS,Citi, CAPGEMINI,COGNIZANT ,ING,UBS , any KPO'S and lot more..... after certification Regads, Pranay.
Thanks Pranay for that reply. You made my job easier :) Prerna, A lot depends on where you have done your MBA from. Best way might be to get recruited in some of the companies mentioned by Pranay. A few others which can be added to the list are: Capital One (Bangalore office), Analytics consultancies like Mu-Sigma, Fractal, Absolutdata etc. - but a lot depends on where you have done your MBA and B.Tech. from. Thanks, Kunal
Hi Kunal, This Raghav working as Application support Engg in Cognizant.... I want to shift my Carrer toward Analytics.... I got Job offer from Company www.manthansystems.com.. they are actually into Retail Analytics and CGP solutions... Have you heard about this company?? Can i go ahead with that Offer to build my career in Analytics field?? Kindly suggest...
Raghav, Getting an offer into an analytics profile is very difficult for an outsider. Congratulations that you have made it! The company is good to start. I would enquire a bit more about the profile to be sure it is into analytics. Thanks, Kunal
Hi, I am working in one of the IT giant. But I want to switch the filed of work to analytic. I do not want to leave the current organisation without any back-up. So leaving the company and joining the programmes offered by IIMs or any other Institutions is not a good option for me. So can you kindly suggest an alternative.
Try courses from Coursera to start with. You might find this article useful. Regards, Kunal
Hi Kunal, I came across this very helpful initiative of yours when i was just to apply for ISB certificate course. I have interest in analytic & logical reasoning but do not have experience. I require your guidance in justifying ISB in SOP & at the interview for my bend for business analytic and How can i start my career and justify at the BA interview. In brief: I am an MBA-HR & B.Tech & CAT,06: 97.2 percentile. My strong interest for data analytic, equations & statistics developed my interest again even after 5 yrs exp in HR. Though i believe & exercise quantification of HR process subjectivity, but now want to pursue career in Business analytic & so applying for ISB. Looking forward to guide me and clarifying my doubts. Warm Regards, Yashpal Singh
Yashpal, Would be happy to do whatever I can. However, I am tied up for time right now and it would be difficult to guide you with SOP. Regarding the justification, the best strategy is to stay honest! If you have 1 or 2 specific queries, I can take them up. Also, as an alternate, you can talk to people who have been through the process before and mentioned their queries on this forum. Thanks, Kunal
Hi, How these can be differentiated: SAS, R, Google Analytics, Webtrends Analytics, Coursera , eDX Pls guide. Warm Regards, Yashpal Singh
Kunal, I am a graduate mechanical engineer by education and have working experience of almost 8 years. I started my career in engineering design and gradually moved to Sales & Marketing of industrial engineering products. I have worked with some of the best industrial manufacturing companies in world of different domain like Atlas Copco, Emerson Electric and Eaton Corporation. In recent days, I felt inquisitive about Business Analytics and would like to understand if someone having experience like me in similar domain can switch to business analytics to persuade their career. I think you can help me in building more understanding on this subject. Arghya
Arghya, There is no reason why you can not pursue a career in analytics. There are a couple of options, I can think of: 1. First move into a Sales / BD role with an analytics player. You will use your experience / skill and at the same time learn about the subject. 2. Move into a more hands on analytics role. Getting this role might take some time. Please go through this article for some more details. Thanks, Kunal
I am about to complete my UG from pune and want to get a career im business analytics. I have heard about jigsawacademy but i don't live in bangalore. Does it make any difference if i go for a virtual course and also What kind of coding is requried in this
Mohit, You can take the course from Jigsaw irrespective of the city you are located in. It does not require you to be in Bangalore. Thanks, Kunal
I am MBA-IT fresher from Univ. of Pune. I am actively seeking job opportunity as a Business Analyst. Please let me know if you have knowledge about openings for Fresher Business Analyst. Email:- [email protected]
Satish, Please continue to check our jobs page for latest openings available. Thanks, Kunal
sir i m student of b.com(general) and i want to persue business analytics so for this which cource ot degree i shoult prefer for my further study........? [email protected]
Karan, As of now, you would not be able to take an admission to institutes like ISB / Great Lakes and IIMs, as they require work experience. Also, given your current degree, you will find it difficult to get jobs in Business Analytics, as companies typically take freshers straight out of Tier I and some Tier 2 colleges. For now, I would say to look out for a MIS / Business Intelligence role and do a certification parallely from one of these institutes: Jigsaw Academy, Edvancer. You can also look at this article for more things to do. You should look at a horizon of 12 - 24 months to shift into a pure analytics role. Hope this helps. Thanks, Kunal
Hi Kunal, I have been looking for info on Business Analytics since sometime and by far your article is the best I could come acrooss. Thanks for all the info. I am looking for a shift in career, presently am working as a Software Tester having 8 years of exp. mostly in DataBase testing, domains I have worked on are Banking, CRM & Insurance. I have some experience in coding and have keen interest in numbers and calculations. Please advice, if you think Business Analytics would be a good choice for me. And if yes, would the certifciation course offered by NMIMS be of any help to achieve it. Thanks, Mamta
Mamta, I think ISB is the best course available out there followed by Great Lakes. You should try one of those. Regards, Kunal
Hai Kunal, I am age 42 working in State Govt. Sector as statistician in Family Welfare (Medical) Dept. in Chennai. Basically I am a PG Graduate in Mathematics discipline. Also finished PGDCA. 18 years experience in handling the statistical data only in MS Excel. Even i finished PGDCA, I have no experience in Software field and only have Statistics data handling skill and sound logical thinking (due to MSc. Mathematics). i am proposed to get voluntary retirement after the completion of 25 years in Govt. Service. i.e 7 years remaining. I wish to shift my career to business analytic after my voluntary retirement. In this regard, i want to join in SAS course in chennai now. So, Please clear my following doubts 1. Whether is it possible to do the consultation service in business analytic as part time till my retirement ( i.e age 49) then full time after my retirement. 2. if it is possible then how can i build my SAS study career in Chennai and which course i have to study, 3. Name some best institutes in Chennai to study the course.
Senthilkumar, Here are the answers to your queries: 1. Yes, it is possible. I know people who are doing something similar. 2. I think Online resources might be the best. You can check out the courses from Jigsaw Academy to start with. You can start with Foundation course. You may also find this article useful. Regards, Kunal
Hi, Can you pelase let me know the difference between a data analyst and a ERP data analyst. And also how flexible these roles are. I mean is there a situtation like we have to be in the role of a data analyst for the entire career or we have the chance of moving into the other related fields. Regards, Chethanraj
Chetan, The designations are used very loosely in the industry and hence it is difficult to give an exact answer. Data analyst typically refers to the person responsible for making sure that the data is available for all the analysis. But, it varies from Organization to Organization. Chances of moving is also dependent on the Organization and its policies. Thanks, Kunal
Hi Kunal, I am CA qualified in 2006, working as Deputy Manager FP&A for a manufacturing company since 7 years. I would like to shift my career to Business Analytics. I am planning to pursue BA course from NIIT. Kindly guide me whether CA + BA is it a good combination ? Regards, RG Pradeep
Pradeep, CA + BA is a good option. But NIIT may not be the best place to do so. You can look at the user reviews in the comments of this article. Regards, Kunal
Hi Sir, I am an MBA finance With Btech Background working for a private sector bank since 4 years. having no specialized experience in industry since i have been placed to a very niche operations. ( limited to backend operations in a single process ) if I go out and seek for job change in banking, industry demands more skills which is i am not having. moreover i am not enjoying my job ( both profilewise and salarywise ). so i am thinking to change the career path. i have some questions please guide me. 1) whether it is advisible to change the domain after 4 years of career ? 2) if yes, how ? what are all the ground works i need to do ? 3) I am thinking of to do SAP or Business analytics which is having more scope in future ? I am looking for a longterm and sustainable career prospective. 4) I am very much interested in data interpretations, maths and statistics. i Learnt statistics in my +2, degree, and also in masters as one subject. and also i am good at reasoning. so how long it will take to learn and be prepared for BA jobs? 5) how are the onsight oportunities for BA aspirants ? I think i asked more questions at a time. but I am very confused and stuck up in my career. please advice me.
Veeresh, The reason for selecting BA as a career choice should be driven by interest and passion in the subject rather than limited interest in current job. You shoul dgo through this article for more details. Kunal
Hi Kunal, How analytics can be used in Retail Industry and Supply Chain? I have extensive domain experience in Supply Chain and interested to find out relevance of analytics in these domains.
Sarit, There are numerous ways in which analytics is changing these industries. COmpanies like Amazon, Tesco and Walmart are creating a differentiation based on analytics in the back end. You can read Scoring Points book to gain a deeper understanding of how analytics can help companies differentiate on analytics. Thanks, Kunal
Hi kunal, I am a graduate in mathematics having 4 yrs banking experience, i want to shift my career in business analytics,pl suggest institues from which i can persue BA course and what else i have to learn that help to shift my career in BA.
Hi Kunal, I am a diploma in Electronics and Communication field. From past 2 years am working in a BPO company based in banglore. The work i do is much related to anayltics (working in metrics and dashboard and calculating forecast etc.) . i would love to continue my career in analytics but what i hear from people is the no matter how hard you work when there is a time for promotion they will definetly keep you in back seat as you are a diploma holder not a degree holder is this true? do i really need to get a degree for promotion and all?? Please help. Thanks, Samradh
Samradh, These policies vary from company to company and hence it is difficult to comment. This is surely not the case with all the companies. Thanks, Kunal
hi kunal I am a mathematics graduate in 2005,and I have 4 yrs of banking experience,now I want to do business analytics to shift my career,and what other course do I have to do to build strong career in BA and from which institute,pl suggest
Manjula, You can go through this article and the discussion thereafter. You can consider ISB or Great lakes as a good option. Regards, Kunal
Hi Kunal Isn't analytics a part of an MBA curriculum. I plan to do an MBA in finance soon and I have also heard about the opportunities in data analytics as well. Does an MBA in finance include necessary analytics skills(financial off course). Please throw some light on the differences between a finance MBA and business analytics specialization.
Sumit, MBA will give you skills and knowledge to perform high level analysis. For Financial analysis, it should give you good grounding. However, if you want to make a career in business analytics, you need more ammunation than the tools taught in MBA. That is where a business analytics specialization would come into picture. Some applications which require advanced knowledge are building predictive models for customers, creating clustering and segmentation. Hope this helps. Thanks, Kunal
i m student of b.com(general) 2nd year i m quiet good in economics and accouts and now i want to become a bussiness analytics or a data analytics but now i am not able to understand that what i should persue to become a analytics. So please guide me, that what should i do , whaich degree i should i persue and from where. [email protected] Thank you
Karan, The first thing you should do it take up a few courses on Coursera / Udacity / eDX. That should be a ood starting point to learn. Regards, Kunal
Hi Kunal, I am pursuing my masters in Economics and i have a foundation course in analytics which includes basic R software and advanced excel. so, what i have to do now to get placed in analytical firm. Any suggestion by you that i have to do more which helps me in getting job. Thanks
Here are a few relevant things, you can do to increase your chances:
Hi Kunal, I am an MBA + Engineer with 6 years of work exp. i am working as a Business Analyst in one of the top 5 Telecom company in Sales Operation department . My responsibilities includes Business planning and preparing all sorts of MIS reports for Senior Management . Pls suggest me which courses would be best suited for me in long run , as want to build my carrier in Strategy and Analytics . regards , Kamlesh
Kamlesh, You need to decide how you want to shape up your career. Do you want to be become a data scientist / hands on business analyst or do you want to become a consultant / business leader who creates the strategy basis high level analysis. To bring out the difference, let me try and explain a few example. Typically there is a strategy head in a company, who would say which areas should company invest in or would say that by moving to personalized recommendation, the company can have x% more sales. The analysis here is high level and not at a customer level. There is another guy in the same Organization, who would actually build and deliver this personalized model, by slicing and dicing the data through advanced analytics tools. If you want to be the first person mentioned in the example, and MBA should typically suffice, in form of education. You can probably look at some executive programmes. If you want to be the second person, you can look at the course from ISB / Great Lakes. Let me know if you have any further specific queries. Regards, Kunal
hello, "Lodestone learning , HYD" or "UltramaxIT ,Pune" which should I choose for traning in SAS. plz suggest, i am very confused.
Ashish, Both of them look certified SAS partners. Should be similar in eperience. Regards, Kunal
Hi Kunal, I am coming from software sales background with 7yrs work exp. (working in start-up company). Also side by side, I am doing software consulting job (freelancing) & managing entire clients & project management, handy knowledge in software development methodology (not developer). I gain these knowledge during freelancing but unable to work it out on these skills due to sales domain. Education background- 10th,12th UP board, BA (Arts) & MBA from not a reputed University. Now I am in big tension towards my moving careers & also want join some big group to gain better exp.. Now, I need your advise what should I do ?
Ramesh, You first need to decide your domain - Sales / Software dev / project management or Analytics. If you have specific queries on career in Analytics, may be, I can help. Regards, Kunal
Hi Kunal, I've been religiously following your posts and must say it helped me lot to get a job as Business Analyst with one of largest E commerce company. I now have a sas certification, fairly good knowledge of excel and sql. The hiring manager told me that i should learn statistics and modelling before i join in order to cope with with what they do. Here's the problem : I have no idea what exactly he was referring to. could you please suggest few books or articles in order to help me start with this ? thanks, irfan harun
hi irfan, Same here, following this blog of kunal I am undergoing a thorough business analytics training which has started with sas excel, vba & sql but the difference is I have not yet got job,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, By the way the statistical modelling techniques means the following: advanced analytics which are as follows predictive modelling time series logistic regression linear regression segmentation decision tree and clustering..........................
i am also learning stats now a days--book-- Business Statistics by T.R Jain & S.c Aggarwal
Hi, I have done B.Sc in Chemistry and have been working in an ITES company for the last three years in various roles, primarily I worked as Trainer training the new hires and as Process Quality Analyst doing some analysis on employee performance in some predefined quality parameters. The work involved preparing trackers, presenting performance trends through charts and analysis of the data to suggest plans of improvement. Just the basic stuffs though. While doing this, I have developed an interest in excel and analytics. I would like to get into the Analytics industry. But my question is, "How important it is to have a background in Quantitative field?" I had Physics, Chemistry and Maths during my Graduation. I am planning to learn SAS, will it be a good career move since I'm not from Maths/Stat/MBA field? Should I pursue SAS Clinical specialization instead with CR/CDM. But then I am not from Bio background either. Also, will my work experience hold any value if I pursue analytics. I would appreciate if someone clarifies my doubts. Regards, Suvrojit
Suvrojit, Here are answers to some of your questions: 1. You don't need to be from Quant background to device a career. However, you would need to learn and read Maths and stats to be a good analyst. 2. I would suggest that you do a foundation course first rather than a specialization (e.g. Clinical specialization). Regards, Kunal
Hi Kunal, I am a B.E. degree holder and currently working in an IT company. Its been 2 years since I joined this and now I am planning to switch to an analytic company. I have applied for many of the companies and the main requirement for almost all of them is the minimum experience of at least one or two years in analytic fields.Please suggest regarding this as I have no experience in this field. Regards, Chethanaraj
Cehthan, You can look at some of the suggestions mentioned in this article. Regards, Kunal
Dear Kunal, I would like to know about Career in Business Analytics for working professionals. I have 12 years of post qualification experience ( 4 years in Industry & 8 years in teaching, Research, training & Development) I have an MBA & Masters in Economics. Currently I am working in Teaching , Research , training & Development. Waiting for an early reply, Best Wishes N. K.
