Sourabh Rawat

 Profile Answers by Sourabh Rawat 

• Aug 19th, 2009

 

Get the Right Education
Step 1 Earn your college degree in a full 4-year program leading to a bachelor's degree.

A considerable range of majors can lay the theoretical background needed to become a business analyst, including engineering and computer science, in addition to finance and business.

Step 2 Head to your local bookstore to find helpful industry guides on the skills today's business analysts are expected to have.

These include manuals for improving communication and organizational skills and, for IT-oriented business analysts, Unified Modeling Language (UML) guides. UML is a software engineering language heavily used in IT departments.

Step 3 Complete your Certified Business Analyst Professional (CBAP) credentials through an accredited institution.

There are a variety of preparatory courses you can use to ready yourself to complete your CBAP. You can find CBAP courses leading to certification through professional organizations like the International Institute of Business Analysis (see Resources below).

Get a Job Step 1 Gain whatever work experience in business, communications, public relations, information technology or software engineering you can while you complete your bachelor's degree. Remember that internships can prove to be a very valuable source of experience as you move forward in your education.

Step 2 Seek a position as a junior business analyst when you have completed your CBAP
accreditation. The organization through which you completed your certification
should be able to help link you to entry-level careers as a business analyst.
You can also attend the various industry job fairs that visit communities
throughout the country.

Step 3 Work your way up, gaining experience analyzing business procedures,
policies and consumer needs. Once you gain 3 to 5 years of experience, you
should find yourself in a position to become a business analyst with growth
potential.

tlgalenson

 Profile Answers by tlgalenson 

• Nov 24th, 2009

 

There are at least 4 certifications that a Business Analyst might pursue that are specifically BA oriented.  The most visible is the CBAP (Certified Business Analyst Professional) which is modeled on the PMP.  The CBAP is offered by the IIBA at http://www.theiiba.org, it is for experienced/senior BA's.  The http://www.softwarecertifications.org/index.htm offers two certifications for BA's one for beginners and one for persons with CBAP level experience.  The Open Group has an IT Specialist certification that can be focused on Business Analysis.  It is at: http://www.opengroup.org/itsc/  The FAQ's support the BA issue.

I am currently researching to see if there are any others.

The CBAP, if your eligible for it, is the most prominent one that I am aware of.  But I just found about about the softwarecertifications.com outfit less that 2 weeks ago.

Respectfully,
Tom Miller, Capm
Business Analyst & Web Developer