Analytics—An Industry on the Move
CAREER OUTLOOK FOR MSPA GRADUATES
The field of analytics will continue a positive, upward trend, outpacing many other occupational fields, because of the unprecedented volumes of high-quality data made available to all types of organizations by new technologies and new analytic tools and techniques. The numbers tell the story:
- The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics forecasts an increase in demand of 13 percent for statisticians, 22 percent for operations research analysts, and 24 percent for management analysts—all by 2018.1 Fields such as marketing, health care, and finance are expected to show a particularly strong need for analytics skills.
- According to IDC, a market intelligence consulting firm, the business analytics market will grow by at least 6.1 percent in 2010 alone.2 The growth may stem, in part, from rising awareness of the power of data-driven strategies. Another IDC study showed that businesses that used predictive technologies saw a much higher return on investment (145 Percent) than those that did not (89 percent).3
- A Forrester Research study showed that business analytics is the fastest growing category of global IT software expenditures, and approximately 69 percent of businesses are interested in using analytics.4
Graduates of Northwestern University’s Master of Science in Predictive Analytics program will be prepared to step in and help businesses and organizations leverage and manage data and develop data-driven solutions, either as in-house experts and managers or as independent consultants. The growing volume of data will likely lead to new kinds of positions in a wide variety of industries where MSPA graduates will have a competitive edge.
1 www.bls.gov 2 IDC, 2010 State of the U.S. Business Analytics Market 3 IDC, Predictive Analytics and ROI: Lessons from IDC's Financial Impact Study. 4 Forrester Research, The State of Business Intelligence Software and Emerging Trends - 2010.