Hot career: analytics
I have secured a job in the business analytics section of an MNC. I am in my final year of ECE (electronics and communication engineering) at NIT. I want to pursue higher education. Can you guide me on what my options are? Also, should I do an MBA to improve my career prospects?
—A Sahil Data and business analytics is a process of summarising data with the intent to extract predictive information and develop conclusions from the data and use it for making strategic decisions and operational policies. Business analytics can help companies by identifying their most profitable customers, offering them the right price, accelerating product innovation, optimising supply chains and identifying the true drivers of financial performance.
Corporate organisations today realise they have gigantic amounts of data which they have not been able to use for profitable business purpose. Companies across sectors, particularly FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods), retail, IT and consulting, are looking at using such data to gain competitive advantage, and are therefore hiring professionals trained in data and business analytics for playing a key role in this data-driven era.
You do not need to do MBA to be trained in business analytics. Computer/ electronics and communications engineers can directly take up positions in business/ data analytics and learn on the job. You can also undergo training being offered by several business schools, including ISB Hyderabad, IIMs in Ahmedabad, Calcutta, Bangalore, and Lucknow, as well as the Shailesh Mehta School of Management at IIT Bombay and NIIT. The programmes are mostly for one year suitable for engineers, and graduates with a background in computers and maths with a minimum of 50%. It can even be taken up once you start your job, as most courses are conducted through an online learning platform. Investment banks broadly cover two areas of work. The first is financial advisory work. For example, a big corporation might ask for the bank’s help if it wants to borrow money in the bond markets, or float itself on the stock market, or buy up another company. Secondly, they deal directly in financial markets for their own account. An investment bank’s markets division makes money by financial assets from one client, and then selling them to another, often with a hefty mark-up.
Economics is a perfect degree for an investment banker because he/she needs an excellent grasp of both macro and micro economics and the ability to use the analytical and numerical tools that a degree in economics gives him. So you can take up an MA in economics, or an MBA specialising in finance. The MA/M Sc courses in economics offer several specialisations, including development economics, world economics, financial economics, business economics, international economics and so on.
The School of International Studies under Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, Delhi School of Economics, Madras School of Economics, Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, Pune, Banaras Hindu University and several other institutes offer a wide range of options in the MA/ MSc economics courses. While you may not find many specific courses in international economic relations, the MA international relations does include modules on economics and world economy.
Of course, you will probably get many more options for master’s programmes abroad whether in the US, UK, Canada or a European country like France, Spain or Germany, as practically all top universities offer such courses.
I am a final-year student currently pursuing economics (hons) from Hindu College, DU. I’m interested in pursuing a career in investment banking and international economic relations. What is my best option for a master’s course? What are some of the countries/universities that I can consider if I want to pursue my master’s abroad?
—Rajat Sindhu