Between the worlds: the BI Analyst combines two different subject areas and that is exactly why it is so valuable for companies.
BI (Business Intelligence) is a business process in which collected data is prepared, visualized and evaluated. The goal of this process is to gain current economic insights for companies.
Business analytics, on the other hand, focuses primarily on future developments. These two areas are covered by Business Intelligence Analytics (BI Analyst). But what exactly does a BI Analyst do? What is the difference between a BI Analyst and a Data Scientist? How do you get a job as a BI Analyst? You can find out this and much more in the following article.
What does a BI Analyst do?
Anticipating future developments for the business, especially with machine learning algorithms.
These are the skills and abilities you need as a Business Intelligence Analyst:
To work in Business Intelligence Analytics, you will be required to have a very broad skill set. You are not only expected to have hard skills such as programming knowledge or the ability to visualize data with various programs. Above all, you should be able to communicate data and present your new findings credibly to a manager.
Hard skills:
Programming languages: Python, R, SQL, VBA
You’ll be relieved to hear that you don’t need to know all of these programming languages to work as a Business Intelligence Analyst. However, you should have basic knowledge of SQL and either R or Python. The more programming languages you know, the more flexible you are and the more appealing you are to employers. However, you can also learn many of them during your work as a BI Analyst. Here, it helps your career to stay open to technological developments.
Data Visualization: Power BI, Tableau, SAS, Excel
Like a Data Scientist, a BI Analyst must be able to visualize their findings based on data. To present this data in an appealing way, BI Analysts use programs such as Tableau, Power BI and SAS.
Soft skills for Business Intelligence Analytics:
Working in Business Intelligence Analytics requires more than simply knowing programming languages or being able to visualize data using Power BI or Tableau. Your personality can also help you shine. More specifically, with the following soft skills:
Communication skills:
A BI Analyst should have the ability to communicate their findings in a way that allows people without technical knowledge to follow their reports.
Presentation skills:
As a BI Analyst, it is important to be able to present your findings and analyses in a persuasive and understandable way. A BI Analyst has the task of convincing managers with data, i.e. hard facts.
If a BI Analyst does not manage to convince the decision-makers and make the topic understandable, decision-making becomes even more difficult.
Business understanding:
If you want to work in Business Intelligence Analytics, you should have some basic business understanding so that you are able to understand a company’s various business processes. In order to be able to communicate your findings between different departments, an understanding of the different business processes and their business interrelationships is very helpful.
Analytical skills:
As a BI Analyst, you need to be able to think analytically in order to gain any insights from the data. Furthermore, you should avoid being steered in the wrong direction by initial assumptions. As a BI Analyst, you have to be able to draw conclusions from the data about the various economic processes.
This is how much you earn as a BI Analyst:
Since many companies are looking to optimize business processes with the help of data analysis, BI Analysts are currently in high demand. However, the demand for data experts cannot currently be met. This creates a very high demand for specialists in the field of Business Intelligence Analytics and a favorable labor market for those who want to gain a foothold as a BI Analyst.
That’s why the average salary of a BI Analyst across Germany is currently €56,652 per year, according to Glassdoor. Depending on professional experience and the size of the company, the annual salary could also rise to €71,590. Salaries above this are also conceivable.
How do you become a BI Analyst?
It is often said that you need a degree in fields such as Business Informatics or Information Systems to work in Business Intelligence Analytics. Although such a degree is welcomed and makes it easier to start a data career, it is not mandatory. Those who are highly motivated and continue their education can also shine in job interviews and impress potential employers.
The demand for employees with data skills is currently very high. This ensures that career changers also have the opportunity to work as a Business Intelligence Analyst. There are many different digital training options to make your career in Business Intelligence Analytics easier. You can even start the BI Analyst training course from StackFuel without any previous knowledge.
In our online training course, you will learn the basics of Power BI and how you can visualize data with Power BI. You will also learn how to analyze data and how to use data storytelling to communicate the insights you gain from the data, for example with your manager. These skills will prepare you for your lateral entry and practical work in your day-to-day job.
If you would like to find out more about becoming a BI Analyst, we would be happy to inform you about the training process and your funding options.
Sources
t3n digital pioneers (2019)”Was macht eigentlich ein Business-Intelligence-Analyst?” [09/02/2019]
Towards Data Science (2020) “Data Scientist vs Business Intelligence Analyst. Here’s the Difference.” [12/16/2020]
Martin Grellmann (2021) “Data Science vs. Business Intelligence” [03/28/2021]
Glassdoor (2022) “Business Intelligence Analyst Gehalt in Deutschland” [10/07/2022]