Neelesh, Please provide following details: 1. Which subject have you been teaching? 2. How much exposure do you have to mathematics and statistics? 3. How much analysis have you used in research methods? Also, it would be better, if you can ask specific queries rather than generic (.g. I want to know about career). Regards, Kunal
Thank you very much for all the information. Currently am taking a gap year,and have grown some interest the BScc Business analytics course. But the problem is I have been accepted at a university to do BSc in Computer Science and Statistics. My passion is in the programming and software development sectors. But I got to understand that on business analytics,the main subjects are COmputer Science,IT,economics,financial accounting,mathematics and applied mathematics,financial mathematics and statistics...so I wanna know so will I be able to get employment in all the above main subjects and will it be a good decision to drop Computer Science and statistics to Business analytics
i prefer offline.. classroom.. location – Delhi NCR sas accredited are expensive. i am a fresher. so i thought of ” analytixlabs” in gurgaon.. but i am confused because they give just 2 month course and also no review on internet about them. plz suggest me more options. Other than Great lakes or IIT-D...
Ashish, Analytixlabs have also moved to online courses. Regards, Kunal
Hi Kunal, I need some advice and guidance from you. I am an IT professional having 2 Years if work exp in SQL/PL SQL and oracle. I have a degree in comp engineering.I have now resigned from my job and will be pursuing a 1 year masters degree in analytics from a US University. My question to you is .. How should I proceed and what skills and training do I get so that I can make the best use of this 1 year and get a good in analytics job either in US or India on graduation. I have already enrolled for foundation jigsaw course and also doing statistics from coursera and udacity. Most of the jobs want work exp of minimum 2 years. Is 1 year of dedicated study enough to compensate for the lack of experience and get into a decent mid level job in analytics.
Hi Anuj, Could you please share some details about the MS course you are gonna take? I am also interested in joining a full-time course in Analytics. Also if you could please share how did you prepare for entering the MS program. Thanks
Hi Kunal, I need some advice and guidance from you. I am an IT professional having 2 Years if work exp in SQL/PL SQL and oracle. I have a degree in comp engineering.I have now resigned from my job and will be pursuing a 1 year masters degree in analytics from a US University. My question to you is .. How should I proceed and what skills and training do I get so that I can make the best use of this 1 year and get a good in analytics job either in US or India on graduation. I have already enrolled for foundation jigsaw course and also doing statistics from coursera and udacity. Most of the jobs want work exp of minimum 2 years. Is 1 year of dedicated study enough to compensate for the lack of experience and get into a good job profile in analytics.
Anuj, It is difficult to replace work experience with study. This is what I would recommend: Take up a few freelancing jobs - you can try elance to start with. If you can also participate in a few competitions on Kaggle and make it to the top 20% participants, you stand a good chance to get a job out of college. Regards, Kunal
Hi Sir, I am from commerce background and confused whether analytics would be the better option for me. Please guide. Brief background - I did my B.COM (HONS) from D.U in 2010, and then completed international post graduate diploma in general insurance from IIRM, Hyderabad in year 2011 Presently I am working with IFFCO TOKIO in marketing dept. How beneficial will be the course for my career? And which training institiute would be the best to start with? Looking forward to your kind guidance
hi av.... it just completely depend on your interest, with your back ground you can persue analytics as career. if you are located in Hyderabad then ISB is the best as you have experience they are probably offering full time BA training or else go for jigsaw academy online training. you can also follow the other online training portal which is coursera
Hi Kunal, I done Hotel management from IHM and had worl with hotel indutry for past 6 years. With family in place I am looking to change my profile.I would not ming to start from scratch. My brother suggested to look into Business Analytics.I am good with number. Will this help please advice how to advance further. Regards, Raj
hi raj, its not just about numbers,,,, u need to be some analytical skills as well as knowlwdge of various statistical tools and techniques... it also depends on your interests ,wts your academic back ground........ better think twice before you persue this field.... I would rather suggest to attend some demo classes at institutes or go through various online portals like coursera,, after that decide would you like to persue this field...
hello kunal, I was done B.E in computer science and recently completed MBA in marketing , i am looking for m career in business analytic give m suggestion is SAS analytic is good for me because i want to join sas training program.
SAS training programme would be a good option to start. Regards, Kunal
Hello Kunal Sir, I Am a BE mechanical grad passout in 2013. I have no good exp in this field nor do i Have big names in my CV. I just had $ months of Sales exp in Car delearship but left my job now preparing for higher studies and career change from engineering to business domain... In search of different career i came across this domain and i am researching a lot from a month approx but not getting much idea how to start... now that i have got to know about jigshaw , edvancer etc and also the praxis kolkata program .. i am planning to persue a course from one among these.... i have some months of time as i am not joining any job in between... so what advice you want to give me so that i can be well equipped with the concepts to be known beforehand...... do i need to do SAS certification and learn R before ? do i need to Do MBA before? if i look for internship in analytics.. what skill sets should i have to get selected ... like these... please advice how to start the very first step...... thnx ... your article helped a lot... have a great day......
Samarjyoti, Here is what I would suggest: You should focus on learning SAS, rather than R. You don't need to do an MBA, but you need to show a lot of motivation for business analytics. You need to cover the gap of big names with your motivation and learning. I think you should start with a course from Jigsaw or Coursera, learn all the concepts and then go for a more evolved course - possibly from Praxis. Regards, Kunal
Hi Kunal, It was highly motivating reading your posts and valuable suggestions in this website. I am a Oracle DBA with over 7 years of experience.I want to make a career switch to a more Business oriented role.I also have some brief experience in Oracle BI tools for couple of years. I have done BE and was good at Maths but really out of touch for a long time now. I am getting highly inclined towards learning Business Analytics/Big Data and start my career afresh. I am currently based out of NJ.There There is no such opportunity or role in my organization. What do you suggest about taking up a MS/MBA course in Business Analytics from a US based university? MS is mostly 1 year program which I am more interested in.But I am not sure if its good to leave my job and take the risk of going back to school at this stage of my career. Also since I don't have any prior experience in this field , getting into good universities looks like a challenge. Please let me know where and how to start ? Thanks in advance, NR
NR, Regret the delay in reply. I am not up to speed with universities are course work in the US. However, I know that there are programmes, which take people form other domains. You can check out more details from KDNuggets.com to start with. Regards Kunal
Dear sir, thank you for providing detail insight into Data analyst profile. I am MCa with 1.5 years past experience including 5 months in PHP and 1 year as Business development executive. Last month i got the job offer as Data analyst (microsoft project) in the vendor company. but we are using only Microsoft specific tools which other companies may not use for analysis. my query is if I am on the right track concerning Analytics. kindly suggest.
Arjun, What you need to learn is analytics fundamentals. What tool you use is secondary. If you learn one tool, you can always learn another one. I would say, go ahead and take the offer. Regards, Kunal
HELLO KUNAL it is an excellent initiative taken by you to guide new and experiencd guysabout new upcoming trend. THANKS
Thanks KP
Hi Kunal, I am working in sales domain though i hate it. I wanted to shift my domain to analytics. I love maths but not in practice. I have 1.5 yrs of experience in sales domain. Education wise I am an MBA, initially tried my best to get into MR Companies but due to college placements I ended up in sales. Now I am conplating to do a certification course from an institute where they are promising about 100 % lacement assistance. Thought, I want to know what kind of career oppurtunity and package I can look forward and kindly share the career growth path in Analytics. Thanks,
Dear Mr. X, There is no such institute, which would provide 100% placement assistance. Regards, Kunal
Hi Kunal, Iam working for a research company since 6years which does secondary data collection for M&A an HNWI. At this juncture I would like to go ahead and do a course in BA since this would be the next step of data collection. Would it be a good idea to choose edupristine BA course.Also how are the career prospects in BA with related to the exp. I had. Please advise.
Sowjanya, Jigsaw has better experience, course and reviews compared to Edupristine. You can check them out. Regards, Kunal
Kunal, I would prefer some institutes giving classroom coaching for Analytics in Delhi. Pls advise. Arghya
hi kunal. n I am Looking for changing career in Analytics . My profile:B.Tech(chem)+MBA(Operation)+7 years in Mfg &Supply chain in chem industry,+5 year in ERP Functional consultant role.My age is 38 yrs. I am Looking for : Not Travel Profile ,Absolutely no travel onsite to client location as i am fed up with travelling frequently for ERP project implementation and hence looking for career change. my queries: 1) Can this field be suitable based on education, exp ,age 2)is Travelling onsite is there in this field being with IT /or other organization 3)which is in best SAS/R ?4)is there any training cum placement program available with which institute/organisation 5)i am ready to compromise on salary b ut only things is must not be on Job Travelling onsite profile . Please guide me regards amit.
Hi Kunal, Some insights required on Business analytics. I am an engineer and an MBA grad will almost 5 years of experience in business and financial research, working as a Manager in one of the leading global insurance brokerage firm. Just wanna know how lucrative and easy / tough the career switch for me to analytic. 1) The major concern is that even if i am making a switch i dnt want to compromise on my compensation as if i start now in analytic do i have to start at a lower compensation ? 2) How good is to do this certification from ISB or other recognized B-schools providing the degree
Kartik, It would take 6 - 12 months before you can make a switch. Whether you can get same compensation or not depends on your skills. Initial salary in analytics roles vary form 5L - 12L. Certification from these colleges along with yout own efforts is the best bet to get into analytics. Regards, Kunal
Hello sir, I am shaunak. I had done my mba marketing . But I am desperatley interested to work in data analytics / associate position. I am also doing certification from jigsaw academy . As an mba grad, the languages like sas etc are becoming more technical tools. As an mba data analytics perspective how it should be of me please tell. I had applied in zs associates too. Many data analytics firms hires engineers for fresher and not mba fresher grad. As I am working currently in searce logistics working in MIS operational excellence team. But the use of analytics is not used much . No case study implentiions is done. Like big data , hadoop these also tools becomes more of techincalties. so Please guide me .
Shaunak, You have to be comfortable with the technicalities in order to become a good analyst. There are no shortcuts! Regards, Kunal
Hi Kunal, I'm a post graduate in Physics from NIT, 2012 passout. I am pretty much interested in business analytics job but I'm not sure if this profile is for me or not i.e if my educational qualification is suitable for this profile. More over , I came across this Base SAS certification and business intelligence certification from SAS. Will doing this course help me in getting a job in this field? I stay in Mumbai and I'm more interested in classroom program rather than online course. I came across this company called Ultramax and they claim to provide placement too. Taking a course in Base SAS from Ultramax will be a good idea or not? I'm a bit confused. Kindly help!
Nimisha, Your profile has the right fit. Normally, people in industry prefer education in quant subjects. I would say that you can take Base SAS course from SAS institute directly as it is available online free of cost. Once you have done that, you can go for BI or Predictive modeling certification - depending on which you prefer. I have not heard about Ultramax and would not be able to comment on their claim to provide placement. You can also consider instructor led online classes as you can interact with the trainer and also get flexibility to do the classes from any where. Regards, Kunal
HI! Kunal, Thanks for such a detailed information on analytics domain. I have done MBA in marketing and having 2.5 years of experience in telecom domain basically into reporting .I left my job in 2012 and wanted to move to analytic domain. But I am not getting any relevant opportunities. I need your guidance for getting into analytics industry..... will institute providing certification also provide job assistance...? I have more than 2 years of Gap in my job and I am really worried about my career ..I dont want to extend this gap longer... Please guide and suggest me what should I do Thnkss a lot
Neha, You can try some of the suggestions mentioned in the article here. Regards, Kunal
Hii kunal. I am Looking for changing career in Analytics . My profile:B.Tech(chem)+MBA(Operation)+7 years in Mfg &Supply chain in chem industry,+5 year in ERP Functional consultant role.My age is 38 yrs. I am Looking for : Not Travel Profile ,Absolutely no travel onsite to client location as i am fed up with travelling frequently for ERP project implementation and hence looking for career change. my queries: 1) Can this field be suitable based on education, exp ,age 2)is Travelling onsite is there in this field being with IT /or other organization 3)which is in best SAS/R ?4)is there any training cum placement program available with which institute/organisation 5)i am ready to compromise on salary b ut only things is must not be on Job Travelling onsite profile . Please guide me regards amit.
Amit, 1. Kindly check out this article. 2. Traveling Onsite is not a neccessity in analytics. I have done very little travel (3 - 4 short trips in a year) in my 7 years of career. 3. I would say to start with SAS 4. Not really. there are several institutes, who try to get you placed - Jigsaw / Edvancer are a couple of them. 5. Already answered. Regards, Kunal
Hi Kunal.. I am a BBA and MBA in finance and have 2+ years of work ex in a research firm.. I have been shortlisted for CPBAE course provided by IIM L and Kelley Business School. I hadnt taken up maths at +2 level and from a non IT background as well, therefore i feel that might act as a hindrance in pursuing this certificate course.. Kindly guide me if this course is meant for me ?
Erum, If you are not scared of mathematics and stats and can use them, you can go ahead. If you don't enjoy numbers, you should forget about a career in Analytics. Regards, Kunal
Hello Kunal, Nice article. Would like to share my background with you. I am a Bcom graduate, did in 1998. Post that i am working in sales. Presently i am with a Media House in their Ad sales division. Salary - 6Lakh + PA. My questions are here under. 1) What are the career opportunities do i have in Analytics. Belive i will be treated as a fresher. 2) What will be the impact on my salary. Since i have to run my show. 3) Also if possible please suggest which is the best institute in Bangalore for couses in Analytics. Thanks, Looking forward. Nikhilesh
Nikhilesh, Here are the answers: 1. You will be treated as a fresher. Be prepared to spend time apart from the certification to get meaningful opportunity. Only a certification would not help to get a good job. 2. If you do get a salary, the impact would not be much because even the fresher salaries in Analytics start range from 5L - 12L p.a. 3. IIM Bangalore provides courses in analytics (if you are interested in classroom style). Otherwise, Jigsaw Academy is a good place to start. Regards, Kunal
Dear Kunal, Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart for a such a wonderful article. I'm an MBA marketing graduate with 6 years experience in sales and marketing. Got 3 years sales experience in building material sales and 3 years in ITES sales and marketing. (a CRM product). My wife is from statistics graduate and i don't know why for the past 2-3 years I'm very much interested in statistcs and analytics (Infact in my current profile i play a lot with numbers. working out targets, competitor analysis, past sales details, pricing etc). I would like to switch my sales career to Analytics and i have a few concerns. 1. Whether my sales/marketing experience be counted or will it be a barrier when i look for a change in the profile? ( i dont mind a pay cut) 2. Do i need to do some course like SAS ( Do i need to take a certification) or Tableau? 3. I was not studious. I got 59 -61 % in all my educational certificates. And the sad part is Maths and statistics where on the lesser part in 10th and UG. But its better fo MBA. Will this be a barrier when i look for a job? It would be really great if you could help me out on this. Once again thank you and all the best for your future endeavours. Thanks and Regards Anoop
Anoop, here is my take on it: 1. The experience would not be counted. You will be considered as a complete fresher 2. Courses and certification can help make the transition easier. You should prefer SAS over Tableau, because of the number of jobs available. 3. While this would be asked in a few jobs, it should not be an impediment for all. You can cover it up by learning the subject now. Regards, Kunal
Hi Kunal, Want your advise. I am BE from NIT and have 9 years experience in Purchase Function. I have a career break right now and looking for alternate opportunities as not getting the right purchase profile in kolkata. Do you think i should do the course from ISB? Regards Trisha
Trisha, The course from ISB is aimed for people who want to make career in Analytics - which is a niche subject. You should only invest, if you are sure about analytics, rather than because you are not getting the right profile. Hope that helps. Kunal
Hi Kunal, This article is really helpful for analytic career start . I have 2 years(presently working) in a leading IT firm as a software engineer(placed through campus recruitment). For the last 20 months i was engaged in reporting and analysis- where i used to handle data and create reports with actionable insights. Also, i would like to intensify my knowledge especially on analytic section like manipulating the data/mining etc. I have planned to join some analytic course in Jigsaw academy . My engineering background is aeronautics, would recruiters be more specific on Engg stream during interview call or will it be a constrain for switching my career to analytic?????????????
