Business Analyst

Tina P. "Business Analyst is a relatively new career path, and the scope of the job varies widely across different industries. As a Business Analyst in the technology sector, I help our tech team (developers and test analysts) build the right product. I'm essentially the 'middle man' between the tech team and the rest of the business. I often consult our product manager, sales team, and other business stakeholders to gather requirements, and then share them with the tech team. If any technical issues come up, I translate that to the business stakeholders in a way that they can easily understand."

Education

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Required License(s) None

Required Degree(s) None, but it would significantly help if you had a university degree (e.g., Bachelor of Arts) related to IT, business, or finance.

Importance of GPA somewhat important

Tina's Highest Degree: Bachelor's Degree (Bachelor of Arts)
Tina's College Major: Psychology and Criminology.
Tina's College GPA: We don't have GPA in New Zealand.

Salary

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NZD $50,000 - $100,000+ (about $36,000 - $73,000+).
Salary varies depending on your experience and which sector you're working in.

Getting the Job

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How did you get your job?

After graduating from university, I started my career as a Data Analyst. I didn't realize that a job like Business Analyst actually existed until I started full-time working and was researching for career development options. In my second job as a data/reporting analyst, I asked my manager for more work experience related to business analysis and was fortunate that he was supportive of this. I also started getting mentored by a Senior Business Analyst in our company. All that experience helped me land my first official role as a Business Analyst.

How important was networking to landing your position?

I didn't need any external network to land my first Business Analyst job. But I definitely couldn't have received the work experience I needed without my manager and mentor's support. If you're interested in working as a Business Analyst, I highly recommend that you approach your manager to ask for more work experience related to business analysis. Business Analyst skills are transferable, and you could gain experiences in so many different ways. If this isn't possible, then at least seek out an experienced Business Analyst, either within your company or outside, and ask them if they could mentor you. Many Business Analysts would be more than happy to help!

Life on the Job

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What is a typical day (or week) for you like?

The beauty of working as Business Analyst is that your work varies a lot so you'll hardly ever be bored! A typical day for me is to start the day with a 'stand-up' meeting where each person from the tech team quickly shares what they've achieved yesterday, what they plan to work on today, and any impediment that's blocking their work. After then, my tasks vary. I might: Follow up with my product manager to clarify some requirements, Hassle our web designer for design mock-ups we need for upcoming work, Brainstorm with the tech team for solutions, Help the UX team to test our latest designs with external users, Tidy up business documentations, Facilitate a workshop to kick-off a new project, and the list goes on!

How closely does your typical day (or week) match up to the general "job description" for your position?

It's relatively close. You'll find that most Business Analyst job descriptions ask for you to elicit, analyze, and document requirements. And this is exactly what you do. But, HOW you do that can differ greatly between industries and companies.

Does being a woman affect any aspect of your career?

Aside from the usual gender inequality that happens everywhere else, being a woman hasn't affected me much as a Business Analyst. There's usually a good mixture of women and men among the Business Analysts, and I've always found great support from all my Business Analyst peers. The only thing I'd note is that as a Business Analyst, I'm often in meetings full of men and no other women. This could be because of the industries I've been in (i.e., technology, banking, energy), and the fact that I'm often in meetings with the management team that's usually dominated by males. In situations like that, I'm assertive and try to contribute as much as I can. I often forget about the gender ratio when I'm just being myself and my coworkers react to my personality and not my gender.

What is the best thing about your job?

Being able to connect and establish relationships with lots of different people across the business. And not having to do the same type of work every day.

What is the worst thing about your job?

My workload as a Business Analyst is usually not consistent. It's dependent on how many projects I'm involved in, and which stage the projects are at. Some days I have a million different tasks to do and close to having a meltdown. Other days I'm going insane with boredom and begging my manager for more work.

How demanding is your job?

The job can be mentally draining when I'm receiving conflicting requirements from different people; I try to manage relationships to keep everyone happy but nail down the final decision without wasting too much time. Fortunately, these don't happen too often!

Do you have any advancement opportunities?

