Hi my name is Chris and I graduated last May. I graduated with a bachelors in History minoring in Psychology. Towards the end of my schooling I realized I did not want to be a history teacher and diddnt want to persue a field in my minor either. I spent the past year working in telecommunications and networking. Information technology field for the most part. I have decided that I am strictly a technical person and although I am good at it I do not enjoy just technical aspects of the field. My father is a big time "hard hitting", if you will, project manager in I.T. He told me last year that I would make a great business analyst. Last year when I graduated I diddnt take this seriously and just considered that since I diddnt have a strict vocational degree that nobody would even consider me for anything along the lines of this career field. I take the words he said very seriously now and the more I read about this career field the more and more I love what I hear. I feel that with the right opportunity I can really be a great asset to a company. The question I have and the reason I am on this site is what is the best way for me to get into this career field with an entry level position? Would more schooling be neccessary? certifications? any piece of advice anyone would offer me I would greatly appreciate. Thx in advance.
Christopher Palermo
Hi Chris,
It sounds to me like your father was right! On one had you've been drawn towards liberal studies with history and psychology which require good communication skills as well as analysis skills. On the other side of the spectrum, you vowed to be a strictly technical person.
Maybe you want to do both!!! ;-) Welcome to the world of the Business Analyst.
I would not worry about certifications at this time - since the good ones like the CBAP require actual work experience as a BA. You should consider taking a few business analysis courses or perhaps attain a business analysis certificate from one of the many companies that offer training for business analysts.
You should also try to get an internship as a business analyst or just volunteer your services... maybe for your dad's company...
- Adrian
Once you have a role (as suggested by Adrian maybe in your dad's company?) you can 'learn as you go' by taking this online course that uses the project you are working on as the course case study so you get to progress your work and learn how to do business analysis at the same time.
FYI - this is not an impartial recommendation: it is my company that runs it.
Guy
brought to you by enabling practitioners & organizations to achieve their goals using:
enabling practitioners & organizations to achieve their goals using: