Here at Amatis Training we believe that a Business Analyst career is one of the most rewarding careers you can pursue (not that we’re biased!), with a wide range of growth and specialism opportunities available.
For those of you considering a job in this area, Amatis has created a handy Career Planner to give you the basics. Read on for a little taster of what your career could look like.
Step One: The Junior Business Analyst
The first step is getting certified in a broad area. Your career at this point will be focused mainly on research and gathering requirements. You’ll gain experience and training on the job as you learn the ins and outs of your chosen career. To help you get started, Amatis offers you the Business Analysis Foundation course, which takes you through what will be expected of you at this point. If you haven’t already, take a look at our blog What makes a great Business Analyst? to understand the personal skills that will help you to succeed.
Step Two: The Specialist
After two-to-three years as a generalist, you will have gained a better idea of the areas that interest you the most. Maybe you are interested in the data or IT areas? Or maybe you are a people person, and want to concentrate on User Experience? This is where is gets exciting, and you can begin to carve out the right niche for you.
The experience you have built as a Junior BA in communicating with internal departments and stakeholders, and the in-depth understanding of the way an organisation works will really come into its own here as you progress.
More specific training will be needed here, depending on which area you would like to move into. Amatis offers training in Business Analysis Practice, Modelling Business Processes and Requirements Engineering. If you take all three courses, these, combined with your Foundation course, comprise all you need to gain the BCS International Diploma in Business Analysis, the internationally recognised qualification.
The communication skills you have developed will really start to pay off here are you get stuck into talking and presenting to a wide range of audiences.
Step Three: The Senior Business Analyst
After a couple of years in a specialist role you will be able to move into a more senior position, taking on decisions around estimations, processes, and strategy. Your experience here will allow you to take on a big-picture view of a problem, and you will be delegating the fundamentals to the Junior BAs.
Your key skills at this point will be in negotiation, and your ability to work with and advise stakeholders, employees, and other BAs.
There are a number of advanced certifications you will need to give you a wider variety of complex business challenges. Amatis offers the Stakeholder Engagement course at this level, providing you with the skills and confidence to practice assertiveness, communicate across all levels of a business, and run successful and engaging workshops. You will also become well versed in negotiation and conflict management approaches, to help you with the necessary persuasion and person management techniques.
Step Four: The sky is the limit
As you gain more experience, there are further opportunities to develop and progress. The next step is to become a Consultant, either within a company, or as a contractor to different businesses. Once you’ve reached this level you will be able to dictate analysis strategy, and the companies you work for will be looking to you to make the final decisions.
Your skills at this point will be around motivating others, the ability to work under pressure on multiple projects and to use your strong influencing skills to manage the stakeholders across the business. You may also begin to mentor other BAs, and start to pass on your hard-won knowledge. At this level you can also study for the Advanced International Diploma in Business Analysis.
Step Five: Becoming an industry leader
There are two options available to you at the pinnacle of your career. After perhaps a decade in the sector, you may aspire to become an Industry Leader. This could be as a member of the Board of Directors, or by employing other BAs and running your own consultancy. At this point you could find yourself sitting on expert industry panels and speaking at conferences, or even publishing papers. This is your opportunity to share what you’ve learnt throughout your career.
Work-wise, you’ll be the one dictating organisational design and improvement, and planning the entire business structure and culture, from the workplace environment to role profiles and performance measures.
Interested in reading further? Amatis has created a handy download-and-keep Career Planner to help you decide if the Business Analyst career is right for you.