Shah, I an an aerospace engineer myself by education. This should not be an impediment! Regards, Kunal
Hi Kunal, I used to follow your answers regularly infact I came to know about analytics much only because of Analytics Vidya.Coming to me I am a passed out of 2013. I got placed in EXL services as Reporting Analyst. Right now am working as BAU model scorer in the modelling team. I want to know the career graph for my career.And please suggest me the thngs which I can make my future bright.I am working on SAS. Thanks Uday Kumar Reddy.
Uday, Best path for you would be to learn predictive modeling on SAS yourself. You can start by taking Statistics I from sas.com, which is available for free from SAS institute itself. Regards, Kunal
Hello Kunal, This is a wonderful forum for the aspirants of analytics. I am from hyderabad a B.Tech grad. I am a novice to analytics field but I always try to keep learning about the new developments over internet in this field. I see a lot of scope for career development. I am 3 yrs experienced in IT industry and not I want to migrate to analytics. There is this institute called INSOFE(Internation School Of Engineering) which people say it as good. But it's charging 2.5 lakhs for the Data Science cource which also covering Big Data Analytics along with SAS,R programming. At the same time I enquired Jigsaw and in Jigsaw I might have to attend 3 course 1)Foundations for analytics 2)Analytics with R 3)Big Data Hadoop All the 3 come upto almost 1lakh. Please suggest me if it is really worthful to attend any of these courses which are so expensive or is there a way for self learning and getting some job opportunity ? Very confused!! Actually I have a plan of attending ISB business analytics course which is 6lakhs course but only after entering into that field. But for now to enter into that field please suggest me. With Best Regards, Venu Madhav
Venu, If you plan to take up ISB course later on - best is to learn through low cost online self paced courses on Coursera and eDX. If you still feel the need for assistance, go for Jigsaw over INSOFE. Regards, Kunal
Dear kunal, Great to go through the blog!! Really appreciate your efforts!! Have a BE(IT) I have worked in IT sector in sql,pl/sql and then worked in business development/analyst in power sector. I have a particular liking for statistics/probability which I hope
Dear Kunal, Really appreciate your efforts!! I have a BE(IT) and a 1 year MBA. Have worked in IT sector with SQL,oracle and then in business development /analysis in power sector post 1 year MBA. I have a particular liking for numbers and probability as well. I have a green belt six sigma certification which has brushed up my stats-based skills. In my current job , I have written macros so as to be obtain some insights for some technical data offered to me but this is not typically on huge datasets or public domain information. I would like to take whatever little experience/skills I have to the next level so as to get a full time Analytics based job. I have started learning a bit of R programming as well. Please can you guide me on how I can make this transition. Eagerly awaiting your reply! Thanks once again! Kind Regards, Sanket
Sanket, Best way would be to start taking up courses available on Coursera / eDX / Udacity. You can look at Data Science specialization run by John Hopkins University on Coursera. Regards, Kunal
Hello Kunal, Greetings for the day !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I follow your posts and what I like is your prompt replies, which helps everyone to gain in-depth knowledge in this nascent field. I have quiet a few questions. Q1. I have around 2 + years of work experience in BPO's. Can I move to business analytics. If yes can you help me zero down on some courses at this level. Q.2 I am working on my excel and Macro skills which I suppose is a prerequisite in analytics. How I can sharpen them, and can you suggest a short term course in excel with macros. Does the microsoft certifications in excel and macros help. Q.3 What are the entry level salaries for freshers in analytics, like me who do not have analytics experience but are shifting from a different industry, as a very low salary will be unsustainable after entry. Q.4 I also plan to pursue CFA later will that add to my knowledge relevant to the analytics industry. Q.5 Can you suggest some topics in maths and statistics which are important in analytics. Like- probability I know is there, what else? And in statistics which all distributions and topics are important?
Hello Kunal! There are a lot of questions here, let me try and answer them: 1. There is nothing which stops any one from shifting into analytics as long as you have the right skills and motivation. A foundation course (you can check out Jigsaw Academy) or free courses on Coursera / Udacity / eDX are best places to start your learning. 2. Excel is probalby a pre-requisite, Macros and VBA is definitely not one. What is more basic pre-requisite is that of problem solving and structured thinking. You can check out the course offering from chandoo.org 3. Entry level salaries typically start from 5 Lakhs, but vary depending on your skills. They can go upto 12 Lakhs p.a. for good resources. 4. I would recommend to take one step at a time. If you are focusing on excel + VBA, finish that first, before thinking about the next step. Otherwise, CFA can help. 5. We have started a series of articles to address this question, you can look at the first article here. Regards, Kunal
Hi Kunal it's great to see that you are giving suggestion to many people since last 1 year and helping them, I want to give you an overview actually presently i am working in a mnc as a Data Research Analyst since last 1.6 years. Presently i want to switch my job into core analytics and for that i am going to do a course on base SAS and advance SAS and Analytics Theory. Do you think that will help me to get into that core analytic and it will give me a better opportunity ?? if yes then please let me know the present market of SAS and how could I get into that? Waiting for your valuable comments and suggestion.
Prolay, SAS holds 65% - 70% market share in analytics jobs in India. You can find relevant job openings in any job forum. You can also look at some of them in our Jobs section. Regards, Kunal
Hi Kunal I have gone through with some of your replies. Its really very helpful for everyone. I need some advice and help from you. I am also thinking to shift in Analytic but have lot of confusion. I am a testing professional , having 8+ years of experience in Manual+Performance testing. Although analytic is quite new for me, but I want to join this. Will it be the right decision to start with analytic as In don't have any experience in development , data handling etc. ? I belong to Delhi NCR region , Is there any opportunity in Delhi NCR? What kind of knowledge I should have before joining any course? I am not very much concerned about salary and designation because this will be new start for me. But because of testing profile I am bit confuse. My qualification is MCA Thanks Yadav
yadav, You can look at this article for some more details. 35% of analytics jobs in India are based in Delhi NCR. Regards, Kunal
Thanks Kunal, for answering my questions
I'm not a technical savvy and want to pursue my career in Business Analytics. I live in US and have only 10months exp. Analytics is very broader term. Which analytics (Web/Retail/Marketing/Sales) i should be considering. Appreciate your response and guidance. Thanks Usha
You can start from Web or Marketing. Regards, Kunal
Hi Kunal I am a chemical engineer ,an NIT Bhopal alumnus(2012).I have 2 years of work ex in the manufacturing sector.I do not want to pursue manufacturing as my career and have the same old question of how to enter itno analytics.I have gone through some of yous posts & replies.Accordingly I surfed Cousera and have enrolled for a course in data analysis which starts from Sept 1st.I am also working on my guesstimation skills to be prepared for any interview calls.My problem is I have mailed my resume to a lot of people,applied for ZS,Grail,Capillary technologies.But I am not getting any reply from any of the firms.I do not want a further delay in my career shift.I am good at numbers.What more should I do to get interview calls?? I am headstrong at the point of shifting my work domain and not getting any replies so its getting a bit over the top. I am ready to do all the hard work. Please guide me what best can be done for the same. Regards Nehal
Nehal, If you do the same thing again and again - it is likely to give you same result. What you need to do is acquire some more skills before people become interested in your profile. There are 2 ways to do it - Get yourself trained on common techniques ASAP and then showcase your talent - there are enough platforms to do so, if you have the skills. If the course on Coursera is 15 days away and you can do the hard work - why not learn R in the mean time. There is wealth of free resources available on the internet. You can start from the videos from Google on learning R (available on Youtube). Hope this helps. Regards, Kunal
Hi Mr. kunal . I really appreciate you for all incredible suggestions to my friends. I would like to ask you few questions ...pls bring me out of dilema 1) I have got an avarage of 75% in my acadamics ? does the percentage matters in the interview? 2) I have completed Btech ( e.c.e) and doing MBA 2nd year( end by may 2015) . I took marketing as a major and minor as I.B...I would like to go for a SAS+business analyst certification .is it right choice for me ? 3)Since iam studying mba 2nd year ...do they allow me to sit for the interviews? some people told me that after completion of the course only you have to sit for the interviews for business analyst profile ? 4) how much salary i can expect as a fresher in business analytics ? what are the parameters decides the package? 5)what are the job opportunities in abroad for business analyst profile ? for freshers is there any country provide job opportunities in business analyst profile ?
Venki, Replied to your comment in the other comment you posted. Regards, Kunal
Hi Kunal , I am an IT professional with (SYSTEM/Network /DB ) background . Pls advice how to swift the career to BIg data and Analytics . Please advice which one is better in Big data and Analytics .
Ravi, It is difficult to answer your question generically. It depends on person to person and their experience. Both the fields are exciting and are expected to grow in future. Best thing would be to take a few courses on both and see which interests you more. Free courses are available on Coursera and Bigdatauniversity. Regards, Kunal
Hi, I am working as AVP for digital marketing firm which has started adapting Big data techniques. I need some direction on how to go with Big data as I have been more into campaign life cycle management. At the higher management level i need insights as how to go with the analytics performed by the team. Thanks, Faruk
Faruk, The best place to start is by taking a few basic courses - a good course is available on Udacity to start with. Regards, Kunal
Hi, I am working has a Quality lead in a Internal BPO domain(Tech Support) and I am planning to move into analytics, I have checked few websites www.edupristine.com / edvancer.com. Edvancer.com :- seems to be more inclined towards SAS oriented teaching. I say this because their course curriculum talks more about SAS. Edupristine.com:- seems to be more inclined towards statistics oriented teaching. I say this because their course curriculum talks more about statistic tools. Government sponsored institutes like MSME are offering business analytic which concentrate more on software like tabeula. So, which type of course certification should I select for start a career in business Analytic. Thanks, Kesava
kesava, edupristine also provides sas online training with case studies which is taught after class room training is over. but to start career u should have to persue sas after that you can go for more high end analytics training such as predictive modelling ...etc which uses advanced stastical tech
Kesava, As mentioned by Pranay, focus on SAS to start with. Check out the courses from Jigsaw Academy in addition to what you have already done. Regards, Kunal
Hi Kunal, I am having a years working experience with an Ngo in uttrakhand as an Supply Chain Manager. I have done MBA in Operations. I want to persue SAS+BI course from Analitix lab in gurgaon, 1. I am bit confused about the institutions coz I m looking for an 3 months course. 2.Career prospects as I have zero knowledge of programming languages, In most job offers companies ask for sql, r language knowledge in addition to SaS . 3. Entry level SAS profile Jobs. Thanks Kailash
Kailash, Here are the answers: 1. Check out Jigsaw Academy as well. They run quite a few online courses and have good content. 2. You should not expect to land a job directly after a 3 month course. Even if it happens, it would be a data analyst job rather than a predictive modeler. You should give yourself about 12 months to make a switch. 3. These are available - you can check out the pages of companies like Fractal, Mu-Sigma, WNS, Citi etc. Regards, Kunal
Hi Mr. kunal . I really appreciate you for all incredible suggestions to my friends. I would like to ask you few questions …pls bring me out of dilema 1) I have got an avarage of 75% in my acadamics ? does the percentage matters in the interview? 2) I have completed Btech ( e.c.e) and doing MBA 2nd year( end by may 2015) . I took marketing as a major and minor as I.B…I would like to go for a SAS+business analyst certification .is it right choice for me ? 3)Since iam studying mba 2nd year …do they allow me to sit for the interviews? some people told me that after completion of the course only you have to sit for the interviews for business analyst profile ? 4) how much salary i can expect as a fresher in business analytics ? what are the parameters decides the package? 5)what are the job opportunities in abroad for business analyst profile ? for freshers is there any country provide job opportunities in business analyst profile ?
Venkatesh, Looks like you are thinking about too many things simultaneously. 1. It depends from company to company. Some look for marks in Maths and Stats, some don't look at school, but require a degree in Quant subject. 75% is fine, even if people ask about it. 2. Where do you want to do this certification from? 3. You can sit in interviews - there is nothing which stops you from that. 4. Salary for a fresher varies from 5L on the lower side to 12 Lakhs on the upper side. Salary for freshers from campus is typically decided by the campus you are passing out from and your past experience. 5. Unlikely unless you become lucky - possibilities are there, but rare. Regards, Kunal
Hi... I am working in an MNC as Software developer with 1.8 years of experience. I thinking to enroll myself in Executive MBA course in Business Analytics from IFIM, banglore. As it is going to be the first batch I am confused whether to go ahead with it Would definitely want to pursue career in Analytics,. My question is how difficult it is to shift to an Analytics company ? Please help me ....
Pradeep, There might be better options available in Bangalore. Why do you want to join IFIM? Usually first batches have teething issues. Why not join a course, where the management has more experience in Analytics and a better brand name as well REgards, Kunal
Hi Kunal, I have been following your blog for quite sometime. Please do keep up the good work! I'm a student of MSc. Economics course at BITS and wish to apply for MS in Applied Stats or Analytics in the US and would like to know your views on the same. I've done courses on ML and Analytics from CourseEra and EdX and I also have knowledge of R and Python. Since, my goal is to get a job in the industry, would it be advisable to go for an MS in Analytics. My motivation for the same was my non-CS background. Also, I would you happen to know- 1. Would it be worth the resources to go for a program in MS Analytics? What are the job prospects after securing an MS? 2. Whether online MS Analytics courses are recognised by top firms in the industry. 3. List of some companies in India that require recruits in the fields of Data analysis and Statistical Learning. Thanks and regards.
1. You should only consider a MS from the US, if you are ready to take up a job in the US after you graduate. Otherwise, it might be difficult to justify the ROI. MS in Analytics from a good University definitely has good job prospects. 2. Depends on whether you are talking about Indian companies or across the globe. In India, you will get recognition, only if you are doing MS from the top universities. If you are open to take up a job in the US later on, you can look at Universities beyond top 10 as well. 3. The list is huge, but here are a few names at the top of my mind: Mu-Sigma, Fractal, Citi, WNS, Capital One, Airtel, ZS Associates, Amazon, Facebook, Google Regards, Kunal
thank u for giving such a useful and important information within us presently i m also doing a pg diploma in marketing and business analytic but i m liitle confused bcoz i m not too good on excel so can u guide me how i become a best in this field and which things are important in business analytics for study and how to get a good job as business analytics for fresher .
Hi Kunal, first of all thank you very much for providing us a deep insight about Analytics on your forum. I really appreciate it. And I'm trying my best to religiously follow your thoughful advices. I completed my MBA recently, and B.Sc. Biotech has been my first degree. So, hence as such I've had no major work experience so far, except for some part-time work ex in retail industry while pursuing my masters. I'm planning to get into Analytics peferably Retail Analytics or the area in Analytics where my Marketing/Market Research skills can be utilized. I have been reading your articles since 2-3months...and also reading a lot more stuff about analytics elsewhere too as per your advice in this article. In the above article you have given another advice about certification courses. I'm planning to join a training insitute called edupristine, very soon, do you think I will have better career prospects after doing their Business Analytics weekend 3 month course? I mean to say that is it of equal worth to that of the certification course providers that you mentioned above in your article? Will I still have chances of getting hired with good companies with good packages? Please help..As I'm totally paranoid and confused whether to join or not.
Hello Kunal Jain, I just want to know , For Fresher Analytic is suitable or not .? I completed my M.Tech IT and thinking to do Analytic will it suit me to build my Career or not As a Fresher I mean ,?
Hi Kunal, Need help. i am planing to join foundation course with jigsaw. but not sure, how much excel knowledge is required prior to joining the course. What all i should know in excel to start career as business analyst? request you to advise on the same. regards, aditya
Hello sir, This is Pratim currently working as an Associate Analyst at Global Data Research Center for the past 5 months. Your blog gave me a whole lot idea about the scope in Analytics in India. I had few queries which i would like to put forward :- Firstly i have done my Btech in Mechanical and MBA in oil and gas management(domain specific), So being a fresher what i should to to enhance my analytics skills. Secondly, i have no knowledge of coding or any programming language( even C or C++), are these skills necessary to kick start your career in analytics?? Please help me out!!
