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Business intelligence lead education requirements
Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
There are several educational requirements to become a business intelligence lead. Business intelligence leads usually study business, computer science, or electrical engineering. 67% of business intelligence leads hold a bachelor's degree, and 24% hold an master's degree. We analyzed 767 real business intelligence lead resumes to see exactly what business intelligence lead education sections show.
The most common colleges for business intelligence leads are the American University and the American University.
There are also many online business intelligence lead courses to help get the education required to be a business intelligence lead.
What education do you need to become a business intelligence lead?
What degree do you need to be a business intelligence lead?
- Bachelor's, 67%
- Master's, 24%
- Associate, 6%
- Diploma, 2%
- Other Degrees, 1%
What should I major in to become a business intelligence lead?
- Business, 19%
- Computer Science, 19%
- Other Majors, 47%
Most common colleges for business intelligence leads
| Business intelligence lead common college | Percentages |
|---|---|
| American University | 8.00% |
| University of Phoenix | 8.00% |
| University of Virginia | 6.67% |
| Northern Illinois University | 6.67% |
| University of Maryland - College Park | 5.33% |
Best majors for business intelligence leads
| Rank | Major | Percentages |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Business | 18.6% |
| 2 | Computer Science | 18.6% |
| 3 | Electrical Engineering | 7.7% |
| 4 | Computer Information Systems | 7.4% |
| 5 | Management Information Systems | 5.1% |
Best colleges for business intelligence leads
The best colleges for business intelligence leads are Stanford University, Northwestern University, and University of Pennsylvania.
A business intelligence lead with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for business intelligence leads. We based this list on several metrics: admissions rate, retention rate, mean earnings of graduates, the ratio of working vs. non-working students ten years after admission, the average cost of attendance, and median debt for graduates who become business intelligence leads.
1. Stanford University
Stanford, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$51,354
Enrollment
7,083
2. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
In-state tuition
$55,584
Enrollment
10,764
3. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
In-state tuition
$54,568
Enrollment
8,451
4. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$56,225
Enrollment
19,548
5. California State University - Bakersfield
Bakersfield, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$7,309
Enrollment
9,142
6. SUNY at Binghamton
Vestal, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$9,808
Enrollment
13,990
7. San Diego State University
San Diego, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$7,488
Enrollment
30,018
8. Boston University
Boston, MA • Private
In-state tuition
$53,948
Enrollment
17,238
9. New York University
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$51,828
Enrollment
26,339
10. Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Worcester, MA • Private
In-state tuition
$50,530
Enrollment
4,571
20 best online courses for business intelligence leads
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Whether you are just starting out or looking for a career change, the Tableau Business Intelligence Analytics Professional Certificate will prepare you for entry-level roles that require fundamental Tableau skills, such as business intelligence analyst roles. If you are detail-oriented and have an interest in looking for trends in data, this program is for you. Through hands-on, real-world scenarios, you learn how to use the Tableau platform to evaluate data to generate and present actionable...
4. Business intelligence and data warehousing
Welcome to the specialization course Business Intelligence and Data Warehousing. This course will be completed on six weeks, it will be supported with videos and various documents that will allow you to learn in a very simple way how to identify, design and develop analytical information systems, such as Business Intelligence with a descriptive analysis on data warehouses. You will be able to understand the problem of integration and predictive analysis of high volume of unstructured data (big...
5. Advanced Tableau for Business Intelligence & Data Analysis
Build expert-level Tableau skills with real-world business intelligence & data visualization projects (Tableau 2020.2+)...
6. Tableau Prep for Business Intelligence
Learn how to use Tableau Prep & Tableau Prep Builder to clean, shape and prepare data for analysis & visualization...
7. Introduction to Data Analytics for Business
Learn to apply data & statistics specifically for business! In this course, you’ll go from data novice to spreadsheet wizard, calculating and forecasting key financial metrics, even making detailed projections off real-life financial data from the New York Stock Exchange...
8. Google Business Intelligence
Get professional training designed by Google and take the next step in your career with advanced skills in the high-growth field of business intelligence. There are over 166,000 open jobs in business intelligence and the median salary for entry-level roles is $96,000.¹\n\nBusiness intelligence professionals collect, organize, interpret, and report on data to help organizations make informed business decisions. Some responsibilities include measuring performance, tracking revenue or spending,...
9. Google Business Intelligence
Get professional training designed by Google and take the next step in your career with advanced skills in the high-growth field of business intelligence. There are over 166,000 open jobs in business intelligence and the median salary for entry-level roles is $96,000.¹\n\nBusiness intelligence professionals collect, organize, interpret, and report on data to help organizations make informed business decisions. Some responsibilities include measuring performance, tracking revenue or spending,...
10. SQL - MySQL for Data Analytics and Business Intelligence
SQL that will get you hired – SQL for Business Analysis, Marketing, and Data Management...
11. Complete Business Intelligence with SSIS, SSAS and SSRS
Master Microsoft BI by solving Real-Life Problems. Learn ETL, Integration, Analytics, Reporting and Visualization!...
12. SAP BI /SAP Business Objects Web Intelligence
SAP BO 4.1 Web Intelligence course gives you the comprehensive reporting knowledge and real-project perspective !...
13. The Business Intelligence Analyst Course 2023
The skills you need to become a BI Analyst - Statistics, Database theory, SQL, Tableau – Everything is included...
