In the latest installment of our series looking at descriptions for prominent job categories in the information technology field, we will be looking at the general job description and certain responsibilities for a business systems analyst.
Put simply, the business systems analyst is tasked with assessing the existing technological infrastructure of a company and with designing and implementing technological changes that can improve the company’s business outcomes.
A business systems analyst is most likely to find employment with a large or medium sized company, where infrastructure can be particularly complex and business outcomes can be highly sensitive to systems improvements. But there’s nothing to prevent a small company from also having the technical specifications that call for having a business systems analyst on staff, or for hiring one on a contract basis.
Wherever one finds this kind of information technology job placement, the business systems analyst’s job description is likely to include analysis and improvement of computer hardware, communication technology, specific programs and applications, and so on. As such, a successful business systems analyst can be expected to supplement his initial education with very generalized information technology training and also with online software training courses and other training that serves to keep him up-to-date about the best systems available for the particular type of business that he serves.
As to the initial educational programs that might lead to a business systems analyst job placement in the USA or in information technology hotspots like certain areas of California, a bachelor’s degree in any technology field is an obvious starting place. A handful of educational institutions offer degrees specifically in Business Systems Analysis, but there is no reason to suppose that this is a requirement for securing a relevant information technology job placement.
This is especially true in light of the expected growth rate of business systems analyst jobs, which is much faster than the USA average at 25 percent. If you need to distinguish yourself within this job market without a directly analogous educational background, you can do so with a separate business systems analysis certification. Furthermore, there are a variety of online information technology training courses that can be used to demonstrate not only your expertise in IT but also your ability to work in the sort of environment that closely matches the business systems analyst job description.
While much of his analysis and designing of alternative systems may be done independently, the business systems analyst can also be expected to have to communicate extensively and effectively with managers and with end-users of the company’s existing systems. Thus communication skills and the ability to work as part of a group and within a hierarchical structure can be important to understanding the business needs associated with a system, as well as how those needs can actually be met.
These sorts of skills are sometimes overlooked by persons pursuing online information technology and IT job placements in California or the broader USA. But to some extent, those skills can be obtained from the same sources, as they are aspects of successful Agile training and certified scrum master training. The wisdom to branch out into training like this can be a major part of what makes the difference between a person who remains as a low-level business systems analyst and a person who climbs toward senior business and systems analyst jobs in California and far exceeds the nearly 80,000 dollar per year median rate of pay for this overall job category.