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Business Intelligence Analysts

Under the title Business Intelligence Analysts, workers produce financial and market intelligence by querying data repositories and generating periodic reports. O*NET rates it as considerable preparation, which usually means a bachelor’s degree plus a period of work experience. It leans on reading comprehension, speaking, and critical thinking. You may also need to generate standard or custom reports summarizing business, financial, or economic data for review by executives, managers, clients, and other stakeholders. With a code of CIE, this is mostly a job for people drawn to orderly work with data, records and clear procedures. Investigative interests also help, rated 5.4 out of 7. People who want orderly work with data, records and clear procedures usually fit better here than those who need hands-on work with tools, machines or the physical world.

What they do

Produce financial and market intelligence by querying data repositories and generating periodic reports. Devise methods for identifying data patterns and trends in available information sources.

Main tasks

  • Generate standard or custom reports summarizing business, financial, or economic data for review by executives, managers, clients, and other stakeholders.
  • Maintain or update business intelligence tools, databases, dashboards, systems, or methods.
  • Manage timely flow of business intelligence information to users.
  • Provide technical support for existing reports, dashboards, or other tools.
  • Identify and analyze industry or geographic trends with business strategy implications.
  • Document specifications for business intelligence or information technology reports, dashboards, or other outputs.

Skills

  • Reading Comprehension
  • Speaking
  • Critical Thinking
  • Active Listening
  • Active Learning
  • Writing

Who this career fits

May suit you if

  • You like clear rules and getting the details right.
  • You enjoy working out why something happens, not just what happened.
  • You are ready to spend around four years on a degree, then build experience.
  • You are comfortable relying on reading comprehension and speaking.

May not suit you if

  • You get restless with routine, records and exact procedures.
  • You want to work with your hands for most of the day. Realistic rates 1.2 out of 7 here.
  • You want to avoid a four-year degree or its equivalent.

Interest profile

O*NET rates each occupation from 1 to 7 on six interest types. The code CIE takes the three highest, and Conventional comes first here.

Preparation

Considerable preparation. Most jobs here ask for a bachelor’s degree, and employers usually expect a few years of related experience as well.

Most-reported requirement in the O*NET survey: Bachelor's Degree. This reflects what workers reported most often and is not a legal minimum. Licensing rules can differ by state or industry, so confirm what applies where you plan to work.

Also called

  • Business Analyst
  • Business Intelligence Analyst (BI Analyst)
  • Business Intelligence Consultant (BI Consultant)
  • Business Intelligence Coordinator (BI Coordinator)
  • Business Intelligence Specialist (BI Specialist)

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This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.