Both business analysts and data analysts support data-driven decision-making in their respective enterprises. Both positions are in high demand and often pay handsomely. In this post, we’ll examine the roles, distinctive qualities, and salaries between data analysts, business analysts, and data scientists, as well as the reasons you might decide to follow one or the other as a profession.
Data Analyst vs Business Analyst
Both business analysts and data analysts support data-driven decision-making in their respective enterprises. Business analysts are more likely to address business problems and suggest solutions, whereas data specialists typically work more directly with the data itself. Both positions are in high demand and often pay handsomely.
Roles for industry specialists and data analysts are comparable, and some industries may use the phrases synonymously. Furthermore, although both varieties of analysts use data to enhance company choices, how they do so differs.
What Do Data Analysts Do?
To assist in guiding corporate decisions, data analysts collect, purify, analyze, visualize, and present existing data. Effective data analysts use the information they collect to provide information that helps decision-makers determine the best course of action. Typical tasks for a data analyst could be:
- Defining a problem or business requirement while working with company executives and stakeholders
- Locating and obtaining data
- Data cleanup and preparation for analysis
- Searching for patterns and trends in data
- Using visualization to make data more understandable
- Presenting data in a way that makes a captivating narrative out of it
What Do Business Analysts Do?
Business analysts assist their firms in locating issues, chances, and solutions. They achieve this by:
- Assessing the current operations and IT infrastructure of an organization
- Examining procedures and speaking with team members to find areas that need improvement
- Delivering conclusions and suggestions to management and other important stakeholders,
- Making financial and visual representations to assist with company decisions
- Teaching and training employees on new systems
Difference Between Data Analyst And Business Analyst
Business analysts and data analysts both deal with data, but there are significant differences in how they use it. Data is used by industry researchers to assist firms in making better business decisions. Data analysts, on the other hand, are more concerned with acquiring and analyzing data for the business to assess and use for independent decision-making.
According to Martin Schedlbauer, associate clinical professor and director of Northeastern University’s information and data sciences programs, “In the simplest terms, data is a means to the end for business specialists, while business is the end for data analysts.”
How to Pick a Career as a Business Analyst or a Data Analyst
Which professional path, business analyst or data analyst, is best for you? You must take into account three things in order to decide:
- Your background in both academics and employment
- Your pursuits
- What you hope to do for a living
#1. Take Into Account Your Past.
According to Blake Angove, director of technology services at IT staffing firm LaSalle Network, business analysts and data analysts typically have diverse educational and professional backgrounds. For instance, industry researchers (sometimes called systems analysts) typically hold an undergraduate degree in a business-related discipline. They are familiar with a variety of programming languages, though they aren’t necessarily experts in them, and they mostly use data to improve corporate processes.
In order to design a software package or implement a new CRM, “business analysts might take requirements from the business and work between the business and the technical team,” adds Angove. On the other side, data analysts spend their days analyzing massive amounts of data in order to find patterns, develop graphs, and provide presentations that the company can use to make decisions. These individuals typically have postgraduate degrees and more in-depth backgrounds in math, physics, programming, databases, modeling, and predictive analytics. They typically have a STEM background.
#2. Keep Your Interests In Mind.
Do you concentrate on statistics and figures, or are you more of a corporate problem-solver?
According to Schedlbauer, business analysts love their work in the corporate environment and are more engaged in finding solutions to issues. For instance, they might be responsible for planning, coordinating, and guiding the implementation of a new workflow. These people are frequently born communicators, which is important because they must be able to explain technical information to stakeholders in simple ways. Data analysts are motivated by numbers and are experts in fields like programming and statistics. As the guardians of the company’s data, they are well-versed in databases and have a keen interest in gleaning information from intricate and frequently unrelated sources. According to Schedlbauer, it’s crucial for data analysts to have a keen interest in and in-depth knowledge of the sector they work in.
#3. Think About Your Career Options.
Despite having some commonalities, such as high wages, industry researchers and data analysts have different potential career paths. Angove explains that entry-level roles for business analysts may pay a little less than for data analysts because they are not expected to have as extensive an experience in programming. However, incomes might exceed six figures for those in advanced positions or in competitive industries. According to Robert Half’s 2022 Salary Report, the typical salary for a mid-level ERP business analyst working in technology is $110,000.
To go from the position of business analyst to one that is more focused on analytics, advanced degrees, and certifications are frequently required. Additionally, data analysts have a stable career and earn a good living. For instance, the typical salary range for data analysts in the technology industry is $87,500 to $126,250. These professionals can grow by learning additional programming languages like R and Python because they work mostly with databases. Furthermore, with further degrees, data analysts can easily transition into employment as developers and data scientists.
