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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Business Transformation Consultant

Jasmin C. "I help companies with their business transformations with IT enabled change. Essentially that means that when a huge company needs to change their business, implement a new system, or bring in some new technology, I help them get the most out of the technology so the business is ready for it. My job involves working closely with business users and tech teams by being the one in middle!"

Education

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Required License(s) Bachelor's degree

Required Degree(s) No, but I have a diploma in business analysis (which is very useful) and am a member of the British Computer Society.

Importance of GPA somewhat important

Jasmin's Highest Degree: Jasmin went to school in New Zealand
Jasmin's College Major: Biology specializing in Genetics

Salary

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[Note from Nicole]: According to Glassdoor, the national average salary for a Business Transformation Consultant is $62,682.

Getting the Job

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How did you get your job?

A degree which focused on critical thinking, a passion for technology, experience working in teams, and people skills!

How important was networking to landing your position?

Not at all. I applied for a graduate scheme.

Life on the Job

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

As I'm a consultant, every day is hugely different. One day I can be working from home, designing a new business process, the next I can be wandering around a manufacturing warehouse, following an engineer around to see what they do, the next meeting senior execs to present findings. That is what I love about it—you will never get bored! It does involve working with a huge range of people, finding out about what they do, redesigning processes, developing change strategies, and helping implement them!

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

I would say there isn't a typical job description! Every role is so different, the main thing is being really adaptable and willing to learn. It is a huge learning curve on each project but it's just about getting stuck in.

Does being a woman affect any aspect of your career?

Being in tech, it is a hugely male-dominated industry. Being a women doesn't really affect me day to day, other than mainly being around a lot of male colleagues. I do wish more women thought about tech as an option though. There are so many jobs in tech which don't require a technical degree or sitting and coding—yes, I do quite a bit of tech work, but all that I've picked up since I joined.

What is the best thing about your job?

The variety—every day is different and interesting. There is a huge opportunity to gain experience in a huge amount of things and progress.

What is the worst thing about your job?

Travel and hours—as I'm a consultant, I'm expected to travel to clients at least for 3 days of the week which can lead to a lot of time on the road (another reason why there are less women in my industry). When work is busy, it can be very demanding on time but it usually balances out over time with the project.

How demanding is your job?

Hours can be tough sometimes but it does tend to balance out—you have some really busy times where you'll be working all evening, and then some quieter times. The travel can take a lot of time, but I balance it with working from home too. It can definitely be mentally tough as you are thrown into a totally new situation every 3-12 months, which takes a bit of getting used to!

Do you have any advancement opportunities?

Yes, you can work up the consulting grades to vice-president. I'm working on it!

Advice for You

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

People skills—the ability to communicate and form meaningful relationships—is definitely the most important. Following that is the ability to absorb and process a lot of information about a business and present it logically, with a tiny bit of tech knowledge in there too.

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

I think most people don't think of this career, but I really encourage you to even if you don't have a tech degree—we take people from any degree background! You will need a good degree result/ GPA though, and some experience is great (I did a year at a healthcare company, and that helped in building up my communication and people skills).

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

I think so! It can be tough in some aspects but it is really rewarding and interesting work.

Follow Up

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

Patent Agent

Nicole C. "I help inventors patent their inventions. Specifically, I help technical people describe their inventions in a patent application, which is submitted to the US Patent Office. I then assist the inventors throughout prosecution of the application (i.e., the process of  turning the patent application into a patent)."

Education

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Required License(s) Must pass the Patent Bar Exam

Required Degree(s) A Bachelor's degree (or equivalent) in science or technology, and usually some sort of advanced degree

Importance of GPA very important

Nicole's Highest Degree: Bachelor's degree (Bachelor of Science)
Nicole's College Major: Biochemistry
Nicole's College GPA Range: 3.6-3.9

Salary

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Depends on Experience

$50,000 - $200,000

Getting the Job

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How did you get your job?

I first got a job as a paralegal for an intellectual property boutique law firm in Chicago, where I soaked up as much as I could about patent law while I studied for the Patent Bar Exam. After I passed the Patent Bar Exam, I moved to Washington, DC, to take a job as a patent agent for a general practice law firm. A year and a half later, I  moved to Florida with my fiance and became a self-employed consulting patent agent, although I still work closely with the same DC-based firm.

How important was networking to landing your position?

Incredibly important. Although I had passed the Patent Bar Exam, I had essentially no experience when I was hired by the DC-based law firm. However, I had reached out to one of the partners at that law firm (via a mutual friend) prior to passing the Patent Bar Exam, and she recommended me for the job. Without that connection, my resume likely would not have even been considered.

Life on the Job

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

Most of my day is spent in front of the computer writing papers. Most of these papers are essentially "arguments" that I'll submit to patent examiners at the Patent Office (i.e., the people who review patent applications and decide if they are patentable). That is, using a combination of legal and technical arguments, I try to convince the examiners that our patent application describes a new invention. My favorite part of my job, however, is talking to inventors about their invention, and then describing that invention in a new patent application. Of course, I do spend some time each week on administrative-type tasks (e.g., managing my docket, creating invoices, filling out formal paperwork from the Patent Office), but luckily those tasks do not take an enormous amount of time.

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

Pretty standard for a patent agent who works in a law firm. Although I am technically self-employed, I work closely with the patent attorneys at the DC-based law firm where I had previously worked, and essentially work with the same clients I had been working with prior to becoming a consultant. So although I work from home, my day-to-day is not a lot different than if I was a law firm employee. (Except now, I don't wear pants.)

Does being a woman affect any aspect of your career?

No, not really. Although I work primarily with men, I haven't felt that I've been treated differently because I am a woman.

What is the best thing about your job?

I get to write and argue all day, which are two of my favorite things to do. (A quality my fiance finds endearing, I'm sure.)

What is the worst thing about your job?

Urgent, "surprise" deadlines are not uncommon. Although I enjoy my job, it can be enormously stressful at times.

How demanding is your job?

It fluctuates between pull-out-my-hair stressful and surprisingly laid back, depending on how many applications I'm working on. The only constant demand is time management; there's a sweet spot between working all night and  full-out procrastination that can be difficult to find when you work from home.

Do you have any advancement opportunities?

Not as a patent agent. I can move laterally (e.g., I can work for a company instead of with a law firm), become entirely self-sufficient (e.g., get my own clients instead of working with the DC-based firm's clients), and/or become a more "senior" patent agent (meaning I could get a raise), but my title will always be "patent agent." I can, however, get a law degree, which would make me a "patent attorney" instead of a "patent agent." Although this would not change my job in terms of prosecuting patent applications, it would allow me to do some things that I cannot legally do now (e.g., represent someone in court or give legal opinions). If I were to become a patent attorney, I could definitely advance from there (e.g., become a partner at a law firm). However, the transition from agent to attorney is more of a job change than it is a real advancement.

Advice for You

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

Most importantly, you should be a strong writer. It also helps if you are able to see the big picture instead of getting caught up in details. (Although you can't completely ignore details either.) Having a solid understanding of whatever technology you are focusing on is also helpful.

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

Network your butt off. Talk to as many patent-related people as you can, and learn as much as possible from them. If you're still in school, focus on your GPA. Think about becoming an examiner for the Patent Office if you're having a hard time getting hired as a patent agent. (Many people I work with started out this way.) And most importantly, remember that there's no "right way" to get started with this career. When I started, almost everyone told me that I would need some sort of advanced degree to get hired, which just wasn't true. If you want it and you're willing to work for it, you can make it happen.

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

At this point, absolutely. I genuinely enjoy what I do, and like it more as I gain more experience.

Follow Up

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