Yes, since being a Business Analyst gives you so many transferable skills, there are so many career opportunities from here. But that's a problem in itself; there are too many options and many Business Analysts are not sure what they should move onto. The most common progression I've seen in Business Analysts I know are to either: Stay as a Business Analyst, and lead and mentor other Business Analysts, Become a project/product/delivery manager, or Become a Scrum Master or Agile coach. Those are only some examples of what a Business Analyst could move onto. For me, I flipped between wanting to move into project manager or business consultant roles. But now, I'm looking into product manager roles. I'd like to get involved in more strategic work. Outside of work, I love to blog and am planning to start my own business in web content consultancy soon.

Advice for You

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What are the skills, characteristics, or talents that are most important to be effective in your position?

The most important thing you need as a successful Business Analyst is good communication skills. Once, I heard in a Business Analysts seminar that 80% of failed projects are due to misunderstood or missed requirements. Without good communication skills, it's impossible to nail down requirements effectively.

What advice would you give to someone thinking about pursuing a career like yours?

Try to gain any work experience in: Interviewing stakeholders (i.e., anyone who cares about or will use the final product/solution) and eliciting requirements from them; Documenting and managing the requirements; Using the documents to either build the product/solution yourself, or share it with someone else who will build it (preferable); and Facilitating meetings and workshops. All of the above tasks will provide you with work experience for your future Business Analyst job. It'll also serve as a taster to see whether you'd even want to get into a Business Analyst career.

If you could do it over again, would you still pursue the same career?

Yes, definitely! I love my job as a Business Analyst, and I wouldn't change anything.

Follow Up

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Want to learn more? Check out Tina's site here. Want to read later? Pin me -->

How to Handle Work Stress Like a Boss

I'm getting married in less than three weeks.

I'm not saying this because I plan on acting like a nutcase for the foreseeable future. (Although last weekend, I did have an emotional meltdown over table numbers. So there's that.)

No, I'm saying this so you know I'm not lying when I also say I'm at a busy point in my life. It turns out that wedding planning quickly can turn into a full-time job if you're not careful, and that two full-time jobs can quickly turn into a frenzied panic over table numbers.

(I've also learned that high-pressure crafts are best left to, you know, crafty people.)

That being said, I've had to pull out all the stops lately when it comes to managing my actual career. (You know, the one that pays me instead of the other way around.)

Luckily, I've done this before—not getting married, of course, but navigating my career during particularly busy times. (When you work in law, these things are par for the course, after all.)

So today, I'm going to share the top three things I've learned about managing your career (and yourself) during particularly stressful times of your life. (And as a spoiler: Martha Stewart-ing reception table decorations isn't one of them.)

1. Microsoft Excel is your to-do list's new best friend.

Like I mentioned in this post about productivity, my biggest weapon against worktime stress is my Outlook calendar; I create new "events" for each task's due date a week ahead of time so I know exactly what I need to accomplish every day.

But when I get really busy, even the act of deciding where on my calendar each task fits is a struggle. So this is where prioritization comes in—I keep a running list (in my case, using Microsoft Excel) of, literally, every single thing I need to do. And I'm talking everything, even things like "check in with Judy about project X" and "email Donna about project Y." (Because when you have a lot going on, it's usually the small things that end up slipping through the cracks.)

I like using Excel for this list because it's easy to move things around, which is helpful for keeping the list ordered based on importance. In other words, if an urgent project comes in, I can easily move my 20-item long list around so "Urgent Project Z" is right up top.

While there are other more sophisticated apps and programs for this out there, I like using Excel because it's so simple. It's pretty much the same as a hand-written list on my desk—but with much better handwriting.

2. Give yourself permission to not be perfect in other areas of your life.

The most important thing I've ever done for my sanity when it comes to hectic times is giving myself permission to let other parts of my life take a back seat.

For example, maybe this is a "me" problem, but I used to feel like keeping my apartment clean and tidy was a reflection of my worthiness as an adult. So when work got busy (and I was trying to fit longer hours in with exercise and a social life), I'd take a look around my unswept floors and dirty laundry in a panic and think, "Oh no. I'm failing adulthood."

