It is common knowledge that with current trends in technology, marketing, business, and social media, an online MBA degree in Business Analytics is a solid choice for any business professional looking to broaden her horizons in business and management. With the projected growth in the field of business analytics to remain well over the national average, employers across the globe will continue to be in need of trained data analysts for years to come. Coupling this fact with a vast array of job descriptions existing that include skills rooted in data acquisition, processing, and decision making allows the trained business professional the chance to choose many different positions that vary from statistics to technical writing to production and marketing.
Speaking into the current trends of data analytics, Huffington Post’s Amy Hillman writes, “the role of a business analyst is to aggregate data to figure out how his or her organization can leverage the data to operate more efficiently and effectively. The Harvard Business Review calls the position of business analyst or data scientist the “sexiest job of the 21st century.” Business-analyst jobs are predicted to increase by 22 percent by 2020, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Unfortunately, the growth of our technologies has exceeded our supply of qualified talent. Ninety percent of the world’s data today has been generated in the last two years, and businesses can’t keep up with demand. According to a recent McKinsey & Company big data report, by 2018, the United States alone could face a shortage of 140,000 to 190,000 professionals with deep analytical skills, as well as 1.5 million managers and analysts with the know-how to use the analysis of big data to make effective decisions.” Without question, an online MBA degree with an emphasis in Data Analytics is a smart move for anyone looking to remain relevant in today’s global job market.
The advantages of an online MBA are many. Many business schools offer the same exact curriculum to distance learners that their on-campus counterparts work through. While an online program allows active business professionals the chance to continue to work as they pursue their degree, working professionals also benefit from the opportunities to expand their networking base as they work through group projects and assignments throughout their degree program. Students needing to accelerate their education are often given the opportunity to customize their schedules and work load to graduate in as few as 12 months in some cases.
One of the nation’s very best online Master’s of Business Administration programs that features a specialization in Analytics is offered at Villanova University’s School of Business. The 48-credit hour degree combines online coursework with an on-campus residency and two practicums, incorporating important networking benefits within the MBA. The curriculum consists of three-credit hours of fundamentals, 15 functional core hours, six-credit hours of VSB Pillars, nine capstone hours, and 15 elective credits that offer the specialized coursework in Analytics. The tuition totals $63,360, and graduates from Villanova report an incredible average salary of $85,800 in their early careers, showing a solid return on investment potential.
