Last Updated On 26 Jun, 2020

How to Become a Business Intelligence Specialist

About Business Intelligence Specialist

Business Intelligence Specialist is a person who is responsible for designing and implementing BI software and other applications. He also researches, identifies and provides solutions to technical problems. The main work of a Business Intelligence Specialist is to implementing Extract, Transform, Load (ETL) processes to transform unstructured or structured data into data warehouses/ data marts and data store. Some major responsibilities of a Business Intelligence Specialist are designing and implementing technology best practices and repeatable processes, coordinating with developers and coders to gather all data design specifications as per customer requirements, developing reports on SQL server, monitoring data projects and ensuring compliance to quality standards, assisting clients to choose appropriate Business Intelligence tools and performing troubleshooting on all Intelligence tools and assisting in the resolution.

Candidates with good analytical and research skills may go for a career as a Business Intelligence Specialist. Apart from this, he must be interested in programming and coding while applying for a job as a Business Intelligence Specialist. 

Eligibility to become Business Intelligence Specialist

Check out the minimum eligibility criteria for a career as a Business Intelligence Specialist provided below.

Academic Qualification: Candidates who are looking for a career as a Business Intelligence Specialist should have completed a bachelor degree in computer science or business intelligence. Companies prefer candidates who have also completed a certification program in business intelligence. Candidates must also have an understanding of SQL. 

Experience: Business intelligence requires a lot of experience. Business Intelligence Specialist has to handle and solve all problems related to BI tools. Candidates may collect experience by working as a coder or programmer at any IT company before applying for this position.

Skills: Since the standard of IT companies has increased, it has become necessary that the Business Intelligence Specialist should possess skills related to business intelligence and information technology. Some of the skills required for this profile are:

  • Analytics skills
  • Good planning skills
  • Programming Skills
  • IT Skills
  • Communication skills

Types of Job Roles Business Intelligence Specialist

A job a Business Intelligence Specialist is related to a finance and intelligence sector. There are many job roles available for this profile depending on the type of industry at which the candidate is working. Some job profiles for a business intelligence specialist are:

  • Data Analyst
  • Finance Analyst
  • Business Intelligence Analyst
  • Research Analyst
  • Technical Consultant
  • Business Intelligence Developer
  • Data Scientist

Employment Opportunities for Business Intelligence Specialist

Business Intelligence Specialists are mainly hired for research and development. They can check some job opportunities listed below.

  • Aerospace
  • Defence
  • Research 
  • IT Companies
  • Technology

Top Recruiting Agencies for Business Intelligence Specialist

Some of the major recruiting companies for Business Intelligence Specialist are listed below.

  • Amazon
  • Flipkart
  • Accenture
  • Blueocean
  • Genpact
  • MuSigma
  • Cognizant
  • Capital One
  • JPMorgan Chase

Planning to choose Business Intelligence Specialist as your career?

Pay Scale/Salary of Business Intelligence Specialist

The average salary of a Business Intelligence Specialist will depend upon his roles and responsibilities. Besides this, candidates who own some additional certifications will get more salary as compared to a fresher. They can check the table provided below to know the average salary of a Business Intelligence Specialist. 

Profile

Starting Salary per annum (in INR)

Mid Level Salary per annum (in INR)

Senior Level Salary per annum (INR)

Business Intelligence Specialist

4,75,000

10,00,000

20,00,000

Books & Study Material to Become Business Intelligence Specialist

A Business Intelligence Specialist may check some of the books listed below to gain some additional knowledge and skills required for business intelligence.

  • “The Data Warehouse Toolkit by Ralph Kimball & Margy Ross
  • “Business Intelligence Guidebook: From Data Integration To Analytics” by Rick Sherman
  • “Business Intelligence Roadmap” by Larissa T. Moss & Shaku Atre
  • “Successful Business Intelligence” by Cindi Howson
  • “Business Intelligence For Dummies” by Swain Scheps
  • “Too Big To Ignore” by Phil Simon
  • “Data Science For Business” by Foster Provost & Tom Fawcett

Pros of becoming a Business Intelligence Specialist

  • Business Intelligence Specialist is always in demand at research organizations.
  • Business Intelligence Specialist gets a healthy package. They can earn up to 10 lakh per annum.
  • A career as a Business Intelligence Specialist will help you to learn programming languages.
  • You can apply to defence services also.

Cons of becoming a Business Intelligence Specialist

  • Business Intelligence Specialist has to solve problems related to intelligence. Sometimes he gets some very difficult problems.
  • A career as a Business Intelligence Specialist requires good analytical skills
  • You must be familiar with the database and SQL programming language.
  • You will be responsible for ensuring the quality and accuracy of BI tools and applications.

Do you think this is the right career choice for you?

Take our test and find out if it suits your strengths.

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FAQs about Business Intelligence Specialist

Does career as a Business Intelligence Specialist requires experience?

Yes, Business Intelligence Specialist should be experienced enough to handle all the problems and analytical activities related to business intelligence tools. He should be able to coordinate the various programs to analyse the data based on user experience.

Who is a Business Intelligence Specialist?

Business Intelligence Specialist takes care of the activities related to designing and implementing business intelligence software and applications. He also solves problems related to business intelligence.

What is the average salary of a Business Intelligence Specialist?

Business Intelligence Specialists can earn up to 3 lakh per annum if they are new in the field. Their salary will increase with experience and skills.

Where can I apply for a job as a Business Intelligence Specialist?

You can apply for a job in any Aerospace, Defence, Research, IT Company or Technology sector. There are also some government agencies which hire a Business Intelligence Specialist.

Are there any books available for a Business Intelligence Specialist?

Yes, many books are available for a Business Intelligence Specialist such as “The Data Warehouse Toolkit by Ralph Kimball & Margy Ross, “Business Intelligence Guidebook” by Rick Sherman and “Successful Business Intelligence” by Cindi Howson. You can choose any book.

What is the eligibility criteria to become a Business Intelligence Specialist?

You must have completed a degree in computer science or business intelligence in order to become a Business Intelligence Specialist. Additional certification will help you with the growth prospects.

What certifications are available in Business Intelligence?

There are many certifications such as MCSA: BI Reporting, QlikView Data Architect, MCSE: Data Management and Analytics, Oracle Business Intelligence Foundation Suite and SAS Certified BI Content Developer for SAS 9.

What other jobs profiles are available for a Business Intelligence Specialist?

Business Intelligence Specialists can apply to other profiles such as Data Analyst, Finance Analyst, Business Intelligence Analyst, Research Analyst or Technical Consultant.

Who are the ideal candidates for a career as a Business Intelligence Specialist?

Career as a Business Intelligence Specialist is perfect for the candidates who are interested in programming and business intelligence. They will be working with coders and programmers to analyse the data.

Is there any technical skill required for a Business Intelligence Specialist?

Yes, a Business Intelligence Specialist must have knowledge about the database and its working. Besides this, he must be experienced in SQL language.

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