14. MicroStrategy for Business Intelligence
Comprehensive course on Micro Strategy Desktop and Web Dashboards...
15. Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher (OAS BIP)
Oracle Analytics Server OAS - Oracle BI Publisher 2023 and Oracle Analytics...
16. OBIEE 12c Developer Course
Business Intelligence, Lifecycle, Architecture, Analysis, Reports, Dashboard, Data Modeling, Admin and RPD Maintenance,...
17. SQL Server 2019 Data Analytics & Tableau Data Visualisation
Learn SQL for Business & Statistical Analysis, Marketing, Data Management and BI...
18. SQL for Data Analysis: Beginner MySQL Business Intelligence
Learn SQL database querying w/ My SQL Workbench. Perfect for SQL beginners and first-time coders...
19. MicroStrategy for Business Intelligence- The Complete Course
Learn Business Intelligence using the latest 2021 Micro Strategy Desktop application. Develop amazing reporting solutions...
20. Business Data Analytics & Intelligence with Python 2023
Become a Business Data Analyst. Learn Python, Statistics, and Data Analytics using the latest industry tools...
Top 10 most affordable universities for business intelligence leads
The most affordable schools for business intelligence leads are California State University - Bakersfield, suny farmingdale, and brooklyn college of the city university of new york.
If the best universities for business intelligence leads are out of your price range, check out these affordable schools. After factoring in in-state tuition and fees, the average cost of attendance, admissions rate, average net price, and mean earnings after six years, we found that these are the most affordable schools for business intelligence leads.
1. California State University - Bakersfield
Bakersfield, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$7,309
Cost of attendance
16,714
2. SUNY Farmingdale
Farmingdale, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$8,306
Cost of attendance
16,091
3. Brooklyn College of the City University of New York
Brooklyn, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$7,240
Cost of attendance
13,991
4. California State University - Dominguez Hills
Carson, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,942
Cost of attendance
14,469
5. Brigham Young University
Provo, UT • Private
In-state tuition
$5,620
Cost of attendance
18,136
6. California State University - Long Beach
Long Beach, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,798
Cost of attendance
18,306
7. University of Puerto Rico - Mayaguez
Mayaguez, PR • Private
In-state tuition
$4,094
Cost of attendance
14,302
8. California State University - Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,749
Cost of attendance
14,823
9. New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology
Socorro, NM • Private
In-state tuition
$7,770
Cost of attendance
21,244
10. Baruch College of the City University of New York
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$7,262
Cost of attendance
14,046
Top 10 hardest universities to get into for business intelligence leads
The hardest universities for business intelligence leads to get into are Stanford University, Northwestern University, and University of Pennsylvania.
Some great schools for business intelligence leads are hard to get into, but they also set your career up for greater success. The list below shows the most challenging universities to get into for business intelligence leads based on an institution's admissions rates, average SAT scores accepted, median ACT scores accepted, and mean earnings of students six years after admission.
1. Stanford University
Stanford, CA • Private
Admissions rate
4%
SAT average
1,497
2. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
Admissions rate
8%
SAT average
1,508
3. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
Admissions rate
8%
SAT average
1,492
4. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
Admissions rate
13%
SAT average
1,445
5. Boston University
Boston, MA • Private
Admissions rate
22%
SAT average
1,420
6. New York University
New York, NY • Private
Admissions rate
20%
SAT average
1,419
7. Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN • Private
Admissions rate
10%
SAT average
1,514
8. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Troy, NY • Private
Admissions rate
43%
SAT average
1,415
9. George Washington University, The
Washington, DC • Private
Admissions rate
42%
SAT average
1,380
10. University of Rochester
Rochester, NY • Private
Admissions rate
29%
SAT average
1,422
Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for business intelligence leads
The easiest schools for business intelligence leads to get into are Oklahoma Wesleyan University, barry university, and nyack college.
Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a business intelligence lead without much hassle, check out the list of schools where you will be accepted in no time. We compiled admissions rates, average SAT scores, average ACT scores, and average salary of students six years after graduation to uncover which were the easiest schools to get into for business intelligence leads.
1. Oklahoma Wesleyan University
Bartlesville, OK • Private
Admissions rate
68%
SAT average
964
2. Barry University
Miami, FL • Private
Admissions rate
91%
SAT average
1,006
3. Nyack College
New York, NY • Private
Admissions rate
98%
SAT average
999
4. La Roche College
Pittsburgh, PA • Private
Admissions rate
99%
SAT average
1,008
5. LIM College
New York, NY • Private
Admissions rate
83%
SAT average
1,061
6. Notre Dame College
Cleveland, OH • Private
Admissions rate
90%
SAT average
994
7. Saint Martin's University
Lacey, WA • Private
Admissions rate
96%
SAT average
1,111
8. Cardinal Stritch University
Milwaukee, WI • Private
Admissions rate
71%
SAT average
1,035
9. Iona College
New Rochelle, NY • Private
Admissions rate
88%
SAT average
1,089
10. Holy Names University
Oakland, CA • Private
Admissions rate
70%
SAT average
849
Average business intelligence lead salary by education level
| Business intelligence lead education level | Business intelligence lead salary |
|---|---|
| Master's Degree | $131,806 |
| Bachelor's Degree | $121,281 |
| Doctorate Degree | $132,362 |
| Some College/ Associate Degree | $105,876 |
Business intelligence lead education FAQs
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Updated January 8, 2025
Updated January 8, 2025