How To Become A Business & Data Analyst: What It Is and Career Path

What is a business & data analyst and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Matthew Burr

The primary role of a business and data analyst is to assess business performance and recommend corrective actions by using several techniques like statistical analysis, data mining, explanatory and predictive modeling. They are employed by finance, banking, information technology, telecommunications, and marketing industries. They review the company's practices and develop solutions and suggestions to improve business operations. As a business and data analyst, you may provide business data interpretation. Additionally, you may help with developing and implementing systems to store business operation information.

This role requires a bachelor's degree in business administration, economics, or a related discipline with at least a year of related experience. To succeed as a business and data analyst, you need interpersonal, time management, problem-solving, communication, project management, technical and leadership skills. Business and data analysts earn $69,841 on average yearly, equivalent to $33.58 per hour. The range varies between $53,000 and $91,000.

What general advice would you give to a Business & Data Analyst?

Matthew Burr

Assistant Professor of Business Administration, Elmira College

Ask many questions and be open to challenging opportunities. Look for additional continuing education training and certifications. Learn the business and build relationships.

ScoreBusiness & Data AnalystUS Average

Salary

5.9

Avg. Salary $75,461

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.8

Growth rate 11%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.17%

Asian 14.55%

Black or African American 7.54%

Hispanic or Latino 8.52%

Unknown 4.45%

White 64.78%

Gender

female 45.06%

male 54.94%

Age - 43

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 43

Stress level

6.8

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.7

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

2.2

Work life balance is very poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a business & data analyst

Explore business & data analyst education requirements

Most common business & data analyst degrees

Bachelor's

66.4 %

Master's

24.2 %

Associate

5.9 %

Start to develop specific business & data analyst skills

Skills	Percentages
Data Analysis	10.97%
Power Bi	7.77%
Visualization	5.13%
BI	4.12%
Data Quality	4.05%

Complete relevant business & data analyst training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New business & data analysts learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a business & data analyst based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real business & data analyst resumes.

Research business & data analyst duties and responsibilities

Develop, implement and manage ETL documentation, conversion algorithms, and conversion subroutines.
Accomplish at designing dashboards and data summaries for technical and non-technical audiences and facilitating implementation of business strategies and missions.
Review existing Java code (DAO in MyBatis layer) for prepare statements to understand business and technical requirements.
Develop CRM database to produce invoices, quotes and track client contract renewal dates for a pest control business.

Prepare your business & data analyst resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your business & data analyst resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a business & data analyst resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable business & data analyst resume templates

Build a professional business & data analyst resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your business & data analyst resume.