In a previous post, we took a look at the job description for a business systems analyst. It is only one of several IT job placements that are focused on analysis and are commonly obtained by clients of our California information technology consultancy. Business systems analysts have a particularly obvious connection to online information technology training and certification, but many of those same skills come in handy for occupants of positions that are located more on the business side of things.

The job description for a market research analyst is one prominent example of this. The basic tasks involve in that role ought to be clear on the basis of the job title. The analyst looks at existing consumer and business trends in his or her company’s field and assesses that information in order to identify and promote specific goals, objectives, and strategies.

Naturally, the market research analyst is a very data-intensive job, as is virtually any analyst position. And in this day and age, interaction with data presupposes interaction with technology. It is increasingly difficult and disadvantageous to separate the two. As such, the “skills and qualifications” section of a market research analyst job description is certain to include significant requirements for information technology training and know-how.

Your interaction with computers as an a market research analyst can run the gamut from simple data entry all the way to actually writing software to better assist in the analysis of data. Certain software training courses are a must, if only to help you master Excel, PowerPoint, and other common applications that are used throughout the business world for the organization and presentation of information to colleagues and clients.

But your ability to move up the ranks in your organization or to find new and better market research analyst opportunities at other firms may come down to your ability to manage higher level information technology job functions. In this sense, a particularly successful market research analyst may also have some training as a business systems analyst. There is, after all, obvious overlap between the two roles. If you’re relying on analysis software as a market research analyst, the ability to competently examine that technical system could inspire you with ideas about how to transform your department and make the process of analysis both more efficient and more effective.

Part of the benefit of this kind of technological support is that it gives a person more time and energy to focus on the other aspects of the market research job description, including interaction with executives, clients, subordinate researchers, as well as consumers. But even the interpersonal aspects of the position can benefit from certain elements of information technology training and certification. As we already pointed out with our business systems analyst job description, online certified scrum master training and other Agile training can improve anyone’s ability to interact within a hierarchical business structure for the sake of achieving shared goals. This is certainly true for marketing analysts, whose knowledge of current consumer and business trends give them a special responsibility for helping to set those goals in the first place.