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#1 Victorian uni for graduate employment1
#1 in the world for sport science2
#1 Victorian uni for course satisfaction3
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Cast your mind back to the early 2000s. A lot happened that decade; Apple released the iPod, forever changing the way we listen to music, Netflix started streaming and Beyoncé dominated the charts with bangers like Crazy in Love and Single Ladies.
It was also the decade in which ‘big data’ became a business buzz-term across the globe.
Industry experts and business leaders began to realise that, thanks to the rise of the internet, they now had access to a significant amount of untapped data. So, they needed people who could find new ways to harness this data to inform important business decisions.
Enter: business analysts (BAs).
We know business analysts are whizzes when it comes to identifying patterns in data, but their real superpower in the workplace lies in their ability to help companies understand their consumers, increase operational efficiencies and manage the flow of money.
So, what does a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Analytics entail and what can you do with it?
We asked Bachelor of Business Analytics alum Diane Wright to break it down for us.
Diane Wright graduated from Deakin in 2022 with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Analytics and a keen interest in the career opportunities her degree could unlock.
She’s performed the ultimate juggling act: proudly parenting two teenagers, taking on full-time study and maintaining a full time leadership role at international property valuation business, Opteon.
Diane is currently the Director of Partnerships and Marketing for Australia and New Zealand, overseeing Customer Success, Marketing, Consumer Revenue and Strategic partnerships.
Diane’s extensive industry experience means she’s very well-placed to help us understand what you can do with a Bachelor of Business Analytics.
A Bachelor of Business Analytics is an undergraduate degree that equips you with the skills you need to create epic data-led strategies for businesses.
Business analysts play a crucial role in bridging the gap between business needs and technological solutions. They also review processes and keep the conversation flowing smoothly between diverse stakeholders.
From a project point of view, they essentially help to keep the party going.
Yep, Business Analytics is often considered a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) degree.
The reason for this is that Business Analytics incorporates many STEM elements including maths, stats and computer science (the holy trinity of STEM)
You sure can. In Australia, you can study a Bachelor of Business Analytics at an accredited business school to launch your career in all things data.
If you choose to study Deakin’s Bachelor of Business Analytics, you’ll get to solve real-world challenges and work on exciting projects brought to you by industry leaders including IBM, Deloitte and PwC, to name a few.
A Bachelor of Business Analytics typically covers an array of tech and business-related subjects, including business analytics, cyber security and governance, project management, marketing and practical work-based learning units.
Students typically complete 16 core subjects (aka units) including one Work Integrated Learning unit or an approved international learning experience.
During her last unit, a work-based learning experience called the Business Development clinic, Diane joined forces with other aspiring business analysts to work on a real-world case. Diane and her group analysed existing problems in the business and came up with several innovative ideas to enhance how the business operated.
In Diane’s words:
‘This was expertly facilitated by Pete Williams and was the highlight of the course, bringing together all the learning from previous units. It allowed me to see the transferability of the skills we were being taught across not only a business I knew well, but also a business that I didn’t know at all.’
So, when you’ve doffed your cap and received your certificate, what can you do with your Bachelor’s Degree in Business Analytics?
As it turns out, you can do a lot.
According to the National Skills Commission forecast, there will be a 12.9% increase in business and systems analysts’ jobs in Australia by 2026.
While this doesn’t necessarily mean jobs for everyone, it does mean your business analytics skills will be very much in demand. You’ll be set up for a variety of roles, including the kind of jobs you can only get with a business analytics degree, such as:
Now that you know what you can do with a Bachelor of Business Analytics, you might be wondering if it’s worth taking the leap.
So, we came right out and asked Diane if a business analytics degree is worth it.
She reflects, ‘The bachelor degree was well worth the time and investment and Deakin’s flexibility to enable me to study at my own pace and in a combination of on campus and off campus allowed me to achieve this as a mature age student and full-time working mum.’
‘Studying a Bachelor of Business Analytics provides an invaluable baseline for any role in business. The foundational units will provide practical tools that empower you to add value to any business and any role you work in’.
Having never gone to university, I wanted to extend my learning and get a degree to support my on-the-job experience. Business analytics was an emerging field and one that I had become increasingly interested in after stepping into the projects space.
My workplace was supportive of my goals and my business leader encouraged me to spend time on campus to ensure I stayed engaged.
It is typically a three-year course, however I studied this part time, on and off, over eight years.
I took some time off when my career required more attention and when my daughters were young.
As part of the degree, I learnt how to use big data tools to analyse business information and uncover insights. These skills were and remain invaluable in any business and role.
Whether you are in Operations, Finance, Marketing or in a leadership role – understanding the key data points, what is driving them and how to improve them is the cornerstone of success.
Some real-world problems I have been able to contribute to solving include optimising service levels for our clients, improving quote conversion (helping to drive revenue) and leveraging insights from property data to tell a story about what is happening in the property market.
The learnings from the Bachelor of Business Analytics degree supported my practical experience and allowed me to move into a variety of roles within the business I worked in.
This included moving from Administration Manager into a Director of Projects and Analytics role where I recruited a team who still lead this department today.
It also contributed to my decision to move into the Marketing space, where I am now able to leverage the skills, I learnt to improve our reach, lead generation, brand recognition and engagement.
The 7-lever canvas tool, part of the Work integrated learning unit, has also been a great tool for business problem solving. This unit taught us to focus attention on the levers that drive business success to find solutions and problems and enable growth. This can be applied to any business problem.
Finally, the course inspired me to complete further learning with certifications in Lean Six Sigma process improvement.
Ultimately, there is so much you can do with the Bachelor of Business Analytics so it’s important to play to your strengths and find out what areas interest you.
