I am, I guess, a financial analyst. I like my job, I enjoy playing with spreadsheets all day, and my dept/company is receptive to the work I do.
Do you guys like your job or the lifestyle that comes with it ?
- Thread starter Aba_juggin
- Start date
I'm a business analyst at a large hospitality firm in the US.
My job/the work itself is decent but the entire setup is pretty good.
There's a lot of ambiguity as far as my department's roles and expectations due to some corporate restructuring.
Been here 7 months post graduation so until my team's structure is fully built I can't give an honest assessment.
I will say this though, my job and my current set up does give me a lot of utility. How?
1. Pretty solid pay for an entry level analyst especially when compared to the hours.
2. Commute is respectable.
3. Big enough company that I can see "corporate America for what it is" but not too big that I can't get full visibilty to how a company should operate.
4. Walking distance to my gym and a library. I'm out of work by 5:30, can go to library and do some personal work/study French/read/work on projects until like 7:30, them hit the gym till 9 and be back home by 9:30. Good utility, especially with my $500 rent. Havent been taking enough use of this setup though. Changing this soon. Gotta get my grind fine tuned.
5. Exposure to the "corporate speak" that will be essential when I want to pursue my own venture later on.
6. I have the ability to gain some very crucial skills for my further ventures i.e. Financial modeling in Excel.
Maybe another 18 months before I look elsewhere.
My job/the work itself is decent but the entire setup is pretty good.
There's a lot of ambiguity as far as my department's roles and expectations due to some corporate restructuring.
Been here 7 months post graduation so until my team's structure is fully built I can't give an honest assessment.
I will say this though, my job and my current set up does give me a lot of utility. How?
1. Pretty solid pay for an entry level analyst especially when compared to the hours.
2. Commute is respectable.
3. Big enough company that I can see "corporate America for what it is" but not too big that I can't get full visibilty to how a company should operate.
4. Walking distance to my gym and a library. I'm out of work by 5:30, can go to library and do some personal work/study French/read/work on projects until like 7:30, them hit the gym till 9 and be back home by 9:30. Good utility, especially with my $500 rent. Havent been taking enough use of this setup though. Changing this soon. Gotta get my grind fine tuned.
5. Exposure to the "corporate speak" that will be essential when I want to pursue my own venture later on.
6. I have the ability to gain some very crucial skills for my further ventures i.e. Financial modeling in Excel.
Maybe another 18 months before I look elsewhere.
Rich Spirit
#LeveledUp
How did you start to become a Business Analyst? I'm in the process of transitioning careers.I'm a business analyst at a large hospitality firm in the US.
My job/the work itself is decent but the entire setup is pretty good.
There's a lot of ambiguity as far as my department's roles and expectations due to some corporate restructuring.
Been here 7 months post graduation so until my team's structure is fully built I can't give an honest assessment.
I will say this though, my job and my current set up does give me a lot of utility. How?
1. Pretty solid pay for an entry level analyst especially when compared to the hours.
2. Commute is respectable.
3. Big enough company that I can see "corporate America for what it is" but not too big that I can't get full visibilty to how a company should operate.
4. Walking distance to my gym and a library. I'm out of work by 5:30, can go to library and do some personal work/study French/read/work on projects until like 7:30, them hit the gym till 9 and be back home by 9:30. Good utility, especially with my $500 rent. Havent been taking enough use of this setup though. Changing this soon. Gotta get my grind fine tuned.
5. Exposure to the "corporate speak" that will be essential when I want to pursue my own venture later on.
6. I have the ability to gain some very crucial skills for my further ventures i.e. Financial modeling in Excel.
Maybe another 18 months before I look elsewhere.
I started with internships in college (4 of them to be exact, 2 in the technology sector, 1 in government contracting/consulting and 1 in energy/finance). All of my internships were based around research, business analytics and business development. By the time I landed on this opportunity is was pretty much a natural fit for me.
Research, business analytics and business development; I'd say are the basis of most business analyst position (substitute business development with operations for more established firms).
Ideally you want to know your way around an Excel workbook as that's the basis of the work you'll be doing. The math isn't particularly difficult but you'll definitely want to be comfortable with quick calculations on the fly i.e. what's 15% of 2,500, 30% of 16,000 etc. The biggest thing you'll need is sound logic in the context of business decisions and such.
My suggestions as far as prep is this:
1. Take a few courses on excel financial modeling/macro building. Excel is the business standard in many corporations. You'll use these to create various reports and spreadsheets. Get comfortable with key formulas/functions (VLOOKUP, IFMATCH, SUMIFS etc). Macros are essentially pre designed calculations that are better for more automated calculations. Also, learn the excel shortcuts, it'll make a lot of the work you do later on run by much faster than if you were using a keyboard.
2. A lot of Business Analyst positions (at least at the more competitive firms) would like to see some tech/coding skills as well. If you have the time, I'd look into SQL courses to improve that skill (as the guys on IT the best ways to learn).
3. Get familiar with the business speak/jargon. Every industry has it's language, Corporate America is no different. I suggest the Wall Street Journal or Financial Times just to get acquainted with some language and the big market stories for the day.
That's all I can think of off head. The truth is most Business Analyst positions are entry level positions so there isn't too much you need to prep for. Just have the commitment to learn and improve.
Rich Spirit
#LeveledUp
Where can i get these Excel courses you speak of? Also do you recommend any book for SQL
For Excel courses I would first start online to see if there's anything there. I know some local community college offer it. With SQL no books per se, I think you may wanna try the guys on the IT Careers forum here.
FreshFromATL
Self Made
I work in IT. I do it for the money. Of my the money wasn't good, I'd be doing something else 
Aba_juggin
Pro
what's the pay like per region?I work in IT. I do it for the money. Of my the money wasn't good, I'd be doing something else
Majestic
Believe in myself and the Coles and Kendricks
Yo. What did you study in order to become a sys admin?
Aba_juggin
Pro
how hard is sql. is like any of the traditional languages
FreshFromATL
Self Made
Per region I can't say, but as a consultant here in Atlanta I rake in $65 - $75 per hour for each project.
Aba_juggin
Pro
wahhh
Aba_juggin
Pro
So you work for yourself ?
My base degree was Computer Science, but I did computer repairs and programming before I hit college, had an internship from Freshman Year until Post-Grad and then learned all of the technologies while on the job. In between each job I did certs...
It wasn't necessarily this cert or class got me a job, it was experience. For me, my ladder went as such:
Help Desk, level 1 (basic troubleshooting, answering phones) - A+ Cert
Senior Help Desk (TCP/IP/LAN troubleshooting, PC inventory and deployments) - Network +
Desktop Tech (Domain Account management, Mailbox Management) - Windows Desktop Admin
Lead Desktop (Minor project management (new lab constructions) - MCSE
Sys Admin (Development of scripts and application integration for various clients)
Senior Admin (Significant management of user environment VMs, Servers, Security Protocols, mentoring of Help Desk and Junior Admins)
Right now I am learning about Linux implementation from a Senior LAMP Engineer, he's real cool and willing to teach me whatever he knows since our shop doesn't have a strong interest in Linux. He'll be in charge of building a cluster and would love to have my help with Samba testing.
I'd say start off with the A+, Network+ then apply until you land something.
cosign all of this...myself though i am thinking about getting out of the business analyst world to go into something else...i just dont know where to take my talents and experience yet