Hi Kunal, First of all, I would like to thank you for the good work you are doing. Keep doing ! I am basically a Production Support Engineer in an Investment bank for close to 3 years with not much knowledge of Business Analytics, but somehow i think I could be a better fit for this as I had been good with Mathematics and Statistics during my academic days and I am from an Engineering background too. The question in my mind right now is, how to start approaching it and what should i start learning now, Would I be able to switch my career to Business Analytics especially in the field of Investment banking. Please guide me and give me some good references to catchhold. Also, let me know if classroom program would be better or an online one. Thanks and Regards, Nikhil From Chennai
hi ! i am a fresher . i am BE. completed PGDBA correspondance . I am looking for a Job .I find BA job interesting. what should i do to grab a job as BA. Do they have good amount of openings for freshers.should i go for training? and which one? please reply
Hi Kunal Thanks for all the Gyan...It really has helped Student and professionals going for analytics field. A query from My side I am A computer Science garduate having Done B.E and then PGDM(IT & Marketing) From a B+ Grade Institute. Experience 1.i have an 1 year experience of Computer Programmer after my B.E at a postgraduate college. 2.Had an experience of Marketing & Branding with one of the Major FMCG Giant for about 3 and a half Years, that includes Market Research, Branding, Marketing Communication. 3. Rt Now i am working with Ministry of Railways(Grade-1 officer Entry Level) for Freight Transportation & Warehousing. I am always good in numbers (although the marks dosent match my statement :-)). and had an average educational Background(60-65% throughout) Kindly advice with such diverse work culture, would i be able to get an admission in analytics program at one of the Major Universities of US. My GMAT is 680.
Nikhil, There is nothing which stops you from applying and getting admission in a good University in the US. You need to have a strong Statement of Purpose (SOP) on why you want to pursue the course and how it fits in your career plan. Regards, Kunal
Hi Kunal, This is Mr. Simhachalam from Hyderabad, India. Need your guidance to take decision on Career Swift. Currently I'm Working with One of India's top IT Organization as a Manager Quality Assurance. Having 9 1/2 Years of Experience in Quality Function in Manufacturing, Engineering Services and IT Organizations. Education Qual : Diploma in Mechanical Engineering (10+3), MBA - International Business (Currently pursuing) and having certifications : ISO 9001 : 2008 Internal Auditor, Six Sigma Green Belt. Somehow I'm interested to make my career in Business Analytics, As it is the 21st Century's Great JOB having high demand. But my concerns are, Is it the right time to swift my channel, Quality - Business Analytics? If moving into Business Analytics is the right choice then how can I pursue that opportunity. I have applied for ISB Bio Con CBA program Batch 2 but my application is not qualified at first step itself. Or can i take career swift as Business Analyst by doing (CCBA / CBAP)? or can i continue in Quality. Please suggest. Regards Simha
Simha, There are pieces of analysis, which you need to perform as part of Quality Assurance. You can specialize in them - that can act as a common ground between analytics and your specialization. Trying to do a career change completely might become difficult and stressfull. You can read more about it here. Regards, Kunal
Hi, I am a java programmer in a MNC. But I want to switch my track to business analyst path. I have only engineering degree no MBA degree. So, without MBA how could I fulfill my dream? I did research on CBAP certification but the eligibility criteria is not matching to my experience. So, please help me in this case.
Hi kunal Sir, i am b.com pass out and 3 have experience as IT trainer . I would like to work in Excel and power point and also knowledge in DTP and Tally . But i would like to make my career in DBMS and i like to work in large data. I am confuse for DBA and BI course . Please suggest me how can i start my career in DBA Field or what is right path for me .
Hi Kunal, Thanks for the wonderful posts on Analytics. I am Venkatesh, currently working as sys.admin/dba. I would like to shift my career towards analytics domain. I've completed B.Tech CSE & have interest in programming. Though i am not good with maths & stats (currently) i could able to pickup... I found a PGP BA course from Great Lakes, which is of 11 months duration & costs around 4.5 Lakhs & applied for the program & got offer letter for the program. Will this course enable a career transformation to analytics? Or it's better to start with Jigsaw? Could you please advise on shifting career to analytics from my current domain. What is the pre requisite or eligibility for making career in analytics? How to start from basics or foundations?
Hi Venkatesh, Please let me know about your experience in Great Lakes.I am looking forward to join the gurgaon branch.Any update from you will be greatly helpful.
Hi Kunal, I have about 10 years of experience wo rking with an NBFC MNC bank with experience in MIS/Analytics. Currently, I have taken a sabbatical from work. But looking to getting back soon but I wish to do something from home itself. Plus I am studying for Google Analytics certification.Please guide me as to what is the salary I should be expecting and are there oppurtunities for people who wish to work flexi-hours. Regards, Shalini
Hii Kunal , I am a 2014 engineering graduate and thinking of pursuing my career in Data Analytic . After reading your blog I googled many online courses and finally came down to Course Era and JigSaw . But I am in a fix which course to choose . As both provide certifications and tutored by renowned mentors of the field. Please guide me which to signup for . Please try to reply ASAP as courses are starting soon. Regards Sumant
Sumant, You have made good choices in terms of shortlisting the courses. The right choice depends on how much guidance do you want. If you want to learn the subject matter only and can do self-learning and learning from forums (and not neccesarily from an instructor), then Coursera offers a lot of value. Some of the best courses I have done run on Coursera. However, if you need assistance related to career queries or while learning - you should go with Jigsaw. It also depends on which tool you want to learn - if you want to learn SAS, then go with Jigsaw (Coursera doesn't provide a course on SAS). If you want R, then go by the criteria I mentioned before. Regards, Kunal
Hi Kunal, I have recently started an analytics firm in gurgaon and have built a really strong team of data analysts. But it gets really difficult to find new clients. Could you tell me some ways as to how to go about Sales& Marketing for this firm. How to find clients willing to pay for our services. Thanks Bikram
What is the name of your firm ? Can you share your contact number ?
Hi, I currently pursuing BA (hons) economics from hansraj college, delhi university. I am in my final year and have been placed with verity knowledge solutions, an affiliate of UBS as an investment banking analyst. I plan take up analytics. I wish to know if the sort of exposure and work experience that I would get if I join verity will equip me to take up analytics for my masters in India or abroad? Is the work experience relevant to what is required to join ISB or IIM for the executive courses you've mentioned? Thanks :) Manvika
I am currently pursuing*
Hi Kunal, I am a B COM Grad . I had worked in two of the biggest Telecom Company as a Sales MIS for 10 years. And currently I am working in Healthcare Industry in the same profile. Recently I had heard about analytics in a big way. I would request you to kindly help and suggest me that can I go for a career in Analytics as I had worked with numbers and data in a big way in Telecom ? If Yes, then what should I learn SAS, HADOOP, R or anything else ? I am good in numbers but not "very good ". Please help as I am looking for a career change as being a simple MIS is not helping me to grow. Thanks & Regards Raj
Hi Kunal, it was good to read your article and all the information you shared over here...Just need a bit of insight on this thing and have a small query regarding Analytics...I have around 3 years of experience in staffing/BD/HR industry...Will shifting to Business Analytics be a valid option for me...??...Does this requires a financial background or specific background or domain to get into this field...was thinking of doing some certifications regarding the same and then moving on to this field...Please advise...Any help or information will be highly appreciated... Thanks Varun Chatterjee
Hi Kunal, I have done a dual degree course BE-MBA from Thapar University. BE in Industrial engineering & MBA in Operations & Marketing. I am currently working with a software company in a sales & marketing profile. My total work ex as of now is 4 months. I want to get into analytics/consulting so i have joined Analytix Labs, Gurgaon for a course in Business Analytics+SAS. The course duration is 3 months(weekend classes) and the course fee is Rs.32000. They claim that they provide placement assistance as well. What is your review about the course and the institute ? Should i do anything else in order to get entry into analytics/consulting.
Amit, I can not comment on the quality of assistance provided by Analytix Labs as I do not have enough information about it. However, given my experience - people in industry are not very open to take people just on the basis of a 3 month course. A lot of people I know are struggling to get a break in the industry for month even after year long courses from some of the best institutes. I personally think, there would be a lot you will need to do before you get an entry into analytics / consulting. You can read some of the resources I mentioned in a recentl blog here. Regards, Kunal
i am also doing course from analytixlabs . and i feel the duration is very short.
i am also doing course from analytixlabs . and i feel the duration is very short., as it is just a weekend course.
hey kunal !! i have completed PGDM(Marketing & Finance) and currently i am working as a SME consultant from last six months . My profile is related to business development also.I want to make my career in business analytics. what will be your recommendation ? I am looking for entry level position in business analytics but i am not getting anything for fresher.you had mentioned some courses also but will u suggest me which particular course i should go through? thanks!!
Hi Kunal, Thank you for your great article. I have a few queries regarding the analytics course and my eligibility for the same. I have done my masters in geography and currently pursuing my MBA evening program in Pune. I am also working in logistics/auto industry for past 2 years. I would like to make a switch to analytics industry as I am highly interested in this industry after doing my market research course. However, I dont have a maths background (although I like maths). Is that a hurdle while doing the course or while interviewing with analytics companies?
Hello Kunal, I'm Civil engineering gradute (Btech Hons. graduted in may 2014) and recently joined (2 months back) a fortune 500 firm (project management consultants). But I'm not intersted in civil works and I know i'm good at numbers and analytic work. Thus I feel being bussiness analyst will suit me. Kindly guide me as to how should I go about it to shape my career in this regard. Domains I'm interested in are oil& gas, energy and somewhat infra. PS- I will planning to pursue master (either MBA or Executive MBA or Technical master) 2-3 years down the line. Kindly Guide. Looking forward to your revert. -Rahul
Hi Kunal, First of all, Thanks for great contribution for providing so much information and resolving so many queries of other people. I also have few queries. i did my Btech in Computer Science in 2010 and currently having 4 years of work experience as a java developer in IT MNC. i have few queries : 1. I am good in maths and have scored 95+percentile only in maths section in various entrance exams. and sometimes i feel that, IT is not my cup of tea. Also, one of my friend told me Analytics is a good career option for people loves maths and good in maths. Please suggest me me, should i go for it or not? i have no prior experience in Analytics. 2. How can i start with? 3. Will my prior job experience be counted? 4. How much salary(range) i can expect, if i plan to swich my career. 5. Is there any analytics company, who gives job to IT background people and give them training for few days to learn analytics. Thanks for your great contribution.
Hi Kunal , That was an amazing article . I am at the crossroads of my life , at a point where i am unable to decide if i have to take up the graduate course in "Enterpise business analytics " @ National university of singapore , i have absolutely no idea ,the type of job profiles and pay(salary) for the roles . I am thinking over it as the cost of the course is pretty high .i would be obliged if you can throw some light on job profiles and salary ,provided i am graduating from reputed unversities .
Siva, You can reach out to Sri Krishna, a friend of mine, in case he can provide some more details to you about the course. Regards, Kunal
Hello sir I m maths graduate from DU...I scored 86% in my graduation.. I got an opportunity from wipro giving MS in data science + 4 yrs of job in analytical department..which will lead me.to become data scientist..but it is almost programming based Means java,SQL,python and all..and I tooo got adm in msc maths DU. Not.able.to understand which is better. Please help Will.I get analytical.job after msc maths too.?
Mansi, I personally prefer the route of job over M.Sc. Hands on experiece in job will give you far better understanding of what is needed. You can always apply for M.Sc. next year in case the job does not work out for you. Regards, Kunal
Hi Kunal, This is one of the most fantastic blog I have ever come thru. Thanks so much for quality details that you have provided over all. I have a query, I am really seeking your inputs on this. I have done my PGBM and have 5+ years of experience in Software Testing more over in Finance domain. I really want to switch to Analytics. Please can you guide me on the course that I should take up for a better career options. Regards, Neelima
Neelima, Where have you done your PGBM from? How much (in terms of time and resources) can you invest in Business Analytics trainings? Regards, Kunal
Sir your post and your replies are so heplful, thank you for your content. What is the reason you haven't mentioned Deloitte when it comes to Business Analytics. Do they actually make the employee do Analytics or just monotonous work? If I get opportunity to work with them should I?
Kash, Delloite also has a good Business Analytics set up. The nature of work might vary from project to project though. Regards, Kunal
Hello, I'm 33 and have more than 8 yrs of experience in the field of sales & marketing? Would you please guide me how career in Business Analytics will help me to grow in the industry? What kind of job profile will I get if I do this course? I'm commerce graduate and have done marketing specilization in MBA, from Pune University. Please do the needful. Thanking you. Umesh, Pune
Umesh, Which course are you refering to here? Regards, Kunal
Hi Kunal, I'm a final year B.E. Mechanical engineering student. An analytics company called musigma visited our college for campus recruitment. The talk they gave us evoked my interest. What i would like to know is, if i do get placed there, what sort of tasks would I be required to do on a daily basis at the office. Does it just involve working at some sort of software all day? Also, what skills are required to do well as a data scientist? Thanking you. Neelesh Haridas
Neelesh, The exact nature of task might vary depending on the role Mu Sigma has planned for people from your campus. Hence, it is difficult for me to make an accurate comment. Usually data science roles are a mix of some stats, some programming and some stake holder management. The key skills required are structured thinking, comfort with numbers and programming, problem solving, communications and attention to details. Hope this helps. If you can provide the exact designation, I might be of little more help. Alternately, you can ask the people from Mu Sigma directly. Regards, Kunal
Hi Kunal, Glad to see such a portal where all kinds of queries are replied. I have done B tech in CSE. having 2 years of exp in ORACLE APPS SCM as functional consultant. I am planning to switch to Analytics after my 3rd year. Right now i will be starting my Big data plus Hadoop certification course from jigsaw academy. My query is after my completion of my course, Will my earlier exp be counted or i will be taken as a fresher ? and in terms of salary also ?.. Will the salary be as like freshers or be like a 3yr exp professional. ?? Consider if i am getting 4.5 at the end of 3rd yr. How much i can expect when i start as data analyts after 3rd yr .?/? pls help.