In other words, I'd expect myself to be able to add in extra hours at work while still keeping up with every other area in my life. And when I couldn't (i.e., when I was a human), I would get even more stressed out.

But I finally realized that a lot of the pressure I was feeling was totally self-inflicted—and totally unnecessary. My unswept floors were not an indicator of, well, anything, and the only thing that prioritizing work and my health over housework meant was that I'd have to sweep next weekend instead.

It sounds like such a simple revelation, but it is one that made such a difference.

3. Raise the white flag if you need to.

Obviously, this point won't apply to everyone, but it also might apply to more people than you'd think.

The thing is, most employers are human and don't want their employees to drown in overtime and anxiety. So if you're feeling in over your head, sometimes it's best to just let your employer know what's going on.

Of course, you don't want to be the one who never takes on an extra project or who only does the bare minimum. But if your workload is leaving you panicked and burnt out for long periods of time, it might be time to have an honest discussion with your employer. Chances are, your employer doesn't even realize that you are feeling overwhelmed.

This kind of conversation can be difficult and may take a reasonable amount of finesse (this is a great post about how to approach it), but it can also be a game-changer when it comes to keeping your sanity.

How do you handle stressful and/or hectic times in life? What would you add to this list?

Middle School Counselor

Kylie L. "A middle school counselor is someone who has completely lost their mind and chosen to spend their days in the company of 1000 teenagers. (Just kidding.) But in all honesty, I do a little of everything. My previous co-counselor and I used to joke that people thought all we did was make macaroni necklaces with sad kids,but it's so much more."

Education

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Required License(s) For my position, I need an Educators Certificate in Guidance and Counseling K-12. I am also a Registered Mental Health Intern, working my way towards taking the state board exam.

Required Degree(s) Master's degree (generally in school counseling), but some states allow other counseling related majors if your internship fits the right requirements.

Importance of GPA not very important

What do you need to do to maintain your license(s)?

The school district requires professional development often. Once I am a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, I will have to participate in continuing education as well to maintain my license.

Kylie's Highest Degree: Bachelor's degree (Bachelor of Arts) and Master's degree
Kylie's College Major: Bachelor's in Psychology and Criminal Justice; Master's in Mental Health Counseling
Kylie's College GPA Range: 3.6 for Bachelor's; 4.0 for Master's

Salary

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Counselor salaries vary in every state.
(But I will tell you that we do not get paid enough.)

Getting the Job

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How did you get your job?

I have a mental health background, as well as experience providing therapy and other services in schools.

How important was networking to landing your position?

Not at all. I randomly applied from out of state.

Life on the Job

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What is a typical day (or week) for you like?

There are no typical days in a middle school counselor's life.

How closely does your typical day (or week) match up to the general "job description" for your position?

... And even if I did have a typical day or week, it wouldn't match up to any job description.

Does being a woman affect any aspect of your career?

Actually, no. I'm pretty fortunate in that my administration supports me above and beyond.

What is the best thing about your job?

Getting to hang out with kids all day. It's never dull. Every single day something happens that makes me laugh. I work with some amazing people. My kids need me.

What is the worst thing about your job?

Sometimes it's heavy (if that makes sense). I see and hear a lot.

How demanding is your job?

Very. I work over my contracted hours often. I definitely earn my summer vacation for all of the hours I put in and don't get paid for. Physical toughness isn't necessarily required, but mentally, you better be a ninja.

Do you have any advancement opportunities?

Once I become a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, there will be a lot of opportunities to grow. Not so much as a middle school counselor, but I truly love my position regardless.

Advice for You

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What are the skills, characteristics, or talents that are most important to be effective in your position?

Being able to connect with kids, truly hearing them, taking the time to build relationships, compassion, and patience.

What advice would you give to someone thinking about pursuing a career like yours?

It is one of the most worthwhile careers there is.

If you could do it over again, would you still pursue the same career?

I do love being a counselor, but my bank account would want me to pursue another career.

Follow Up

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Want to learn more? Check out Kylie's site here. Want to read later? Pin me -->