What is the career path for a business intelligence analyst?

The career path for a business intelligence analyst involves jobs as a data analyst, business intelligence architect, and business intelligence consultant. Business intelligence analysts have several career paths depending on their primary focus and talents.

Many business intelligence analysts hold college degrees. Common bachelor's degrees for this role include:

• Finance

• Data Science

• Mathematics

• Statistics

Some also pursue advanced degrees in this field, such as master's degrees. Applicable master's degrees to the business intelligence analyst career path include:

• Master's in data science

• MBA (Masters in Business Administration)

• MBA degree with an emphasis on business analytics

Professional certifications are another great way for business intelligence analysts to advance their career paths or shift their focus to one specific area of business intelligence. Here is the most common certification for the BI analyst role:

• Certified Business Intelligence Professional (CBIP)

This professional certification is widely respected within the BI field. You must have two or more years of professional experience with computer information systems, system analysis, data remodeling, or another related area.

And here are some great certifications for BI professionals with a database management focus:

• Microsoft Certified - Azure Data Fundamentals

• Oracle Database SQL Certified Associate Certification

• IBM Certified Database Associate

• Oracle Certified Professional

• EDB PostgreSQL 12 Associate Certification

BI analyst professionals often start their careers as data analysts. Here are some general tips for those looking to build their data analyst work portfolio:

• Get data from a variety of sources

• Normalize and clean raw data

• Create visual presentations with data through maps, charts, graphs, and other visual aids

• Make assertions with your data that can be acted upon

The skills you need to get a job as a data analyst include statistics, R or python programming, SQL (Structured Query Language), data visualization, and data cleaning and preparation. You also need non-technical skills, such as communication, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills.

While there are many on and off-ramps for those working in the BI field, here is the most common career path and trajectory for business intelligence analysts, starting with entry-level roles and ending with more senior BI positions:

• Data analyst

• Business analyst

• Product analyst

• Business intelligence consultant

• Senior business intelligence analyst

• Business intelligence architects