{"id":4237,"date":"2024-06-28T14:23:43","date_gmt":"2024-06-28T21:23:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pacific.edu\/blog\/?p=4237"},"modified":"2025-07-16T09:22:26","modified_gmt":"2025-07-16T16:22:26","slug":"what-can-you-do-with-a-business-analytics-degree","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pacific.edu\/blog\/2024\/06\/28\/what-can-you-do-with-a-business-analytics-degree\/","title":{"rendered":"What can you do with a business analytics degree?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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All businesses collect data, and most collect more than they know what to do with. Sales and financial information gathered during customer interactions can show a business how to refine its sales techniques, improve its marketing or find ways to save money. But data-driven decision-making can only happen when someone is able to turn raw numbers into insights that can inform and guide business leaders\u2019 actions.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Business analysts are trained to do just this. Business analytics students gain a deep knowledge of both business operations and data analysis, so they can translate business questions into data queries and those queries into analytics reports, which provide business predictions and recommendations.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They learn to address business problems by:  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. Identifying and defining<\/strong> the problem <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
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    1. Determining <\/strong>what information is needed to address the problem <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
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      1. Obtaining, managing and cleaning<\/strong> that data, as necessary <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
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        1. Analyzing<\/strong> the data using analytical tools including Excel, Tableau and Power BI <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
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          1. Interpreting<\/strong> the data <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
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            1. Creating visualizations<\/strong> of the data to communicate its lessons to leadership <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

              Business analysts serve as catalysts for the companies they work for, helping leadership better understand the ins-and-outs of operations and enabling them to improve outcomes in many settings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

              \u201cIt’s absolutely amazing, that as an analyst, I get to work with the senior management and that they depend on my analytical abilities to become the best decision-makers in their positions,\u201d said Arooj Rizvi, who earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a business analytics concentration from University of the Pacific in 2021 and a Master of Science in Business Analytics in 2022. She works as an institutional research analyst at San Joaquin Delta College.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

              Business analytics vs. data science<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

              The advantage that business analytics students have over statistics or data science majors<\/a> is that they are better equipped to relate data to a company’s strategic objectives and operational processes that would lead to more data driven decision-making. They can speak the languages of both business and analytics and translate between them, which helps to improve communication within a business and enables it to work more efficiently.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

              There are similarities between business analytics and data science programs\u2019 coursework: both learn statistics and how to use similar analytical tools. But data science students learn computer programming, whereas business analytics students learn how to apply these tools and techniques to solve business problems and drive strategic decision-making<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

              Business analytics graduates have an advantage in a variety of analytical jobs because they can combine strong analytical skills with a deep understanding of business operations and strategy.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

              For this reason, Leili Javadpour, an associate professor in Pacific\u2019s Eberhardt School of Business<\/a>, encourages her business analytics students to double-major in another field of business such as finance or marketing, arguing that doing so makes students competitive with business degree and data science graduates.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

              Business analytics jobs<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

              \u201cBusiness analytics is a rewarding career choice that gives us the skills to support the core of the organization,\u201d said Rizvi. \u201cInevitably, all organizations will depend on the existence of data being captured for business intelligence.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

              Jobs that business analytics graduates commonly obtain include:  <\/p>\n\n\n\n