Hi Kunal, Hope you are doing great ! This is Aravind Kumar Gunda from Hyderabad. I have gone through few of people comments and your advices to them. It's really appreciating. I want to seek an advice for me as well about a career in Analytics. Please find details of my resume below and advice me how to I start off a career in Analytics. RELEVANT SKILLS: • I enjoy meeting people and have an aptitude for dealing with the public. I am able to answer questions, get to the root of issues, and maintain a friendly and professional attitude at all times. • I can also be firm and polite at the same time, and enjoy figuring out the best ways to get my meaning across to others. • My creative thinking skills mean that I am great at solving problems. I can get to the bottom of issues quickly and easily, without the aid of a supervisor or fellow workers. • I am a team player, and enjoy working well with others to get things done. I am also capable of running things on my own when the situation calls for it. • Your working environment suits me as it is fast paced. I can work quickly and effectively under a rushed deadline or tight schedules and am flexible enough to change direction at a moment's notice when needed. PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCES: QUALEX CONSULTING SERVICES, INC BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATE JULY 2013 – PRESENT OUT-BOUND CALLER / LEAD GENERATION RESPONSIBILITIES: • Obtain contact information of potential customers through cold calling, internet research and emailing. • Identify and qualify new customers based on company’s business model and guidelines. • Initiate and build relationships with customers through phone and emails. • Coordinate appointments, meetings and calls between customers and senior management for business expansions and new opportunities. • Manage customer meetings with internal teams for project development and delivery activities. • Maintain a database of potential customer’s contact numbers and emails. WOOLWORTHS LIMITED COMPANY, SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA OCT 2009 –FEB 2013 DELI ASSISTANT (SUPER MARKET) RESPONSIBILITIES: • Provides customer service by acknowledging the customer, identifying customer needs, assisting with purchasing decisions, locating merchandise, resolving customer issues and concerns, and promoting products and services, while maintaining a safe shopping environment. • Follows company policies and producers or preparing handling, packaging, labeling and storing food, operating and sanitizing food-related equipment, Stockton and display and maintaining and cleaning the deli department. • Provides deli products to customers, following company and regulatory policies and procedures for food safety and prepares deli products based on customer specifications, operating, repairing and sanitizing equipment and ensuring merchandise is properly measured, packaged and stored. • Receives and stocks merchandise and maintains the deli are by following company procedures, utilizing equipment appropriately, merchandising and completing and retaining required paperwork, logs and other documentation. PAMAC FINSERVE PRIVATE LIMITED – TATA AIG, LIFE FEB 2007 – JAN 2008 CUSTOMER SERVICE EXECUTIVE (OPERATIONS DEPARTMENT) RESPONSIBILITIES: • Modify, update, and process existing policies and claims to reflect any change in beneficiary, amount of coverage, or type of insurance. • Process and record new insurance policies and claims. • Review and verify data, such as age, name, address, and principal sum and value of property on insurance applications and policies. • Organize and work with detailed office records, maintaining files for each policyholder, including policies that are to be reinstated or cancelled. • Correspond with insured or agent to obtain information or inform them account status or changes. • Transcribe data to worksheets and enter data into computer for use in preparing documents and adjusting accounts. • Interview clients and take their calls in order to provide customer service and obtain information on claims. ACHEIVEMENTS & SKILLS & INTERESTS • Since 12th Sep 2014, I have been pursuing SAS course (Statistical Analysis System). • Completed Certificate III and Certificate IV in Business management 2010, IIBIT College, Sydney, Australia. • Studied MBA (Financial Management) 2007, Osmania University, Hyderabad • Studied Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting) 2003, Kakatiya University, Karimnagar. • Proficient knowledge of Computer’s like MS Word, Excel and PowerPoint. • Excellent typing skills. • I am very passionate towards learning new things. • Great command over English, Hindi and Telugu. • I am a talented painter. I achieved many prizes at primary and secondary school level. • I was an active member of the high school cricket team for two seasons. Thanking You Aravind
hi kunal i am 27. Currently i am a lecturer at a engg. college. i completed my btech in ece branch in 2009. i hav 4years of experince both in telecomm field(two major companies like alcatel lucent & nokia siemens) currently a lecturer above 3 years. i have 70 percentile marks through out my carrear. now i want to make my carrer in e-commerce field. as i have no such type of experince in business analysiss and logistics. can u suggest me some way how i can persue a good carrer in that area. i am realy interested in that field. waiting for ur reply thank u
Lokanath, I am not sure I am the right person to answer queries related to e-Commerce courses. Regards, Kunal
Hello Mr Kunal , Mine is a simple question , i have done my BBM and the MBA i want to get into analytics , i don know what course to take up , i have specialised in marketing and inter national business , i finished my MBA from Amity university so can you please help me out .
Hi Vipin, To pursue career in business Analytics, you need to put more effort to learn Analytics. I would recommend doing SAS from Jigsaw Academy. You can also approach free online training for learning Analytics. Regards, Kunal
Hi Kunal, I have been working in a software services company since 3 years (Middleware- Unix,SQL,CPP). I would like to get into BA stream. Have GRE score of 315. What are my chances to get into ISB.I have worked for client,a major US bank, and after completing the course am looking to apply my knowledge gained in analytics in banking.
Priyanka, 3 years look to be on the lower side. But the desired work experience by ISB is 4-6 years. I would suggest you to apply for Analytics program offered by other Institutes or gain some more experience for another year. You can look at the article “Top 5 Analytics Programs in India (2014 – 15)” for other top ranked institutes. Regards, Kunal
hello Kunal sir, I am Nishant Ihave done BBA and then MBA in marketing and I want to do my career in business analytic so as I am not from technical background I am eligible for this industry jobs and am I eligible for thesee certification courses.
Nishant, You are a graduate as well as Post graduate. You are an eligible candidate for learning and doing certification courses in Analytics. You are not from a technical background, so to get a job in Business Analytics, you need to put extra efforts to learn about its domains. It can be challenging to get one. Regards, Kunal
HI Kunal, I have 3 years of exp in INFORMATICA , ORACLE and SQL server database. Now I am working with one of the Big 4 as data analyst using SSIS and SSRS. I want to do CBA certification by ISB. Will it be helpful for me? Job opportunity after completing the course and Can I apply for 2015 batch? Please reply when you will have time. THANKS
Hi Paresh, The admission to ISB programme is dependent on many parameters rather than just the number of years of experience. On itself, 3 years looks to be on the lower side. But the desired work experience by ISB is 4-6 years. You can enroll for this course only when you possess 4 years of experience. ISB is one of the best course available in India as of now. However, it does not provide a placement support, but you would expect to learn a lot in the domain. You will have good job prospects after this Program. Regards, Kunal
Hi Kunal, I am working on pl/Sql for 3 years now .. I want to plan my career in analytics. Please suggest how can i achieve this Do I need to get trained on some new IT courses. I have no clue on how to proceed can you please help me. Will my sql background be of any help.
Suman, You are looking to build career in Analytics. Before getting started in Analytics, you can read the below mentioned article for details: 1. “All you need to know to start a career in analytics”. 2. “How to start a career in Business Analytics?” No need to learn new IT courses. Some of your IT experience would be considered. I would recommend learning Big data tools (Hadoop/Pig/Hive/MapReduce). The pre-requisites for learning Big data tools is you must learn either Java or Python. Regards, Kunal
Thank you sir for providing about your Analytics Vidhya. We are provide more information regarding to our training . SAP SD Online Training.
Hi Kunal, I have a very varied background, I have experience in Business analysis of around 4.5 years. I am also a CFA level 2 candidate. Now the problem with business analysis ( rather limitations are ) 1. you don't have technical experience and still working in IT company makes you less required. 2. developer to BA ratio is around 20:1 which leaves very less job for BA. 3. If you have a niche domain expertise then OK otherwise nobody requires you the domain i worked in had only one company working dedicately in India. 4. For MBA BA is the only profile to get into IT job. Now the problem is I am lacking a good domain and hence looking to get associated with technology as well. I have figured out many insititute and zeroed down on Analytixlabs in Gurgaon truly because of Classroom progamme. Can you please tell me is transition from business analyst to business anlaytics is possible. Can i tweak my experience a little bit to line in some sense to data analysis. Would Base SAS and Business analytics certification helpful from SAS Does my CFA credential will be of any help in getting a job in Financial fraud, Aml analytics Also I have been consistently good in DI I scored around 99.9%ile in two CAT and XAT but when it comes to Calculus I was never confident. Does this rings any bell for me. Regards Gaurav
Hi Kunal, I am a IT professional with 1 year of experience. Will doing MBA with business analytics get me a good analytics job. More Important **** Will I get only managerial job in analytics after doing MBA in analytics ? **** Thanks. Waiting for your reply.
Sagar, It entirely depends on which MBA programme you are doing. I am not aware of any such MBA programme, which can get you into managerial jobs directly. Also, you will need to be clear what you mean my managerial jobs - people management or "Manager" as designation? Both of them might be very different things. Regards, Kunal
Hi , can i have your mail id . need to discuss on BA carrer. My mail id [email protected]
Hi Bikash, You can drop your query to [email protected]. Or join our discussion portal – discuss.analyticsvidhya.com Regards, Kunal
Dear Kunal, I read your article and it is very enlightening. But I have few things I need clarification but before that I would give you my background. I have a MBA from Amity University with a work experience of 3years wherein I have had 4 job changes. I am in the field of Sales and Customer Service in the Real Estate industry. Also, I went to the UK to complete my M.Sc. in GIS which didnt go as planned. But I have a very keen interest in Analytics I am very proficient with Statistics. I would like to know what would be the most suitable way to switch to the profile of an Analyst or Management Consultant. I am planning to persue a few courses like a certification courses in Six Sigma and Business Analytics from NIIT. What do you suggest as I am very confused due to all the articles and lectures I have been reading? Also, I am planning to enrol myself for a Language courses like SQL. Would they help? Please looking forward to your guidance. Thanks Dishant
Dishant, You will be considered as a fresher in Analytics industry. If you want to pursue career into Analytics, I would recommend learning SAS from our learning path in SAS. For doing certification in Business Analyst, you can check out some other options as well. Regards, Kunal
Hi kunal, I am B.Tech graduate in computer sience with 1 year exp in IT domain and want to make a career shift to analytics domain as i am not really happy with programming and software development role and my company is not allowing me to shift to a functional role as my manager isnt releasing me from the project. I am confused as to what will be best for me right now, Doing some basic certrifications in analytics and then do a job switch or look for companies which offer a analytics role and side by side take up certifications for the same. Kindly guide me as to what will be the best career move for me right now. Thanks and Regards Sakshi
Hi Sakshi, Without learning about Analytics, it might be hard for you to get a job in industry. You must join an institute for certification courses. Learning can also be done from freely online institutes. Apply your learning into few data sets. Next, you can look at the job opportunities and pursue career in Analytics. Regards, Kunal
Hi Kunal, It is very edifying to read your blog about analytics. I am an IT professional with 4 years of work experience in pl/sql and data warehousing. I am looking for persuing MS in BA from US, but I am not able to narrow down on the universities. I read your other posts and from that I know that you are not up to date with the best BA programs that are available in the US. I am a novice in the field of analytics and don't know what curriculum should i look for in these programs. So if you can advice me on the same, that would be really helpful. Also, any pointers to someone else I can talk to in this regard would be of great help. Thanks, Shashank
Hi Shashank, For courses of Outside India or US, I would recommend to go and look at KDNuggets. Regards, Kunal
Hi Kunal, I am Srinivas and having 14 years experience on different kinds of Legacy Systems and currently in Perfomance Services. I feel I don't have much growth in these areas. I am looking for Big Data and Analytics as I always consider my self good in Analytical skills in compare of Technical Skills. Also I have lot of passion and love with the Data. Currently I am the individual contributor for my work. Is it possible to switch to Big Data with this kind of experience by acquiring the skills like HADOOP, HIVE, PIG etc. Waiting for you suggestion. Thanks in advance, Regards Srinivas
Hi Srinivas, Your past experience would not be considered. It would be a difficult experience for you to switch into Big data and might find it hard getting a job in industry. Making a career shift after such a long experience can be a difficult experience. You can read this article for more details: “Planning a late career shift to Analytics/ Big data? Better be prepared”. Hence, I do not recommend making a shift after such long experience. Regards, Kunal
Hi kunal I have done my btech in IT and have work ex of 2.6years in a It company in informatics.then I did my mba in marketing and working with icici securities for past 18months in sales.I want to start my career now in data analytics?please tell me how to go about it?and will my work ex be an added advantage? Thanks
Hi Soma, Some of your IT experience might get considered. I would suggest learning Big data tools (Hadoop, Pig, HIVE, Map Reduce). The pre-requisites for learning Big data tool is you have to learn any programming language either Python or Java. Regards, Kunal
Hi Kunal, Glad to see such a portal where all kinds of queries are replied. I have done B tech in CSE. having 2 years of exp in ORACLE APPS SCM as functional consultant. I am planning to switch to Analytics after my 3rd year. Right now i will be starting my Big data plus Hadoop certification course from jigsaw academy. My query is after my completion of my course, Will my earlier exp be counted or i will be taken as a fresher ? and in terms of salary also ?.. Will the salary be as like freshers or be like a 3yr exp professional. ?? Consider if i am getting 4.5 at the end of 3rd yr. How much i can expect when i start as data analyts after 3rd yr .?/? pls help.
Hi Ajay, Thanks you for following us. Some of your past experience would be considered. But you will consider as a fresher with 6m - 1 year of experience in Analytics. On the salary range, it may depend on the company and the role you get and the experience they consider. Typically a freshers in analytics can get anywhere between 3L – 10L. Based on your experience, salary may vary from company to company. Regards, Kunal
Hi kunal, I am vaibhav currently doing msc in economics.Which area within analytics would be useful to me
Hi Vaibhav, I would recommend to focus your learning on Predictive analytics. Regards, Kunal
hi, pavan here . my question here is ,i have got a job offer in a decent firm the job role is market research analyst,i want to make a career in data analytics. i have also joined a course on analytics , and doing a certification in it .completed my engg in 2014.all i want to ask is .will i be able to join my second job in data analytics line is my question .im planning to do MBA in data analytics ?? plz help me .my joining date for MRA is tis month .
Hi Pavan, I would suggest you to take the first job with longer Outlook. Hands-on experience in job will give you new learnings. Simultaneously, I would suggest you to pursue your certification in Analytics. Regards, Kunal
Hi Kunal, This is chandini... I am a B.tech fresher.I want to Start my career in Business analytics...Can you please guide me???
Chandini, You are looking to build career in Analytics. Before getting started in Analytics, you can read the below mentioned article for details: 1. “All you need to know to start a career in analytics”. 2. “How to start a career in Business Analytics?” I would recommend doing certification in Business Analytics course with SAS from SAS institute. If you want to explore more, you can approach other institutes. You can also look at our learning path in SAS. Regards, Kunal
Hello Kunal , I am a Btech CSE graduate of 13 batch working in some marketing field, now i want to move to some IT industry as i dont find myself comfortable in the current industry. I am willing to do some course or certification as my current experience will not be counted and being a 13 passout i will not be counted as a fresher. I am keen to go in BIG DATA Technology and am looking for some good institute which can provide me training as well as some placement assistance. But I am quite disturbed as i can not find any jobs in Big Data for freshers. Or I have an other option of Business Analytic. So my concern is whether i should go for Big data and from which instittute and if its not a good option than from where should i do BA or if some other good way you can tell me . I will be very helpful
Hi Zeeshan, You are at the initial stage, I would recommend learning R language. For learning R language, you can also look at our R learning path. If your learning path is a self paced manner, then you can also learn courses with R on Coursera (for free). You can also start learning from the Jigsaw Academy (for a fee, but with placement assistance). Regards, Kunal
Hi Kunal, I am into advertising working with radio station and my husband is into analytic. I like maths and i am comfortable with numbers but not with derivatives. i like his work profile and the way he plays with number. I am a science(chemistry) graduate and MBA in marketing . I have applied in many jobs but not getting any response. Please suggest me way the to get into analytic.
Hi Priya, You are looking to build career in Analytics. Before getting started in Analytics, you can read the below mentioned article for details: 1. “All you need to know to start a career in analytics”. 2. “How to start a career in Business Analytics?” I would suggest learning SAS from freely online training or you can join institutes. You can also look at our learning path in SAS. Regards, Kunal
Dear Kunal, How would you differentiate BI and analytics or refer BI as subset of analytics ? Also, is "BI consultant" a better role for an analytics aspirant ? Regards, Sandeep Rana
Hi Sandeep, The key difference between Analytics and BI is that the Analytics has predictive capabilities, it predicts the likely scenarios to happen, whereas the BI has traditionally been based on providing an analysis of historical data. BI is a subset of Analyitcs. A “BI consultant” role can be good for an analytics aspirant if he is starting his analytics journey. Analytics aspirant can have better job prospects other than BI consultant. Regards, Kunal
Hi Kunal, I have an experience of 6+ yrs in the filed of Banking and Financial services and my education background is B.Com & MBA(Finance). My current role include usage of SQL on a daily basis and I am looking for a career change. I am interested in BI and Analytics and request you to please suggest which one would be more suitable. Thanks in advance. Regards, Ram
Hi Ram, With your experience, you can transition into a BI role relatively easily. I would suggest you to learn a tool like QlikView / Tableau and take up a role in Business Intelligence. Regards, Kunal
Hi Kunal Sir, My name is Rahul. I have done BA in my graduation. Now I want to make my career in Analytics field. I have done diploma in software engineering also. please give me suggestion and tell me the best institute for SAS in delhi. you can mail me also. [email protected]. humble request to you please suggest me as early as possible.
hii kunal, can u suggest which is the better one for learning Big data analytics course either Jigsaw academy or Edureka .
