Diff b/t Business Admin Deg & a Business Analyst

[Lolvoguy]

I have a degree in business Admin I got a few years ago. As part of the curriculum, I needed to study several courses in Finance, Marketing, Accounting and Human Resources For the past several years all I've been doing is accounting roles and I'm really sick to death of them. I really want to make the transition into either finance or become a business analyst (is there a difference?) Either way, do I need to go back to school? am I missing out on anything I don't already have? Thanks in advance for your responses

 

[dparm]

Business analyst is a very nebulous term and could mean almost anything. In general, I would say that it is very similar to business administration but with more focus on analyzing business processes and transforming them.

 

[Mr Nice]

What do you really want to do with your degree ?

 

[ThirdeYe]

A degree in business administration is a fairly broad degree. When I got mine, it was also just called "general business". It's nice in the sense that you can apply it to almost anything. I believe a business analyst degree would be a bit more specific, with more of a focus on how a business should run more efficiently, not just more generic things like accounting, taxation, marketing, etc. It would be what I imagine taking a business administration degree and putting it all together into a more concise package.

 

[dparm]

My opinion, having worked with lots of consultants and analysts, is that a general business admin degree is fine for a business analyst job.

 

[Lolvoguy]

Originally Posted By: dparm

My opinion, having worked with lots of consultants and analysts, is that a general business admin degree is fine for a business analyst job.

exactly what I was looking for thanks again!

 

[Hokiefyd]

"Business analyst" is a very vague term. A lot can fall into that. My title is "management analyst", and it's similarly vague. I do a lot of enterprise reporting, interfacing with leadership and with customers, analyzing current business processes, and even implementing solutions (lately with SQL server, which I've enjoyed). My degree? Technology Education. Completely unrelated. The more experience I have in the business world, the more it seems that unless you're doing something purely technical (like software programming for example), having a degree is more important than what it's in. This isn't always the case, but it often is. You learn a lot in college beyond the actual study for your degree. You learn patience. You learn dedication. You learn determination, interpersonal skills, and the value of seeing something through that's bigger than just yourself. You learn to set and achieve long term goals. The fact that your degree is in "business administration" instead of something like "business analytics" wouldn't bother me in the least, if I were hiring this type of position.

 

[dparm]

Agreed, hokie. If anything, a firm with a lot of business analysts is going to train them on their specific methods and frameworks for performing the analyses. I work for one of the big-three consulting firms and I can tell you that we definitely do that, and I'd assume our competitors do too. What they're most interested in is finding people who are sharp and analytical -- the specifics on "how to do it" something they will drill into your brain.