Hi.

The first thing is everyone that commented here is right, no one is wrong… but take all the comment s and form your own opinion. (Lesson number 1) then I will give you something else to think of as well.

I don’t think an MBA is necessary to be a great business analyst. Being a business analyst is a passion and a mindset, nothing to do education. Of coarse there are the opportunities that may arise by having an MBA, and the business knowledge (Educational) that might be beneficial, but a great business analyst needs a logical and questioning mindset and need to be able to analyze communication in gathering requirements. Any of the experienced analysts in this forum will probably see the value of experience in evolving into a great BA. It is sort of like looking at a bunch of roses, the average person will see the pretty gift gesture as a whole, and a great analyst will look at it as a flawed gift in terms of the thorns on the stems, a flawed gift because of the unsustainable and short lifespan, and the questions will pop up, HOW HOW HOW can I make this better, more sustainable and how can value be added. If those questions cannot be answered then it is not a viable gesture. This example of mindset is flawed due to the emotional and societal influences, thus popping in and out of character is key. Firstly bypassing all external or personal emotional influences and becoming a clean slate for requirement gathering, then using your experience as well as your personality for the analysis of those requirements.

Master this concept and education will be a slim part of striving to become not the average (I have an MBA) type of analyst, but a great addition to any team and to add value towards any organization.

Hi,

What a great debate this has sparked! In my job I get asked this kind of question a lot and the answer I give seems to work in the UK...

It is a fact in the UK that junior / trainee BA roles are hard to come by. Why?

Because most people migrate in to the role from IT or the business. I did. Most BAs I know did. So the advice I give is

1. build up your understanding of BA work (read the books etc - would not recommend training without any practical experience to put it in to context).

2. get a job involved with change projects in nay capacity (Project Management Office roles we have over here are a great place because you can get a job assisting project admin very easily and then you are involved with lots of projects).

3. volunteer for BA activities - when issues come up over requirements analysis offer to help etc. Prove you can add value by actually adding value.

4. Either when you have established a track record and a vacany comes up within that organisation go for it or update your cv to reflect that you have been doing BA work even if your job title was not that and apply for other BA roles in other organisations.

My company also does recruitment and the top three things employers look for are (in decending priority order)

1. experience of doing BA - and a very strong preference for that experience to be in the business sector the job is in. As a BA myself this is frustrating as it just isn't needed and can actually be harmful but that's how it is. That's what the customer (wrongly) wants.

2. a degree in a 'hard' subject such as computing or maths - not art

3. relevant professional qualification (and this is almost always expressed as a nice to have)

Items 2 and 3 on that list have never been sufficient in my experience.

Good luck!

Guy