Data Analyst vs Business Analyst Salary
The predicted salaries for business analysts are different from those for data analysts. Given that they frequently manage a team and do extra activities, industry researchers may earn more money than data analysts. Data analysts make an average yearly pay of $55,128 compared to industry researchers’ average annual salary of $71,590. Depending on your region, experience, education, and the employer you work for, these salaries may change. In large cities, analysts could find better job possibilities and higher pay. For instance, these are the top five cities in terms of salary for business analysts:
- Toronto, Ontario: 77,874 dollars annually
- Annual salary in Calgary, Alberta: $76,167
- Annual salary in Ottawa, Ontario: $77,146
- Quebec City, Montreal: $76,955 annually
- Annual salary in Edmonton, Alberta: $74,964
The top five cities for a data analyst’s salary are listed below:
- $86,904 a year in Toronto, Ontario
- Ontario’s Mississauga: $81,379 annually
- Vancouver, British Columbia: yearly salary of $77,000
- Alberta, Edmonton: $68,213 annually
- Ontario’s Markham: $63,129 annually
Business Analyst vs Data Scientist
There are differences between business analysts and data scientists. Business analysts are experts who analyze any company’s continuously shifting requirements and assist in putting those changes into practice. To carry out any company plan, they serve as a communication link between various departments in a commercial organization. The creation of algorithms and making inferences from data are under the purview of data scientists. Data scientists must be well-versed in a variety of multidisciplinary skill sets because their goal is to reveal intricate data patterns by analyzing and comprehending data sets.
Since each of these professions requires data collection, inference building, and data modeling, they are actually quite comparable in many respects. Data scientists and business analysts have overlapping fields of study and complementary skill sets. Data scientists and industry researchers collaborate closely to comprehend and put strategies into action in every company context. To determine which of these two fields is appropriate for them, ambitious professionals must take into account some disparities between them. Early-career individuals can typically get into data science, but those with experience in business development, technology, and project management are more suited to business analytics.
Salary of a Business Analyst vs. a Data Scientist
Due to their greater education and level of specialization, data scientists frequently command salaries that are higher than those of business analysts. However, like with most professions, pay can vary significantly based on your level of expertise and the city, business, and industry you work in. We found that a data scientist working out of the same three locations can expect an average salary of about $132,000, $137,000, and $101,000, respectively, while an industry researcher working in the same three locations can expect an average salary of about $86,000, $87,000, and $71,000, respectively, according to a sample of three salary reporting sites (Glassdoor, Indeed, and Neuvoo).
In other words, when comparing the salaries of the two areas, data science commands a premium of nearly 50%. A more seasoned enterprise researcher might anticipate earning more than a junior data scientist, but it’s crucial to remember that salaries are spread along a broad bell curve that can range by tens of thousands of dollars even within each of these titles and regions.
Business Data Analyst
An organization’s business processes should be expanded, optimized, and improved, according to a business data analyst. They’ll frequently be assigned a specific company responsibility, including supply chain management, customer service, or international business procedures.
Business data analysts typically utilize comparable techniques and work on problems similar to those that a business analyst might try to address. You’ll need to be aware of the following significant differences between business analysts and business data analysts:
Analytical and Conceptual Skills:
- Business data analysts spend more time looking for issues.
- Typically, business analysts deal with issues that have already been identified.
Technical Skills:
- Business data analysts gather and examine fresh data sets using programming languages like R and Python and database tools like Excel and SQL.
- Typically, business analysts work with data sets that have been prepared specifically for them.
Getting Into The Corporate Business Data Analyst Field
The road to becoming a business data analyst is varied. Obtaining a bachelor’s degree in business, engineering, technology, math, computer science, or a similar field is generally required of those seeking employment as business data analysts. Some employers may seek people with an MBA or a graduate degree in a relevant subject, such as data analytics or computer science, for higher-level positions. Many businesses may also take into account applicants with comparable experience, which can be defined as a few years of work experience.
Assessing your transferrable skills as well as the skills you’ll need to develop is the first step toward realizing your credentials, whether you’re starting out in the profession, thinking about a career shift, or moving forward on your current path.
Which Is Better Data Analyst or Business Analyst?
Business analysts are more likely to address industry problems and suggest solutions, whereas data analysts typically work more directly with the data itself. Both positions are in high demand and are often well-paid.
Is Business Analyst Harder Than Data Analyst?
Although the requirement for hard technical abilities is typically lower than for data analysts, business analysts must at least have a working awareness of the technologies used in analytics.
Can a Data Analyst Become a Business Analyst?
Yes, analyzing and curating data is a well-paying and frequently fulfilling profession. However, did you realize that these vocations can frequently be low-stress? That translates to a lot of career happiness and a longer life.
Is Data Analyst a Stressful Job?
Overall, performing data analysis might be difficult, but it can also be rewarding. Data analysts can have a fruitful and satisfying profession by making efforts to control their stress.
Does Data Analyst Require Coding?
Coding skills are not normally needed for positions in data analysis, but some data analysts do have to do it on a daily basis.
Does Business Analyst Do Coding?
While most business analysts need to be knowledgeable about a wide variety of tools and platforms, coding isn’t necessarily a necessary skill. It doesn’t take up much of a business analyst’s usual day.
Is Business Analyst an It Job?
Unless a business analyst chooses to concentrate in the information technology sector, a business analyst role is not an IT career. IT business analyst would then be the title.
Is Data Analyst an It Job?
While most business analysts need to be knowledgeable about a wide variety of tools and platforms, coding isn’t necessarily a necessary skill. It doesn’t take up much of a business analyst’s usual day.
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