Hi Kunal Thanks for a wonderful website having the required information about business analytics. I have worked in a bank and now working in SAP Banking for the last 4 years. I have also worked on SAP BO. I want to switch to business analytics. Will I have to learn SAS or SAP BO is sufficient? Regards Nik
Hi Kunal, I am having 10+ years of mainframe experience as a developer and am in middle age. Now I would like to shift my technology to Business analytic s or Big data hadoop. But i am not interested in development. So I planning to learn/shift business analytic s course . Could you please suggest is it a good idea. Also please suggest a good training institute in Bangalore. Waiting for your valuable reply. Kind Regards Babu
Hi kunal, This is Vishwamurthy, have completed BE(fresher) from VTU. Since 2 months i have been learning and practicing MS Excel by referring Statistics for Managers. Will i get job after completing MS Excel?
Hello Sir, Thank you for such a nice article. I have strong interest in Analytics. I have a very good academic background in Academics with 97 in Maths in 10th and 100 in +2. Plus a recent 96.5%ile in Quant in CAT. Plus a 6 months internship in a Startup where I worked a little with Google Analytics and also took some decisions based on data analysis. Require some knowledge where to apply and which job profile would suit the best. Waiting for a reply soon. Thanks & Regards, Ankur
Hello Mr. Kunal Jain, I am an engineering graduate with an aggregate score of 58%. I passed out in June, 2014. I am, at present, working as a Technical Writer. However, I would like to make a switch to analytics. I had noticed that a few of the companies require a minimum of 60% aggregate during B.E. Nevertheless, I believe I have the aptitude to pursue and excel in a career analytics and my academic performance is not exactly a true reflection of my ability. Following are a few questions for which I seek your advice: 1. Could you suggest a few companies that may not have such a selection criterion? 2. If the 60% is a must, would a could a combined course in data science and big data make up for it? 3. Could you suggest the most appropriate course?
Thanks for such invaluable information.
Hello Mr. Kunal. I am currently working as Asst. Professor in Department of MBA in one of the private colleges in Odisha. I have around 8 years of experience in teaching finance papers like Security analysis, Financial derivative, Financial management. At this juncture, i want to switch to make a career in data analytics field. Could you please suggest me the pros and cons of this decision?
Hi Kunal, In one of the post you advise some one to go for freelancing..my qyery is some how close to this.. I am working with a govt organisation thru campus placing.i do find lot of time to pursue anything, am passionate and love mathes, I want to pursue Business Analytics as freelancing carrier ...I need to start from scratch mine is PSU background its more of non technical work though am from engineering background ...Is it possible to get freelan.. assignemnts to get some earnings ... I have very good analytical abilities got CAT percentile of 97.in 2006, did not join MBA due to some personal reasons ..i dont want to leave my job but want to earn extra bucks with my efforts in 2-3 years ..please advise whether it is possible
Hi Manjunath, You need to learn analytics and some of the tools before you can actually get a free-lancing job. You can then look at portals like odesk and elance to search for these kind of jobs. Regards, Kunal
hi kunal ! i have done Ms in finance from london and post which i was working for a bank in sales for about a year. as i have great interest in maths and computers. i am very keen to get into IT industry but dont know where to start from. I am very interested in a job profile of a business analyst , but where should i start from and what courses are best for me. Should i pursue a testing course or a business analyst training. really confused. please help regards akansha
Hello Mr. Kunal , Can you please guide me on Business Analytics in US/Canada and also the job opportunities for the same in US. I have done my B.Tech Electronics . I also want to know the re requisites for doing MS in Business Analytics. Also as in the above comments someone has said u need to know JAVA language, i am afraid coz i am very weak at it. ! Can you please guide me !
Hi Kunal Sir, I am sonu kumar currently working in quintiles India Pvt ltd (CRO) Bangalore having 1.11 years of exp as database programmer, using vbscript, sql, excel, VBScript, sas listing (simple basic) , I have also knowledge of java,oracle. I have good academic and good ogpa in BE. I want to switch purely in Business analyst field. I love mathematics and programming. could you please suggest me which institute should I go for in depth knowledge of analyst. I visited to Jigsaw institute they are offering Business Course In business Analyst course in two module 1. Video based Training course fee 26000 2. Instructor led course course fee 42000 They are also saying to provide placement assistant. I am quite new to SAS or analyst filed , could you please suggest me whether joining jigsaw will be fruitful in making a switch in another company with analyst programming. Thank you in advance . Kind regards, sonu
Sonu, Please post your queries on discuss.analyticsvidhya.com You will get answers from me as well as other people in the community. Regards, Kunal
Hello sir, I am Anjali Singh.Ihave done my MBA in finanace tin 2014.i am thinking to start my career as analyst and also doing course of SAS Soon.but i m lil bit confused because i am lil weak in maths.is SAS course will be helpful to increase my conifidence towards my career as analyst.please give me a solution for it . Regards, Anjali
Hi Anjali, I would also suggest you doing certification course in Business Analyst with SAS to start career in Analytics. As far I know certification in SAS will not increase your expertise in maths. You need to solve mathematical or statistical problems, if you want to boost your confidence in maths. Regards, Kunal
Hi Kunal This is Ankur and I have done BE and MBA and currently working with some IT company for Business Development profile. but i want to make career in Business Analytics because that is my area of interest. so please suggest me how to shift my career in to analytics from the business development.
Hi Ankurguptaibs, The easiest way I can think of in making a switch is to move into a Business Development role with an Analytics company. If you want a hands on analyst role (who does analysis himself), transitioning in such a role directly might be more difficult. You will need to start as a fresher and might find it hard getting a job in industry. You can read this article for more details: “Planning a late career shift to Analytics/ Big data? Better be prepared”. If you are having less experience or you are still convinced that you want to make a shift, you can go ahead and do it simultaneously. Regards, Kunal
Hi Kunal Sir, i m Pooja , i m doing my MBA and i want to do some course related to businiss analytics from course-era website, so as a fresher which course should i register for which could be completed in 2 months of duration?
Sir would you recommend me joining SAS CERTIFIED INSTITUTE or the online course offered by JIGSAW?.Being a fresher I'm a little skeptical on the online mode and it's standardness with regard to SAS certification and placements.
Hi Kunal, One of my colleague, a ex-analytics employee at Mu Sigma said that analytics market would be much declined till 2018. As I am planning to shift in analytics after an MBA, this opinion of him has disturbed me a little. Can you please guide on the same.
Hi Kunal I am a 2014 passout from SSN College of Engineering and am currently working as a Datawarehouse tester( under Business Intelligence domain) in a reputed IT service provider. How do i plan for a shift to analytics field. I have sum knowledge on databases like oracle, teradata, basic excel and SQL language. Btw are the fields 'Business Intelligence Analytics', 'Big data analytics' and 'Business Intelligence Consultant' almost the same? Coz when i browse, more or less ,these fields seem to be mentioned analogous to each other and i get confused on what am actually browsing. Are they revolving around the same business career or are they completely different. Thanks
Hi Kunal, I need your help in deciding a career shift to analytics. Been in IT industry for 17 years as project manager and my education background is B.Tech. Now i want to go for analytics career as I want to make sure I am at par with market dynamics. I am located in Hyderabad. I heard about INSOFE institute and want to join there for CPEE program. Is this a good institute? Do you think I am making a right move by shifting career to analytics considering the future demand? Your inputs will be very valuable and looking forward to hear from your end at the earliest. Srihari
Hi Kunal, your this article is great. I like to switch to BI from my current role of architect/programmer for Industrial Automation solutions of process/manufacturing plants at the age of 40 by SAS BI course. It can be, as I think, compared with MI(manufacturing intelligence), which is part of my job. Is it a wise decision? Need guidance Regards Projjwal
Hi Sir, I have been learning SAS .In a week or so ill b taking the certification exam.I read in this article regarding the interview based questions u would b publishing. Could u pls send me the interview based questions to my mail id [email protected]. Thank You. Duane.
hi Kunal, thank you for sharing an important information about analytics. as you mentioned there are some interships by good companies like google facebook...etc. could you please let me know the details about this intern ship? i am keen to learn and contribute for analytics..
Hi kunal I am a mathematics post graduate student. I am in teaching field from past 10 years, but i want to start my carrier as business analyst. which skill i need. i want to learn SAS, but lot of institution are prefering clinical SAS. which one i have to learn. Please clarify my doubt.
Hi Kunal, really appreciate your efforts. I am engineering graduate in comp. science having passed in 2013. I have no work experience. I want to start a caeer in analytics. Can you please suggest me the way forward. It would really help if u can suggest me some good courses and certifications. Thank you hoping for ur reply
Hello Kunal! I am a B.Tech in Chemicals Engg and a MBA with marketing.My entire career for 11 yrs till date in in Sales and marketing for specialty chemicals and bulk chemicals used for industries like Paints , Construction Chemicals, Adhesives etc. For the last 2 years I am working on forecasting of sales , conjoint analysis for new product development, penetration rate of existing products for my organisations apart from sales. Mean while I ve bagged cirtification on R Programming language and Business Analytics. Frankly speaking I am getting bored with this Sales job and want to concentrate fully on Market Research using Business Analytics. Can you provide me some light as guidance???
hi , i am BE graduate who was into ABAP, the lateron moved to SAP BI .. i want to know the difference between SAP BI and Analytics .
Hello Kunal, I am PG Engineer in Structural Engineering. Its actually an integrated 5 years course. But I'm planning to start my career in analytics. Can u list down some good companies in India hiring engineering graduates in analyticsc field..?? I get the point that, to get into any analytics firm proficiency in R , SQL ans SAS is necessary. But isn't there any firm which hires people and train them in the above said software tools..?? Sandeep
Sandeep, Some good Analytics companies in India hiring Tier 1 engineering graduates are: 1. Mu Sigma 2. Fractal 3. Crayon Data 4. Goldman Sachs 5. Opera Solutions 6. Accenture Services Pvt. Ltd. You can't do well in Analytics if you don't have knowledge of Analytics tools (SAS,R, Python). Typically, many Analytics companies would prefer to hire candidates by campus placements from Tier I colleges (IIT's, NIT's) and train them accordingly. Regards, Kunal
Hi Kunal, really appreciate your efforts and thans for the valuable info. I'm currently working in mechanical stream and have an experience of 2.6yrs in that industry. But I want to shift to analytics domain. Is it a right choice to shift the stream. If yes, please provide some basic do's and dont's .
Abhijith, If you are interested to make a shift into Analytics. Go ahead. Before moving into Analytics, you must read the following articles: 1. “How to start a career in Business Analytics?” 2. “All you need to know to start a career in analytics”. You can look at the article “How to choose the right data science / analytics / big data training?” to find out the tools/techniques to be learn. Regards, Kunal
Hi Kunal, Kudos for guidng so many people with such valuable inputs. I am personally contemplating the a structured course either from ISB or IIM B. I need your inputs on which you would recommend. I am a senior online marketing professional with close to 6 years of experience also hold a MBA in marketing. I wanted to get this course done for two main reason: i) Add a brand to my CV ii) Get a break in analytics (only if its a senior position, as right now I head marketing for a leading education start up). Even though I personally feel ISB might be better from brand perspective, IIM B is more convenient as I am from Bangalore, thus attending the classes would be easier compared to that of ISB. I am eager to understand which of the two brands is better given my objectives and what would be the quantum of difference. Look forward to your valuable feedback. Thanks in advance.
Shankha, ISB is one of the best course available in India as of now. ISB has the best offering among all the courses in India. You will expect to learn alot more about Analytics as compared to IIM-B. ISB has more brand value as compared to IIM B. I would recommend to join ISB if location is not constraint for you. You can read this article “Top 5 Analytics Programs in India (2014 – 15)” for more details. Regards, Kunal
hi kunal i am a BE Electrical graduate from pune university...can i start my career in the field of analytics..if yes then how?
Hi Gaurav, You can pursue your career in Business Analytics. You need to put extra efforts to learn about its domain. I would recommend learning SAS from our SAS learning path. You can also join jigsaw Academy or you can also approach free online trainings. Regards, Kunal
Hi Kunal, I am an electronics and telecom graduate , having an exp of 10 years in Network protocol testing. I have done CCNA and CCNP certifications. I used to be a automation testing TL with an Israeli Telecom MNC, engaged in manufacturing highly elite telecom product line. Over the years ,I started feeling stagnant and hence quit my job. Currently I am on a career break and was interested in investing time ,efforts and money in a good Business analyst certification to revive my career . I am skeptical whether the current experience that i have in networking domain would be an hindrance or an advantage in pursuing the business analyst role. Kindly advice. Thanks .
Mayura, Making a career shift after such a long experience can be a difficult experience. You will consider as a fresher in Analytics. You need to put extra efforts to get the first job. If you are still convinced to start your career in Analytics, you can pursue.For doing certification in Analytics courses. You can look at the article “Top 5 Analytics Program in India(2014-15)”. I don’t think your past experience would be of any hindrance or an advantage in getting an entry level BA role. Regards, Kunal
sir,i am a student of B.Sc(hons.)maths and in its final year.i want to make career in business analytics.plz suggest me how to start in this field? and what are the future aspects?
Abhishek, To start your career in Analytics, you can read the below mentioned article for details: 1. “How to start a career in Business Analytics?” 2. “All you need to know to start a career in analytics”. I would recommend doing R from our R learning path. You can also join Coursera(for free) or you can join an institute. Regards, Kunal
Hi Kunal, Thanks for such a nice blog! I am an year old professional working in SAP BO and I feel like moving to Analytics after learning the tool(Web Intelligence Reporting). Can you please guide the path I should follow for the same? Thanks, Himanshu
Himanshu, You can start by learning SAS or R Regards, Kunal
Hello sir, I'm doing my postgraduation(MBA) in business analytics.. I confused with the specialisation that I should choose for the next year either in marketing nor finance ....can you suggest me the best one that I can choose and move on my carrier into that path.
Hi Martin, Both the options are good enough to pursue into Analytics. Based on your interest, you can choose the suitable field. Regards, Kunal
I am having 10 years of IT experience in Testing and Business Analyst in Banking domain. I am planning to switch to Analytics. I am planning to take online course provided by Jigsaw Academy. Can you please suggest me whether it is a good idea to switch to analytics after 10 years in IT? after completion of course can i get a job outside with better paycheck ?
Thanks a lot for the info Will an online certificate course , like the one provided by Manipal university be useful ?
Bharath, Why you are looking for Manipal university over other options? Regards, Kunal
Hi kunal sir, ,i did diploma in electronics engg.(2011 pass out).sir i have 2+ year exp. as Quality and trouble shooting,currently im perusing BCA(distance mode).I have basic knowledge of C programing i want to move my carrier in MIS reporting followed by advance excel&reporting. please suggest me for that. Thanks®ards snehil mishra
Snehil, We run two course on Excel at one of the partner website, you can have a look at both of them: 1. http://vtc.internshala.com/signup/course_details.php?course=analytics101 2. http://vtc.internshala.com/signup/course_details.php?course=excel101 Regards, Kunal
Hello Kunal, I have completed MBA in HR and Marketing in the year 2010 and working in a IT company into Unix support for 4.6 years. I am very much interested to pursue my career into Business Analytics but I am really much confused how to switch my career to BA and get a relevant job into that profile. Please suggest me on the same. Regards, Vinith
Vinith, You should go for a certification / learn analytics over the next one year. In your case, I'll recommend applying to Praxis Business School. It is a 9 month full time programme, with a 3 month internship at the end of the programme. You can find more details about the programme Post Graduate Program for Business Analytics – Praxis Business School, Kolkata Regards, Kunal
hii kunal, i am B.Tech fresher, i want to make my career in analytics with Big data tool like Hadoop. But i see you suggesting freshers to go with analytics with SAS. can u suggest me to opt which one, either Hadoop or SAS to start my career. If i go with SAS, in future can i work/shift on Big data tool Hadoop, becoz this tool has high in demand in market. kindly suggest the best option to make a career in analytics, so that the freshers like me will have a clear view about this...!!
