Major media outlets like Forbes are highlighting a growing trend: business analysts are emerging in a wide range of industries. From 2022 to 2024 alone, the Master of Science in Business Analytics (MSBA) program in the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Haslam College of Business has placed graduates in the banking, business media, automotive, healthcare, higher education, manufacturing, oil and gas and nonprofit sectors, among many others.
“Business analytics permeates every industry and all levels of organizational decision making,” observes Bogdan Bichescu, associate professor of business analytics in Haslam’s Department of Business Analytics and Statistics (BAS).
From space exploration to sports, every organization needs data crunched, and Haslam MSBA alums are helping them drive their goals. For example, Jacob Heinrich (MSBA, ’22) is now applying his MSBA skills with the Tennessee Titans.
“At Haslam, I learned to transform data into insights that shape decisions,” Heinrich says. “Now, as a data engineering manager for the Tennessee Titans, I use those skills every day to influence the team’s corporate strategy and fan experience.”
Meeting Growing Demand and Readying for Jobs That Don’t Exist … Yet
The demand for well-trained business analytics professionals is surging. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a 36 percent growth rate in jobs for data scientists from 2023 to 2033, far faster growth than the average for all occupations. MSBA holders are also well-positioned to seize opportunities in newly created occupations and fields. Before the turn of the millennium, jobs like mobile app developer, cloud architect, virtual reality developer, AI specialist and even data scientist existed only in science fiction. These recently originated positions rely heavily on data, and those yet to be created will likely be even more data driven.
According to Yuanyang Liu, assistant professor of business analytics, the new jobs created by technological advances will likely bring increasing requirements for domain expertise.
“Based on job posting data, nationally, we observe these new opportunities increase the requirements for a higher education level, prior work experience and skills related to critical thinking, problem solving and decision making” Liu says. “These skills are often tacit and specific to the occupation, firm or the industry. This indicates the importance of collaborating with industry partners to better equip students for the job market, which the MSBA program does.”
Future-Proofed Careers
As new occupations emerge, others will disappear. AI applications will almost certainly become sophisticated enough to assume some data analysis functions. However, managers with high-level training will be needed to guide these functions — especially managers trained in AI applications. Haslam has a course for that.
“This class comes as the icing on the cake towards the end of the program, building on everything else that students have learned,” Bichescu explains. “They will gain deep expertise in neural nets and generative AI, which is the AI methodology or tool behind ChatGPT and the like.”
In this special topic class, students learn to use the frameworks and libraries that are the essential components for executing AI applications. Developers use these to create applications on top of an AI tool, such as ChatGPT. Students leave the course prepared to help the companies that hire them use these technologies to solve business problems.
“By going through the master’s program, students future-proof their careers and upskill themselves,” Bichescu says.
Breadth of Opportunity and Greater Job Flexibility
As CBS reports, many major employers are pushing their staff to return to onsite work. Professionals with a business analytics background, however, are in a better position to negotiate flexible work conditions, such as working remotely, because of the high demand for their expertise.
Nicolle Skalski, professional development manager for Haslam Graduate and Executive Education, says many younger MSBA students came into the workforce during the pandemic. They want to work remote full-time because it is familiar.
“There is a tug of war right now in the young generation with employers,” Skalski says. “They say, ‘We want to be remote. And if not, we’re going to go somewhere else.’ And if you’re educated with those degrees, you can go somewhere else.”
Further, alums with an MSBA can follow their dreams. Max Thompson’s (MSBA, ’24) main goal when he entered the MSBA program was to find a position in New York City that allowed him to leverage more than his analytical skill set.
“Through the MSBA program, I was able to gain real-world project experience that directly led to my employment as a consultant at Deloitte,” he explains. “The projects and experiences through the program did more than just help me land that role. Despite only being with the firm for less than two months, I have already leaned on concepts I learned during my 10 months as an MSBA student.”
Follow Your Passion in Business Analytics
Haslam’s accelerated, 10-month MSBA program can open a path for you to follow your passion. With a median salary starting in the $80,000s and ranging into six figures, a breadth of job possibilities spanning a spectrum of industries and the bargaining power of an in-demand skill set, graduates with business analytics backgrounds can chart their own course. Take the first steps on your new path today by learning more about the Haslam MSBA program.
CONTACT:
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Scott McNutt, senior business writer/publicist, rmcnutt4@utk.edu
