In today’s data-driven business world, there’s an increased appetite among organizations to hire business analytics professionals. So if you’re looking for a job in analytics, now is the best time to grab a business analytics internship.

The spread of  COVID-19 has posed some serious challenges to global businesses. However, some reports like Dresner Advisory Services’ interim findings from their 2020 COVID-19 Impact Survey claim that business analytics and artificial intelligence is helping to overcome some of the challenges posed by the economic downturn caused by the pandemic. This has resulted in increased demand for business analytics and AI professionals globally.

What is Business Analytics?

A subset of business intelligence, business analytics is the process of collating, sorting, processing, and studying business data, and using statistical models and iterative methodologies to transform data into business insights.

During your business analytics internship you’ll be required to work towards identifying useful datasets which can be helpful for solving business problems. 

Business analytics has different facets. In fact, you might be required to work on all or some of the following:

  • Descriptive Analytics: What is happening to a business in the present?
  • Diagnostic Analytics: Why is it happening or the reasons it is happening?
  • Predictive Analytics: What will happen in the future?
  • Prescriptive Analytics: What can I do to succeed?

Careers in Business Analytics

There are various career options in the field of business analytics. A business analytics internship could open up various full-time career opportunities for you at global companies like Google, McKinsey and Deloitte and more. You can expect to work closely with the marketing, sales and operations departments as a business analytics professional.

The following job titles can come under the purview of business analytics but remember, jobs in this field are not limited to these titles.

  • Management Analyst/ Consultant
  • Data Analyst/ Scientists 
  • Business Intelligence/ Analyst
  • Program and Marketing Managers
  • Big Data Analytics Specialists
  • Operations Research Analyst
  • Market Research Analyst

Skills You Can Learn During a Business Analytics Internship

Your business analytics internship could help you develop personal and technical skills required to succeed in this field. 

As a business analytics professional you’ll be expected to be a good communicator, inquisitive, a problem solver, a critical thinker, a visualizer, and a detail-oriented person with a broad outlook. These interpersonal skills can be developed during your internship period.

Apart from the interpersonal skills, you’ll also need some technical skills. As a business analytics professional you’re expected to wear the hats of both developer and analyst. Hence, you’ll require a basic understanding of the various programming languages and tools required in business analytics. Some of these include:

  • SQL: SQL is one of the most preferred coding languages of databases. A business analytics internship is bound to strengthen your knowledge in this field. SQL queries help to easily extract and analyze data from large databases.
  • Statistical Programming: In a world that is governed by big data, statistical programming languages like R and Python are a good addition to your profile if you’re interested in business analytics. 
  • Statistical Tools: Knowledge of programming languages is helpful but not necessary. However, knowledge of some statistical tools like Excel and Tableau can help you excel in the field of business analytics.

Grab That Business Analytics Internship Now!

In order to land a good  business analytics internship, you’ll need the right practitioner-level skills to begin your career in the field of business analytics. 

Check out Udacity’s Business Analytics Nanodegree program that can prove to be helpful to gain foundational data skills applicable to any industry. You’ll also learn to collect and analyze data, model business scenarios, and communicate your findings with SQL, Excel, and Tableau.

Ritika Pradhan
Ritika Pradhan
Ritika is the Content Manager at Udacity and is passionate about bringing inspirational student stories to light. When not talking to the amazing Udacity students, she can be found reading an article or watching a video on the internet.