Mohammad, At the initial stage, for a fresher I would recommend learning SAS or Python (more suited, if you are very sure about a career in Big Data). You can pursue your career in Big data as well after learning SAS or Python. Regards, Kunal
Sir am a b.com fresher. Presently am searching for a job.. And friends are suggested me t do. SAS course . But am confused which module is better for me .. Either advanced analysis or bu
Hi Kunal, I am having 10 years of IT experience in Testing and Business Analyst in Banking domain. I am planning to switch to Analytics. I am planning to take online course provided by Jigsaw Academy or Great lakes chennai. Can you please suggest me whether it is a good idea to switch to analytics after 10 years in IT? after completion of course can i get a job outside with better paycheck ? Appreciate if you can give some idea as i am planning to switch to some good tech where i can sustain another 10 to 15 years in this IT industry
Hi, I am PG in Commerce & CMA (ICWA) having 5+ year non tech exp (in A/c, Finance, Tax) studied a QM subject in CMA that only relevance to quants i want to know about 1) Route to make career in Business analytics- where to start, where to work, how it would be for non tech candidate. 2) Heard about SAS-Financial Analytics course from Jigsaw, where will be opportunity
Hi Kunal Sir , I did B-tech and i am persuing my PGDM final trisem .Apart from my PGDM, i did SAS+ BUSINESS ANALYTICS certification .i have a good command over SPSS and ADVANCED EXCEL as well .Recently i have got the job in DABUR india .My role is -Mangement Trainee .Its purely sales job .After 1 year .can i switch from sales profile to analytics profile .Since i have been trained on SAS and BA .Is there any chance to say my sales profile as SALES ANALYTICS OR MARKETING ANALYTICS profile . What are the job opportunities for SALES ANLYTICS OR MARKETING ANLYTICS profile holders? What are the companies are using sales analytics and marketing analytics? My current salary is 30,000 per month in management trainee position? if i swich to sales analytics profile ,how much i can expect after 1 year ? Please reply kunal sir .
Hi, Kunal I am currently working in MNC in MIS dept , and I want to excel in this career , so what kind of course should i do to begin with . ???
HI, I am basically from commerce background/Biz(BBA),at present i am working in Healthcare KPO a medical billing Company,as AR Excutive,and experience is 7 months. I need to shift my career into analytics, plz help me out,what course i have to take,and is there future scope for anaytics.send me details of regarding Analytics.i hope u ill help me out.thanks
Hi Kunal, Thanks for this Article. I want to make a career in analytics. I am currently working in SAP security and GRC module. Is is possible to move to core analytics or SAP analytics?
Hi Kunal, Iam an MCA, BSC COMPUTER SCIENCE( having computer ,statistics and mathematics as group) and having 4.5 years of experience in mainframe (vision plus- credit cards domain) and after that 4 years of gap til now due to health issues. i want to get in to analy tics. how shoud be the best way to get sucess as data scientest in analytics. please help me to to how to start and the path to get sucess in analytics?
Hi Kunal, I am having 12 years of IT experience in BI/DW area. Now looking to move into Analytics as a data scientists. I am Engg. Diploma holder with holding 2 years of EMBA in IT. PlEase suggest me weekend course foAnalytics. I am Mumbai rresident. Thanks in advance
I have 14 years of experience in Testing. I would like to move to Analytics career path. Wil that be possible and best option to shift my career. Please advice
Dear Kunal, I am CS Engineer but Digital Marketer now and would like to become a data scientist. So i'm just planning to quit my job and do a full-time course, i'm just confused between 1-yr PGP BA @ Praxis, Kolkata and 6-month PGCBA @ SACE SSN, Chennai. Course fee is also a big concern. Can you please guide me which one would be the right one?
Hi Kunal, This so interesting blog for new people who want to pursue career in BA. My case is also same as of the others. Following are my questions for which I need your kind response 1. Can a Non-Math and Non-Stat guy enter in to this BA&BD or Data Science domain? Irrespective of his/her willingness to learn Maths & Stats. If he/she manages to enter into this domain, will he/she be able excel reach upto higher levels? 2. Aegis School of Business, Mumbai is conducting PGP in BA&BD. What is your opinion of this course compared other available institutes. They have full time as well as part time course(Hybrid Mode) of 11 months duration in which 2 months will be internship. 3. Coming to my case, I am from a different background. I did my BSc in Geology (Geology, Physics & Chemistry). After that did 3yr integrated MTech in Applied Geology(Mineral Exploration). Then I worked in Geographical Information Systems - GIS, a digital mapping technology Industry for 5.5 years. After that I was moved to Proposals and Bid Management department and I worked for 5 years dealing with Tenders and related activities of various domains. Now I am in Marketing Department and I completed MBA in Marketing Management from Pune University. Please let me know, at this stage of my career, can this Business Analytics and Big Data courses give a boost to my career? I need your opinion to make further decision of joining any course.
Hi Kunal, Even though every one has overwhelmed you with a word of appreciation for AV's success, I too want to express my feelings. Earlier I used to google for some analytics related guidance, but now I just type AV :) Thanks for being so patient in answering the same type of question again and again. Before firing my questions, I would like to tell you that I went through all your replies on this page. Well it narrowed down my doubts significantly. I just want to let you know what I have decided,Please correct me if I am going a wrong way. Intro: Graduation: B.Tech in Computer Science from a UP State Govt College. Experience: Data Analysis/Reporting/Macro Programming using SAS-BASE/SAS-MACROS/SAS-SQL (Analysis involved only Clinical domain specific analysis not mathematical analysis) for 3.8 years in a reputed MNC. Certification: SAS BASE with 95%. New Organisation: Got a new opportunity in an Investment company as Analyst Programmer where I would be using SAS in Financial domain. Location:Gurgaon. Plan: 1) Do Advanced SAS Certification, parallely go through "SAS Learning path and resources – Business Analyst in SAS" on AV. (My Macros and SQL coding experience will help me devote more time on the "Learning Path"). 2)After the certification is done and I have completed a major portion of the learning path; I would register for Jigsaw academy's "Data Science with SAS". 3)This will give me enough time and head start to join Great Lakes course next year.(I hope this year's deadline is exhausted; moreover I cant afford it right now). PS:Other courses(ISB,IIMB etc) are definitely good but given my loacation and economic constraints I have opted for this plan of action. Concerns: 1)Any link to student-base/Alumni of Jigsaw who can tell about the benefits of the course and professional advancements due to it. 2)While answering,if you are mentioning any link to previous blogs please highlight the "HERE" so it would be easily visible. Any Insight.. Regards Pratik
Hi Kunal, I have an 6+ years of experience in project management operations (total arnd 13 yrs) most of which is related to various reportings using selective and available data and not an end to end project management. I read in one of the previous comments section that for BA programming knowledge is also required which i do not have. However, being at this stage is it advisable or useful to choose a career in BA or do you have any other suggestions in similar lines. Kindly let me know. I am a Graduate and have not done any specific skill based courses. Many thanks!
HI Kunal, I am now working with windows active directory and exchange technology as server administrator for 3.5 yrs in a MNC. I wish to start my carrier with business analytics. What should I do to go for it..? Kindly suggest. Regards, Monalisa
Hi Kunal, I am thinking of joining a combo course of R and Hadoop of Jigsaw academy, I need your opinion on whether it will help me in Oil and Gas industry. As I am MBA in Energy and Petroleum and currently working in a oil and gas regulatory board.
Hi Kunal, Your website is a plethora of information on Analytics. Amazing work I have to say.. After reading your blogs, I always have a big smile on my face because every blog gives me a better understanding in this field and clears my mind. From the last 2 months I have been doing my research and I think now I am ready to enter this field. I am in fourth year B.tech(electronics and communication) from Manipal University Jaipur.My cgpa is 7.4 .I am good with numbers and have a good aptitude(NCAT 98 percentile).I want to be in analytics .So,i decided to give GRE and now I am left with two options. A) -1 year plan-do MS in DATA ANALYTICS or BIG DATA-study various courses offered by Coursera,edx improve my programming skills get a GRE score of 330/340 and hope to get selected in top notch college.but,I have heard its DIFFICULT FOR INEXPERIENCED STUDENTS TO GET A JOB IN BUSINESS ANALYTICS .SO,THIS IS A RISKY OPTION I GUESS. B) -6 month plan-do MS in MIS with minor in DATA ANALYTICS or BIG DATA-just study for gre and hope to get a job in data analytics rather than ITmanagement. WHAT DO YOU THINK?
hi, I need a advice from you dear, im in dilemma to choose which domain ? I completed my B.sc biotechnology, MBA Finance in 2010 and Company Secretary (ICSI) in india, going to USA next month on H4 visa, to work there and to get job easily which domain will suits to me whether sas, ba, bi, informatica. please reply ., thanks
hi Kunal, I have completed my Base and Advanced SAS from SAS institute. Yet to do Predictive modelling .since I am new to statistics subject , I would like to get certification in stats, but not a degree. Any online academy teaches Stats basics which is required for Analytics that conducts exam also? And how much statistical knowledge is required for Analytics course? Thanks.
Hi Kunal, I have 2 Yrs 7 months experience as Operations executive in IT Operations. I left my job in 2012 bcz of an issue in my family. It took me 1.5 yrs to get rid of that issue. Since i started searching for job, but i was not getting any job due to the gap. Now i am not even getting interview calls. I love analytics and business analysis kind of roles. The role which i was doing is similar to that. Pls give me any suggestion, how do I take it forward to get a job in Business Analytics/Analysis profile.. My roles and responsibilities in my previous role are given below: • Bench management • Rookie and contractor’s management • Tracking pipeline opportunities, order booking, and weekly activities of sales team using CRM • Participated in sales and practice calls • Tracking ramp up and ramp down on daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly basis • Working closely with delivery and project team to ensure resource allocation and billing to be done on time to avoid billing loss • Working with the immigration team to process visa and work permits for resources travelling onshore • Conducting daily/weekly meeting with the team to discuss the progress on resource allocations • Working with the back-end team on system related transaction • Organization infrastructure management and business operations transaction in SAP • Employee movement from one BU to another, employee transfer and relocation, supervisor changes in SAP • Prepare and publish all kind of daily, weekly, and quarterly reports and PowerPoint presentation for the management reviews
Dear Kunal, Greetings !!!! Your website provides a comprehensive outlook on the field of Analytics, thanks for sharing your valuable tips. I want your guidance on few issues. I have recently completed my MBA with Marketing and I had an elective in Analytics wherein I learnt the Weka Analytics Tool and Tableau. My under graduation was in arts and I have no prior IT experience. I am deeply fascinated to get into the analytics field, but confused how to get into it. I am looking for a long term career in this field as it has tremendous growth opportunity. Currently, I have an option of doing a SAS base programmer course and SAS PMLR (Predictive Modelling using Logistic Regression) course at one of the SAS accredited centres which is going to cost me Rs 1.5 l and 4 months to complete. Please suggest me what are the various IT and software skills that I should necessarily pick up in order to start a career in analytics. Your guidance will be deeply appreciated. Thanks in advance, Aditya
Hi sir I had did bsc IT ...now i came to know it is not my cup of tea but i had did lot of hard work .... now i have do mba but in any business field Soo need your help Thank you
Hi Kunal, I have 17 years IT experience and am currently working in a IT MNC as a project manager. I have hands on experience on programming and proficient in handling databases. I am planning to join the Bigdata certified analyst online course from Analytix Labs. It covers R as well as hadoop. How do you rate this course and their reputation from a placement perspective. Regards
Hi Kunal, I am Vipul Jain. I read all the post above but i need your assistance. I actually have destroyed my career for want of better jobs. I did my B.E in EC. The biggest mistake was to go for MBA. I have started my carrer with one of the leading MNC IT firm. After working 2 years i went for MBA in oil &gas. Due to no prior work experience in oil & gas and recession in European market i did not get job from oil & gas sector. Some how i got recruited in solar company for Business Development. Now due to the policy lag from govt this Solar sector is not performing very well in private sector and after 6 years from my B.E nowhere i see my future. All of my friends and colleagues are either onsite or with double of my package. I have no idea of SAS tools but this type of jobs comes from naukri.com into my mail. Please help me to know that how SAS will help to shape up my career and where to learn in Pune as i am in Pune now. Regards Vipul Jain
Hi Kunal. I am embedded engineer in electronics with 7 years experience.I was reading about a article which mentions that Data Analytics will be the next big thing in future.So I was curious to Know more about DA.After surfing quite a while i found out this site to be quite informative.So I would like to know, can i make/switch career in Data analytics with my given background.
Hi Kunal, This site is loaded with all the information and answers that’s running in back of my mind for which I’m seeking a guidance. This site have all of it compared to the other sites that have come across. Still, I need few clarifications. I’m MBA HR & Marketing with 4+ years experience in finance & marketing. Presently I am working as BDE in IT industry. As one of an experienced, now fresher for this Analytic Industry and decided to step-in with no two ways. I have changed 6 companies and changed field from finance to It industry. Present with all these I have completely shattered my professional carrier path just for the sake of earning and now I earn just NUTS if i do a market correction towards my salary. As said, I have made up my mind for analytics and need your suggestion. 1) How & Where do I start now to reshape my carrier. 2) How does analytics treat maths haters 3) Can I Persue Domain specific Analytics ( E-commerce , Mobile and Media Is my preferred Domain) Please advice at earliest. Thanks & Regards, Ravi
Hello Kunal, I'm a BTech ECE 2013 graduate with no much coding experience apart from what I had college academics( C and MATLAB) and very fresher to this industry. I have more than 1 year experience in business development and operations in a software startup. Also experienced in international voice process. 1. Recently, I came to know about the weekend BA course conduct by praxis business school in bangalore at Rs 34000 for foundation course covering SAS. 2. Also, heard about INSOFE fellowship competition to study with complete scholarship of Rs 300000 . Could you brief your opinion about the two mentioned.. ?? Thank you jay
Hi kunal sir, i'm a diploma holder in electronics engineering and also have 2.5+years work experience in mobile service industry. I have completed my BCA this year in distance mode. i'm working professional right now i want to be a business analytics in multiple domain. I want to persue MBA,but i'm confused that should i go to regular mode or from distance mode and also the specilization. thanks snehil mishra
Hi Kunal, I am completely fresher to analytics. Absolutely your article helped me very much but still I have some confusions, - I am completely from another background as I am a B.Tech. in Mechanical. - I don't have any knowledge about IT or any programming language like C or C++, but my maths is good. - I also don't know about SAS except the name, but I think I can learn. So, those are the problems, I think. Please tell me that these are really the problems on my way to analytics career, as I seriously want to make a career in analylics. Please help ASAP. Waiting for your reply. Thanks, Prayas Singh.
Hi Kunal. A good information shared in the open forum. I want to shift my career from Sales to Analytics since i am a sales professional for the last 8 years i see the pace how the industry trend is shifting to Analytics. I would want your inputs or the path you can direct me in the analytics space. Thanks Kumar
Hi kunal, I have 8 yrs of experience in insurance industry from lower to higher levels. Looking forward to join as business analyst. How can I go ahead.I completed MBA ( FINANCE AND MARKETING )
hi kunal sir, as im looking to make career into business analytics . i have completed my MBA in marketing and graduation in chemistry . i have almost 3.6 years of experience in pharma co. as a Marketing representative. so guide me how can i make my career in BA now . also i have done course of BA from edupristine . please guide me now how can i get job as a fresher in BA profile. with regards, vinayak karsale 08624877007.
