The 5 Essential Career Paths in Data Analytics to Look into

Thanks to recent advancements in technology, we can now collect data more efficiently than ever before. But more importantly, technological breakthroughs have revealed the actual value of data to corporations by paving the way for data analytics.

Regardless of their type, businesses quickly adopt data analytics to improve their operations and grow. However, they need to hire skilled individuals for this purpose, making data analytics one of the most lucrative career choices to pursue.

But choosing a career path in data analytics can often be confusing, as there are too many. Making the wrong choice leads to an unstable career you don’t enjoy.

So, it’s crucial to make the right decision to secure your future. To help you with this purpose, here are five essential career paths in data analytics to look into.

1.   Data Analyst

As the name suggests, data analysts are responsible for interpreting and analyzing various types of data for improving operations, making decisions, and finding trends. But they must represent data in easy-to-understand ways to help themselves and others.

As a result, these professionals are well-versed with programming languages such as python while being skilled in using spreadsheet applications. Due to their vast skills, data analysts are granted jobs in several different industries, such as healthcare and business sectors.

In terms of salaries, data analysts are not behind at all. Senior data analysts earn well beyond six-figure wages. Therefore, it’s easy to find exciting jobs and jump from one industry to another.

However, to get a rewarding job as a data analyst, it’s essential to prove yourself worthy of one.

After all, with the increasing job standards, only the most talented individuals are given jobs by employers.

Gaining advanced education in data analytics, such as a master’s degree, can help you gain a competitive edge. So, make sure to pursue a Data Analytics MBA Degree for a bright future.

2.   Data Scientist

Data scientists and analysts have a lot in common. Like analysts, data scientists gather valuable data and perform analysis to gain deeper insights and make decisions based on them. They create statistical models, algorithms, and several experiments to do so while representing data in various ways.

However, what distinguishes data scientists from data analysts is that they are a step ahead of them regarding data analytics. In simple words, data scientists can carry out more complex analyses of complex data.

Thanks to their enhanced knowledge, these professionals can often make accurate predictions based on data.

Data scientists need to keep their programming skills up to date to carry out their jobs effectively. However, it’s equally important to have an excellent mathematical background to deal with complex data.

But more importantly, data scientists need to possess exceptional analytical, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills. Due to their impressive skill set, data scientists are not only offered high-paying jobs in large corporations but can also participate in research.

But more importantly, it’s pretty easy for data scientists to get a job due to the 650% increase in job growth since 2012.

3.   Marketing Analyst

Unlike data scientists and analysts, marketing analysts use their skills specifically to help companies improve their marketing strategies within a particular market. Companies consult marketing analysts to know how to develop their products to target their audience, set the correct prices, and even promote their brands.

To perform all these tasks, marketing analysts gather information about markets, competitors, and sales, while analyzing the data through different representations. Moreover, they often need to present reports to companies to show their findings and explain marketing strategies.

As a result, marketing analysts require technical skills such as data visualization and programming and need to have good communication skills.

Additionally, marketing analysts are well-versed in the business world and have a good understanding of digital marketing.

As the competition between companies rises day by day, the role of marketing analysts is now more critical than ever before. Companies seek marketing analysts to help them counter the competition and grow rapidly.

It’s not surprising that the job outlook for this career is expected to grow by 22% by 2030, which is much faster than average. So, it’s safe to say you won’t have to stay unemployed for long by pursuing this career.

4.   Machine Learning Engineer

Machine learning engineers are responsible for designing and engineering artificially intelligent software that can learn and perform tasks automatically without human intervention.

As machine learning software development requires extensive use of data, machine learning engineering is the ideal career for those looking to pursue careers in data analytics.

Machine learning engineers often work with a large team of data scientists and analysts to effectively engineer ML software.

Due to the rising popularity of artificial intelligence, ML engineers can get jobs in almost any tech company. Organizations developing robotics and software especially keep an eye out for ML engineers.

However, to become a machine learning engineer, you need to be familiar with data analytics and artificial intelligence topics such as deep learning. Furthermore, having exceptional knowledge of mathematics and programming is essential for machine learning engineers.

5.   Business Intelligence Analyst

Like marketing analysts, business intelligence analysts help companies improve their business operations through data analytics. However, these professionals focus on far more aspects than just marketing.

Business intelligence analysts gather industry data through surveys, interviews, polls, and market analysis to identify patterns, trends, and problems arising in business operations.

As a result, these analysts can develop effective business strategies, eliminate problems, and even provide future predictions to companies.

However, the job of a business intelligence analyst can be pretty technical. It’s crucial to be familiar with the business and technology to perform well at this job.

Business analysts often pursue business-oriented degrees such as an MBA to prepare themselves for their careers.

However, their efforts ultimately pay off, as companies are willing to pay decent salaries to business intelligence analysts. They also enjoy lots of demand and preference due to their increasing importance in the business world.

Conclusion

Considering the rising popularity of data analytics, pursuing a career in this field is one of the best decisions one can make for a successful future.

However, data analytics has evolved into several different branches over the years. It’s essential to pursue a career you can enjoy and benefit from.

So, consider the data analytics career paths mentioned above to help you make the right decision for your future.