The job market for business analytics professionals is hot, especially for Georgia Tech graduates.
According to Fortune, during the past several years, the demand for business analysts has grown—and there’s seemingly no end in sight. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that during the next decade, the number of business analytics jobs will grow about 14%, almost twice as fast as the average for all roles.
Students at Georgia Tech Scheller College of Business are increasingly choosing to work in business analytics, with many tech leaders fighting to hire Tech’s talented graduates. Over the past two years, business analytics has consistently been ranked as the number one or number two certificate earned by Scheller undergraduate students. Nationally, U.S. News & World Report ranks both Scheller's graduate and undergraduate business analytics programs third for all U.S. universities.
“Business analytics talent is in high demand throughout the job market. Georgia Tech’s business analytics students have landed full-time opportunities in all industries including consulting, supply chain, finance, technology/science, and healthcare,” said Scheller Corporate Relations Manager Michael Dutcher. “With the solid foundation they built at Georgia Tech, our business analytics students are landing great jobs at great companies.”
Some of the companies chosen by Georgia Tech business analytics students graduating this past Spring included Amazon, The Home Depot, Walmart, J.P. Morgan, Delta, Microsoft, NCR, UPS, and Veritiv to name just a few. Competition for these students is extremely fierce. At a recent practicum project showcase, a senior technology leader asked BAC Corporate Engagement Manager Sherri von Behren when to best begin recruiting. “Believe it or not, sophomore year for undergrads and first semester for our MBAs and MSAs,” answered von Behren. “Most business analytics students, both graduate and undergraduate, snag great internships and are exposed to a variety of companies interested in hiring them through the exceptional Scheller MBA Jones Career Center. You need to get on their radar early.”
Michael Carpenter, the director of decision analytics at The Home Depot, works frequently with interns and new hires from Georgia Tech and is constantly looking to recruit top talent. He explains the extra energy and edge Georgia Tech students bring.
“Analytics and data science are fantastic tools companies can leverage to solution complexity,” said Carpenter. “But in this complex environment, you need something more to be successful and that’s the ‘translator’-- someone who understands the business and connects the business problem to the right analytics and data science tool, given their subject matter in both areas. Working with the Business Analytics Center, we’ve found that Georgia Tech has the right strategy, both with undergraduates and with their MBA-BA and MSA programs, arming the students with the right level of business knowledge to be successful when entering the workforce.”
Why Business Analytics?
We spoke to several recent graduates to determine what drew them to business analytics:
Luke Simmons (BSBA ’22) graduated in May with a concentration in operations and supply chain management and a certificate in business analytics. He landed a job at DaVita Kidney Care as a redwoods analyst on their procurement team: “I’m excited to begin my career in business analytics because it seems like a great way to really look at a company’s growth and identify what makes it successful or beneficial to not only themselves--but also the communities they serve. I actually first got interested in analytics prior to college. Growing up I loved sports, specifically sports statistics that determined which athletes or teams were good and which weren’t, so when I came to college, I really wanted to see how this same idea and logic could be applied outside of the sports world.”
Esther Hambolu (BSBA ’22) graduated this past May with a concentration in information technology management and a certificate in business analytics: “I am excited for a career in business analytics because I know it will allow me to work on projects from different business functions. Scheller and Georgia Tech gave me an excellent platform for future success. Because of what I accomplished at Georgia Tech, I earned a great data science internship at JP Morgan Chase and I am excited to soon begin my post-college career with them as a member of their focused analyst solution rotational program.”
Kate Groce (BSLMC ’21) studied both liberal arts and business at Georgia Tech and was the Denning Technology & Management Program Class of 2021 Student of the Year. She currently works in workforce analytics at NCR. “Georgia Tech did a great job preparing me not only to adapt to new technologies, but to seek them out and pivot into an exciting cutting-edge career,” said Groce. “I love problem solving and the creative aspect of data visualization where I get to paint a picture with data. The constant innovation in the field keeps things exciting and I’m always learning new platforms. It is also very gratifying knowing that my work has direct bearing on strategic business decisions and initiatives as I work directly with the NCR executive leadership team. I love that my team is global, yet NCR is in Tech’s own backyard, hiring our grads and partnering with Scheller’s Denning Technology & Management Program and the Business Analytics Center. My work not only helps NCR meet financial goals, but also important inclusion and diversity goals as a leading enterprise software company. It’s a great career!”
Tim Wu (BSBA, ’22) graduated in May with a concentration in information technology management and will soon join Uber in New York City as a data scientist on the Uber Eats team. “I like the balance business analytics has where it’s important to have both strong technical skills and business acumen sense. Also, I think it’s interesting that business analytics can help make informed and more quantifiable decisions that can shape the direction of a company. For me, I want to make a positive impact and drive change, and I believe that business analytics has the potential to do that.”
Business Analytics and Data Science Career Fair & Internship Expo
Does your company need top tech talent? Would you like to recruit highly skilled Georgia Tech business analytics students like these? Plan to attend The Business Analytics and Data Science Career Fair & Internship Expo, to be held Friday, October 7, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Historic Academy of Medicine. Interested companies should contact sherri.vonbehren@scheller.gatech.edu for more information.