If you have looked at the Insights page (with all the infographics of audience and engagement patterns) of a website or a social media page, and got curious about where the data came from, then you might be interested in knowing more about these fields. When finding the right career fit for yourself, these three jobs might seem interchangeable to you but there are subtle differences that most people do not know. Don’t worry though, the differences are not that complicated to understand and you will attain a better understanding after reading this article.
Business analysts and data analysts both use data to improve business decisions but the jobs are slightly different in the way that business analysts are more involved in fulfilling the needs of the business by making direct decisions. Predictive analysis instead works on making future predictions by using past data to help keep the business flowing with constant improvement and without disruptions.
What do data analysts do?
Businesses gather data through sales figures, market research, logistics, or transactional data. A data analyst gathers and presents this data in a simpler fashion so that risks and opportunities can be identified easily for the business to keep functioning smoothly. A data analyst job description looks like this:
- Identifying and sourcing data
- Cleaning and preparing the data for analysis
- Data analysis through different data analyst tools to see patterns
- Visualise the data
- Compelling data presentation
- Identifying business needs with leaders and stakeholders
What is the job of a business analyst?
Big data is a goldmine of valuable information that is a huge asset for corporations to drive future planning. When business leaders have to make big decisions like launching a new product or prioritising tasks, they use the data and apply analytic models on them to maximise financial outcomes. A business analyst job description includes:
- Evaluation of core company functions and IT structures
- Collecting feedback from team members
- Reviewing processes
- Create visuals and financial models
- Present data to stakeholders and management
- Give recommendations for improvements
- Training and coaching staff in the new system
Where does the role of a predictive analyst fit in this?
Predictive analytics is the machinery behind your daily weather forecast or any health-related prediction in a phone app. This is crucial to industries for strategy formulation. A predictive analyst does the following:
- Use forecasting to address complex issues (for example, regression analysis or using complex mathematical tools)
- Convert raw data into digestible data
- Ask questions regarding the future of the business and answer them through data analysis
Business analyst vs. Data analyst
Business analysts might be from a commerce background and have a business-related degree while data analysts are from a STEM background (science, mathematics, engineering and technology). Business analyst must have knowledge of business structure (must know prototyping and softwares like Microsoft Visio and software design tools) while a data analyst must have knowledge of data structures (in order to perform statistical analysis using SQL and programming tools). A business analyst does not perform the technical data analysis and instead makes business models and identifies requirements.
Business analyst vs. Predictive analyst
Predictive analysts basically prevent crises by predicting future needs. The data set in predictive analysis is so big that it is only analysed by the algorithms that spot the complex pattern and also present the next best decision to take. While a business analyst relies on feedback and human insight for solving problems, predictive analyst uses predictive modelling, forecasting, statistical analysis, etc. to answer crucial business questions.
Where can I study these courses at a postgraduate level?
For data analytics and predictive analytics:
Swinburne University of Technology
For business analytics:
University of Western Australia
University of Technology Sydney
Average fee
The average fee for business analytics courses is around 58,000 AUD per year while the average fee for data analytics degree is 38,000 AUD per year.
Eligibility criteria
The eligibility criteria for each course differs so you can check the links above for the course of your choice and whether you want to pursue undergraduate or postgraduate.
- For all these courses, you must have an IELTS score of 6.0-6.5 or above
- For graduate certificates and Masters, the university sometimes requires work experience if you don’t have a bachelor’s degree. You don’t necessarily need to have a bachelor’s degree in the same field. The GPA requirements are different for each course
- For undergraduate, you must have completed equivalent to Year 12 of Australian education with a certain percentage, and must have had Mathematics among your subjects
Career prospects in Australia
- According to Indeed, the average salary of a data scientist in Australia is 147,616 AUD while a business analyst earns 167,517 AUD.
- According to a LinkedIn workforce report, it is expected that the demand for data analysts will increase by 15% between 2019 and 2029 because businesses want to automate their systems. There is a also a huge void in the market for business analyst jobs (according to the BA Times) so studying this can help you land a job easily.
- There is a huge demand for data analysts in Australia so this can be an opportunity to work abroad.
- You can stay updated with the business trends and learn programming as well.
Conclusion
If this article has piqued your interest and you have been a maths enthusiast looking for a well paying job that utilises your skills, pursuing this education in Australia would be an excellent idea for you. Let us help you find the best course.