Hi kunal, Wonderful article!! First of all i want to thank you for your excellent article, Kudos. I have 1 year exp in Electrical engineering core sector, Also a regular blogger and freelancer , I wish to move to business analytic field ,Please guide me with the path to reach my goal. I have got call from webdrills Bangalore with regards to a certification and 100% placement in Business analyst field, Fees is 30000 .Is it a good option to move?? Thank you and regards.
hi Kunal, firstly kudos.. a gr8 blog , i really like ur honest opions to all querries . i m a currently working in software with 8+ year of exp, in java and since a year in bigdata developement. being exposed to bigdata , recently i m getting to know its scope. i read abt big data anlaysics course and so wish to do it . how ever i feel , its quite a delay to switch the field tho, looking at the longer run i feel analytics would be a better choice. i have few question , 1> i was a average student with maths , tho i never hated it . however post grad had not really used it that much.. can u guide me on wat is way where i can test my self for anaytics skills ,. thanks kirti
Hi I am Aniket Gandhi . I am Arts Graduate and have been working as a IT support engineer . I dont have any relevant background for analytics but want to shift my career to analytic as i found its a good option for me . So I am planning to join classes in mumbai . I found Imarticus learning and Edupristine are better for me . They have 2 months training including basic statistics ,R , SAS and excel . So shall I go for it . Will i get Job in this files after the completion of course as i don't have relevant degree . Could you please suggest me on this ??
Hi Kunal, I have a total work experience of 10.8 years out of which 8+ years is related to Financial Modeling where I work with a Global market leading Financial Information services provider. So basically I have rich experience of workflow solutioning for Investment Management, Investment Banking and BI spaces by way of designing robust live data models for such clientele which are critical to their workflows. Now I had read an article some months back on SAS website mentioning the fact that if prior experience is data heavy like in my case a good certification does make a lot of sense to get into Analytics. This is corroborated by you as well in your response to one of the comments posted by a reader in this same series. Hence I have gone ahead and cleared a Certificate in Predictive Modeling from a reputed Premier B School through edX. Now what do I need to do apart from just good positioning and speaking to relevant people from the industry which I have begun to do recently post the certification. Do let me know. Also I would like to stay open to Analytics as a domain hence hoping to get multi sector Analytics expertise in the next few decades or so.
Hi Kunal I am having 15+ experience in the publishing service industry my qualification in Botany right now production manager in chennai. Can I switch to business analytic? because no longterm scope in publishing service industry. Please give your suggestion. Regards Ravi Gurumoorthy
Hi Kunal, Its really helpfull blog,I completed my b.tech in electrical and electronics 2010,and persued MBA(finance)2013. I have 2yrs experience in Investment banking core trade settlements process.I am good at Maths and I am really interested for business analyst job, Can you please help me, to understand whether it is good idea to learn business analytics. If so please suggest me some institutes in hyderabad.
hi kunal, Your blogs are really helpful.I am in third year of my under graduation.I am doing bachelor of business administration.I want to build my career in business analytics.Can you please suggest me what further courses should I be doing and at the same time should i do my MBA.
I've been asking myself the same question and trying to follow a career path towards data analysis. Personally, I started with internships in college within business analytics, digital marketing, and product management. I found digital marketing to be a great place to start, such as Google AdWords/Adsense and using Google analytics. These are self-explanatory tools that give you a good introduction to the world of analytics and data. You can start on a small-scale. I started with local businesses, telling them that I'll manage their budgets for online campaigns free-of-charge or menial fees since I'm still learning. Now that I'm working in product management, I find myself honing those analytics skills at a practical level and at a larger scale. On the side, I'm taking a few classes online to learn SQL, which is supposed to be a useful database language. I've completed the new CodeAcademy course, and have been referring to KhanAcademy for extra practice. These are just steps that I'm taking, but I'm interested to read other responses, as well! Us data nerds gotta stick together!
Hi Kunal, I am working in Telecom domain since last 5 years and prior to that have 5 years of development experience in c, c++ with unix. I am postgraduate in Electronics ( M.Sc. Electronics). In order to switch to a carrier in Business Analytics what are your suggestions to move ahead. Currently i am working with Infosys.
hey.. thanks for the info but I have a question, I am a B.Sc. (Maths) graduate & have been working as an executive assistant for past 7 years. though I was very much interested in doing computer science post my HSc but due to low score I had to continue in doing normal science degree. I later started looking for a switch in my career & how I can enhance the same. so a couple of years ago I did my basic SAS course from TechData Solutions. but I still need some guidance.
hello, i am a mechanical engineer going for mba program but i am confused between business analytics and banking n financial sevices. plz guide me for one of the particular specilization with role play, job opportunity, and the sectors where i can move in the each specilization.
It's really good blog article .
Hi. I have completed my BBA.LLB (HONS) course I want to get into this field So would u suggest me on how to start and where to start off from? Thanks.
Hi Kunal, I am a BE(CS) graduate with an experience of 5 years in Testing.I would like to pursue a career in analytics. I am passionate about mathematics but not so good at programming.Can you please help me, to understand whether it is good idea to learn data analytics since I am not very comfortable with programming ?Also can you please suggest me good institutes where I can pursue a course.? Awaiting your reply Thanks & Regards, Asha
Hi Sir, I am a post graduate having 4 years of experience in different domain, perusing Business analytics certification but need to know that the certification which I am perusing will help me to get exposure to work in analytics or not. I have search jobs in analytics but they need experience candidate but in Analytics is new for me I don't have any experience on that. I have knowledge about R programming. but just need to know how to get enter in any of the organization do I need to do any more certification. Please advice.
Hi I am in second year production engineering.I am keen to learn business analytics so that I can get hired in my dream company j p Morgan ..what steps should I take from now onwards??
Hi Kunal, Firstly, I would like to thank and Congratulate you for your groundbreaking research and contribution into field of Data analytics. I have a 9+ years work experience in Data warehouse Projects, handling end to end applications. I am on break since 3 years. At present, I conduct Freelance Training and have upgraded my skill set on Big data and Data Analytics using R. I am working on a study project on R. I have undergone a week certification from IIM Bangalore "Data to Science". Due to my break finding difficult to get back in the Industry. I am passionate to start my career in Data Analytics. I have limited domain knowledge in Sales and marketing or Finance. I tried for few Internship but response is limited. Could you provide some information how should I pursue my career back as Data Scientist. Thanks and Regards, Savita
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Hello All, Current am working in Wipro Technologies and live in Bangalore and have around 10 yrs experience in Mainframes Application development and Maintenance as well as into Mainframes testing I want to move that from this legacy application and want to start with Analytics I have plans to join some learning institutes and get certified in SAS - Basics and Advanced Kindly suggest us whether to shift from Typical legacy applications to up skill myself considering my experience in legacy applications and also suggest us good learning academics to get certified in SAS
Hi, I am Sales Manager with 2 years of wrork-ex. Now looking for an opportunity with Analytics. Could you guide me the best way to kick-start my career in analytics.
Hi Well I have a professional certification of Business analyst but earlier I was in lecturership and now keen to move in Technical BA field. How to smartly mold my exp so that it relates to BA field ? Thanks in advance
I am ShuBham Gupta.I have done Bsc and MSC with statistics. I want to build my careen at SAS.what should be further process done by me.Plz suggest me in detail.
Hi Kunal, I have experienace in Banking(4 years) and management consultancy(1.5 Ytiears). I want to start my career in data analyst. I just want to know how should I start and which cource will help me to grow in same path?
Hi, I have done BCA and having almost 4.5 yr experience in KPO/BPO which i want to quit.Kindly suggest me any certification or course that i could proceed my carrier in another field and more job chances should be there Thanks Ankita
Hi Kunal, Just want to say Many Thanks to your nice article!
Hi Kunal, Like many non-analytical working experience ones, I have the same queries as - one working in Pre-sales ( Sales enablement) role in an IT company since last 9 Years , wanting to transition my career into Analytics and give a fresh start, though understand from the blogs of karthe, Balaji, Bindhya it won't be a smooth one and would require lots of struggle, devotion&Persistence. I am from BE ( Electrical ) and MBA (Marketing) background with knowledge of SQL & SAS . I am listing my queries here to get a response & guidance from you - 1. Will Joining Great Lakes provide me an opportunity to get into analytics considering the money involved in their course ? Some where i read as mentioned by you that they don't have a robust placement cell the way PRAXIS have. which other probable ones would be the right institutes ( Bangalore) other than the ones i have mentioned above. off course ISB would be the best one but the cost involved is too high. 2 . With my experience around Sales & Marketing Function all around my career, i am interested in Marketing, Retail analytics, will it be a good fit for me or do you suggest something else ? 3. Lastly the concern is getting accepted in the industry- coming from a non- analytics background bit of apprehension still exists, off course salary will be hit from the current level ( which is understandable), will wait for your response. Thanks.
Hi kunal sir I'm Lohitha .I completed my B.Sc in the steam of statistics in 2017... I'm very much interested in data analyst... I have limited knowledge in stats..I hope u will defenetly guide me for my future settlement.sir suggest me which course is better to build my carrier in a better way and the best institutions in Bangalore for that particular course..I'm waiting for your reply sir
Hi Kunal, Any classroom trainings that I can look for Data analytics? also help me with the best one out in the market. Have you heard of Pluralsight online trainings, here which one do you suggest just to get started or to know the ground?
Hi Kunal I possess 6 years of It experience in the field of mobility. Please let me know 1. how good it is for me to switch career to analytics . 2. If I pursue a PGDM in analytics then what kind of roles will be offered to me and with what compensation.
Hi Kunal, I have total 6 years of experience. out of which 4 years as a lecturer and 2 years as a software engineer. currently i am working as a c# developer in a big MNC firm. Now in this stage, i am not satisfied with my profile and want to move from c# to Business analytics. My highest qualification is M tech in mechanical engineering. due to less opportunities i changed my domain from mechanical to IT. Currently i am in Bangalore. Please guide me regarding from where i will do course, Regards Sumit
Thanks for the sharing such a wonderful content! Kunal! Business Analytics skills are in demand and one of my friend did this course from Koenig Solutions. Your awareness steps are very impressive and useful in fact the post is very important who wants to do this course.
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Hi Kunal, Nice to see so many blogs from you in this portal. I am an experiences 4 years engineer.I excel in .net and a full stack developer. I want to change my career path in business analytic and later go about it. Can you please guide me towards the preparation . I have recently downloaded the SAS Univerisity edition by following the link of "from begineer to SAS Expert".
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Hi Kunal, I am working in BPO sector and have 6 years of experience and my salary is also not according to my experience. I have a knowledge of advance excel and basics of SQL so some of my friend suggest me to go for MIS Reporting/Data Analyst. I am staying in Bangalore please suggest me which institute will be better for me because currently I am working as a PMO Analyst but eagerly looking a change in my domain in Data Analyst or MIS Reporting. I heard about Digital Vidya please suggest will it be good to pursue a course from it??? I will be waiting for your valuable advise.
Hello Kunal, I am 2017 passout of B.Tech in CSE. I am interested to pursue my career in Data Analytics. Should I pursue a course on data analytics since now I am a fresher? what job opportunity will be open for me after the course? Is good coding knowledge in C,java required to pursue this course?? Please help me sir.
Hello Kunal, I have been experienced in supply chain management(Procurement, vendor development) in a manufacturing industry for the last 10 years.Now pursuing MS in Industrial systems in USA.I have studied subjects like Statistics, Design of experiments, where in i learnt little about R programming, mainly using the standard inbuilt functions.I want to start a career in Business analytics.Please suggest me what courses will help me to get a change in the career path.
Hello Kunal, I have been experienced in supply chain management(Procurement, vendor development) in a manufacturing industry for the last 10 years.Now pursuing MS in Industrial systems in USA.I have studied subjects like Statistics, Design of experiments, where in i learnt little about R programming, mainly using the standard inbuilt functions.I want to start a career in Business analytics.Please suggest me what courses will help me to get a change in the career path. Thank you.
Thanks for the job listing. It will definitely help people who are looking for job. Also check our Job search website which has latest job postings from all over the globe.
hello, I am a graduate with Bachleors in Business Administration degree, and i am planning to go for my masters in Business Analytics from Australia. The reason behind opting this particular course is because it will make me connected to the core of business aspects but at the same time it will help me to acquire and gain IT knowledge.I just want to know will i be able to cope up as i am from commerce background or should i go for some certifications courses before going for my masters which would help me.
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Dear sir, I have presently 3 years of experience in Marketing and i completed MBA with Marketing , now i am looking for Business analytics course is it right decision r not.Can you please guide to me
Hi kunal, I have recently completed my graduation in BBA and have had a formal tranning in advance excel and VBA, i.e; suitable for MIS position. Also i am having internship in business intelligence from last 1 month. MIS is a data entry post, which i have already learnt and applied here while doing internship. Even applying for jobs in MIS they require atleast 1 year of experience. Nowadays due to automation the MIS jobs are very less, where there were 100 people working on MIS, nowadays it has been replaced by 5 people. I want the best suggestion regarding what should i do further. i am confused as there are thousands of courses. i am confused weather i should go for SAS or Digital marketing, as i am very much interested in sales and marketing also. Also if i go for SAS they require minimum 2-3 years of experience. Also want to know that if i go for digital marketing, then can i go to business intelligence field in future without changing my stream. Give me your best resolution. Thanks in advance.
Hi Kunal! Your post is very informative and so are the comments. You are extremely helpful in guiding everyone about business analytics please let me know if pursuing a career in financial markets would open doors to good opportunity in data analysis? Also what would be the initial salary bracket that is offered to students?
Hi kunal , I post graduated from MBA and graduated from btech....iam looking for a business anaytics tool (Tableau,python)kind of jobs ......can u please suggest me that whether my decision is correct or not by choosing a platform of tableau analytical course kind of job....or is there any other gud oppertinuties are exiciting for btech+mba kind of people...can u please suggest meee........ Thanku
Hi Kunal, I have 2.5yrs of experience on Ab initio tool(Dataware housing domain) .I want to shift my career to Business analyst...Is it advisable to make a shift..? Regards, Jhansi
hi kunal I completed Engineering in mechanical 2014, can I improve my career in this field, Is engineering graduate suitable for this field.
HI Sir, I am Electronics Engineer working in core Electronics field as Maintenance Engineer for past 7 years, i want to switch my career to data analytics. Can u please guide me though the process as i am completely fresher to this field. Can u also suggest what will be best for me. Also can u please suggest should i start with Analytics or Big Data. Can u please suggest some training institutes in Mumbai & Ahmedabad for the same. Do the provide placements also.
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Hi, I am an IT engineer. I have 2.5 years of experience in support work. There is very less learning so I m planning to switch to SAS. I have few questions in my mind.: 1. is it more of programming ? 2. Is it easy to learn SAS ? 3. what are the posts i can apply for 4. what package to expect as a fresher (in SAS) 5. which is the best classroom training in delhi 6. How to study for the same.
Hi Kunal, Manoj here. I have 4 years of experience as a Software Engineer on Development/testing/support projects. I am basically into mainframe technology and also got experience in health care. I am so passionate to become a Business Analyst and would like to make a shift in career. I am so confused how to make the shift. Could you please advice? will doing a certification helps? If so where can I do the certification course. Thanks & Regards Manoj
nice article. i really found this very helpful for me.
Hi Kunal, Please let me know if there is any opportunity for a guy who has done his bachelors(civil) from NIT JALANDHAR and then got placed in NTPC. Then after serving there for 8 years he has pursued MBA (PGP-EX) from IIM-C. Please guide us if we can take up some courses etc to get into analytics field. Thanks in advance, Sonali
Thanks for this valuable information keep it up