As technology continues to consume the business world, the need for highly qualified data analysts to interpret and implement tech-driven information becomes increasingly critical. As a result, students interested in a career in the emerging field of business analytics may consider pursuing a master’s degree in business analytics or a similar degree to deepen their knowledge and skills. However, the question arises: Is a master’s in business analytics worth it?
What Is Business Analytics?
The practice of business analytics is the research, analysis and interpretation of data used to understand a company’s performance. A business analyst typically uses various statistical methods to extrapolate key information on a specific project or product.
The objective of business analytics is more than simply making sense of data. The practice can enable companies to spot weaknesses and strengths in various corporate processes. This could lead to adjustments that may result in efficient, effective future growth.
How the University of Maryland’s MSBA Can Help
An advanced degree can help students prepare for a business analyst career path by providing the fundamental skills and competencies they need to be highly successful. For example, the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business Master of Science in Business Analytics (MSBA) online program, which is a STEM-designated program, features courses designed to give students a deeper understanding of key business analytics concepts, such as data mining, SQL, quantitative modeling and data management.
Additionally, the Smith online MSBA program offers coursework that allows students to pursue specific aspects of business analytics on a substantially deeper level. For instance, courses devoted to Marketing Analytics highlight strategic elements, such as consumer behavior and marketing management. Students can also enroll in courses focused on Healthcare Analytics, which highlight tech-driven data disciplines found in the medical field like health informatics and health information technology.
The University of Maryland’s MSBA program is designed to develop the advanced technical and analytical skills that can make a positive impact on a business. They also help increase competency in essential skills like critical thinking and problem-solving. Students may complete the program in as few as 20 months.
Industries for MSBA Graduates
Attaining an MSBA demonstrates a higher level of analytical understanding to employers. This could enable graduates to pursue numerous advanced-level opportunities in a wide array of industries.
Healthcare
The integration of healthcare and technology is an ongoing process that has led to a greater need for those with analytical business acumen. Their data analysis skills may be applied to numerous aspects of the healthcare industry, from predictive analytics to facility operations. Their applied skills can produce a holistic approach to key data, which in turn can enable a facility to run with greater efficiency — something that can have a direct impact on patient health.
Cyber Security
As computing systems and networks have become more advanced, cybercriminals have become more sophisticated in deploying attacks. An MSBA program commonly features courses emphasizing data management and strategic analytics, which can equip students with the capacity to spot security vulnerabilities, and thus thwart cyber attacks.
Hospitality
Massive amounts of data flow into the hospitality industry, and guests from all over the world bring different demands and expectations. Professionals equipped with an MSBA can use skills learned from courses focused on database management to help optimize the guest experience and improve results.
Government
The growing volume of information has also flourished in the public sector, where government agencies have the capacity to use real-time data to make policy decisions great and small. An MSBA graduate can leverage courses on decision analytics, data mining and predictive analytics, among others, to efficiently extract and interpret essential data metrics that can ultimately improve policy creation and execution.
Media
Online and social media’s proliferation has created fundamental shifts in how companies target new customers and retain existing ones. Through courses that focus on social media and web analytics, MSBA degree holders can use interpreted data to help build highly targeted campaign strategies that make it easier for companies to reach desired markets.
MSBA: A Worthwhile Degree
Is a Master of Science in Business Analytics worth it? Absolutely. An MSBA can enable graduates to plunge right into the job market with an optimal set of skills and competencies. It can also demonstrate a high level of expertise to employers, which could pave the way to more advanced positions. Ultimately, this combination could make it easier to obtain a satisfying career in the growing field of business analytics. Learn how the University of Maryland’s online Master of Science in Business Analytics program can help prepare you to find success on a professional level.
Sources:
BA Times, “5 Reasons Why the Business Analyst Needs to Be a Cyber Security Expert”
Datameer, “Challenges to Cyber Security & How Big Data Can Help”
Forbes, “5 Ways Analytics Are Helping Media Companies Sell Outcomes Over Eyeballs”
Forbes, “53% of Companies Are Adopting Big Data Analytics”
Forbes, “Eight Ways Big Data and AI Are Changing the Business World”
Forbes, “How Big Data and Analytics Are Changing Hotels and the Hospitality Industry”
Harvard Business Review, “Data Is Worthless if You Don’t Communicate It”
HealthITAnalytics.com, “Leveraging Business Intelligence for Healthcare Management”
McKinsey & Company, “The Age of Analytics: Competing in a Data-Driven World”
McKinsey Digital, “Advanced Analytics in Hospitality”
National Center for Biotechnology Information, “Applications of Business Analytics in Healthcare”
Techopedia, Business Analytics (BA)
University of Maryland, Online Master’s in Business Analytics