Technical/Report Writer or Data/Business Analyst

Hi Everyone! It's been a long time I've been on here. Just been working on improving myself in this adult life.

I just would like to get your opinions on certain questions because I sometimes find the information I researched to be too narrowed.

First off, I'm currently a Cost Analyst (Goal achieved). I've been working 2 years so far. I rely heavily on Excel and SAP. Soon we will be switching to Oracle. My other previous job positions have been Law Intern, Tax Intern, Billing Intern, Accounting Assistant, and Claims Specialist. I have a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration and a Master's Degree in Information Systems with Concentration in Information System Tools (I did learn SQL, HTML, CSS, Visual Studio, and Java).

Since I've been in the Accounting field for a long time, I would like to venture off onto the IT field where I can work more with data and database. So far the jobs that I'm interested in becoming is a Technical/Database Report Writer, or Data/Business Analyst because I feel like certain procedures could have been explained better or that information provided should have been organized in a different way. Also, I feel there is a lack of creativity in the accounting field than the IT field and I don't feel like my computer skills are improving.

Before I could even apply for a Technical/Database Report Writer or Business/Data Analyst, I know I need to strengthen SQL, improve my Excel skills, and understanding database again.

1.) Since I have no experience in the IT field, what do you think is best way for a person who comes from an Accounting background to go into IT field as a Report Writer or Analyst? Even what I read about these job descriptions could be totally different what to expect in an actual workplace. I don't know if I should even intern in an IT field since I need income to pay for student loans, home, food, car, insurances, etc. You know, the adult life.

2.) What other important skills should I focus on well as well besides just SQL, Excel, and understanding database?

3.) Have you met anyone who switched different fields from accounting to IT? If so, what do you think that made them stand out? I really like hearing stories how people got their dream career since everyone's story is unique.

Please feel free to give any other advice. I have like 1.5 year left on my contract as a Cost Analyst. So I'm working on improving my computer skills as much as I can and gain knowledge when it comes to database. I rather be prepared for an opportunity than be given an opportunity when I am not prepared.

Thanks, everyone!

I've been in IT for 20+ years and am currently working as a business analyst. What I've noticed is that there are people who are good with technology and people who are good with business, but very few who are good with both. On the business side, they are starving for technical knowledge. On the IT side, they are starving for business knowledge. You seem well-positioned to handle both.

Business analyst jobs can either be IT-centric or business-centric. I've seen people come into a business analyst role from both sides of the fence. You could, for example, become a business analyst working specifically with accounting systems. If you want to go the business analyst route, one thing I'd recommend is learning Visio and getting familiar with business process & workflow diagramming.

Similar dynamics exist on the report writing & database side. Data modeling is a useful skill, but in my experience the person who can interpret it adds the most value.

I am a web developer looking for a position in Data Science/BI(haven't found it yet). From the technical perspective you need good knowledge of SQL but it depends on the framework you utilize. For instance, if you use SAS you need to know SQL but if you use SPSS(IBM) there is no need for queries most of the time. If you use open source frameworks, things get more complicated since you need to know Java,SQL(Hadoop framework) and R for the statistical analysis and the graphical representation.

I've been in IT for 20+ years and am currently working as a business analyst. What I've noticed is that there are people who are good with technology and people who are good with business, but very few who are good with both. On the business side, they are starving for technical knowledge. On the IT side, they are starving for business knowledge. You seem well-positioned to handle both.

 

Business analyst jobs can either be IT-centric or business-centric. I've seen people come into a business analyst role from both sides of the fence. You could, for example, become a business analyst working specifically with accounting systems. If you want to go the business analyst route, one thing I'd recommend is learning Visio and getting familiar with business process & workflow diagramming.

 

Similar dynamics exist on the report writing & database side. Data modeling is a useful skill, but in my experience the person who can interpret it adds the most value.

Hi gebaird! Thank you for taking the time to respond to my question!

20+ years? My goodness, you are the YODA for IT. I do have the business side and technical side. I feel like there is always a room for improvement on certain procedures and I ask questions because I wonder if there is an easier way to do things. I wonder if it's due to my INTJ personality as well.

I remembered taking Visio course when I was working my Master's degree. It was a lot of fun learning how to use the program, and learning the work flow diagram. I definitely to refresh how to use Visio again and learning the diagram.

So this looks like I'm going to get into more detailed learning SAP, Visio, understanding the database, the business process, and workflow diagram.

So in your opinion gebaird, do you think it's best to get my foot in the door to learn what the position is about is to go for a company that designs accounting database system? I'm currently working for a Construction and Engineering company, which explains why they use SAP and will be soon using Oracle. I'm trying to figure out what companies I should apply to if you think that I should go for a company that designs accounting database system.

Also I hope you don't mind me asking, is there always work to do on a daily basis as a business analyst? I know as a cost analyst there is always invoices that need to be processed, errors to fixed, and end of month accounting stuff that needs to be done.

I am a web developer looking for a position in Data Science/BI(haven't found it yet). From the technical perspective you need good knowledge of SQL but it depends on the framework you utilize. For instance, if you use SAS you need to know SQL but if you use SPSS(IBM) there is no need for queries most of the time. If you use open source frameworks, things get more complicated since you need to know Java,SQL(Hadoop framework) and R for the statistical analysis and the graphical representation.

Hi Dias!

Thank you for taking the time to respond to my question.

I noticed you live in Europe. I'm not sure how the opportunities are over there in Europe. I'm pretty sure any position can be competitive regardless where you are. Are you looking to choose a career path as a data/business analyst or a technical/report writer?

Thank you so much for mentioning more information. I feel like a Dummy 101 when it comes to some information that you mentioned because I haven't been exposed to them yet.

You just helped me to gain more knowledge of learning SAS, SPSS, open source frameworks, Java, and R. Looks like I need to go back to learning my stats which I took in college. So long time ago!

There are many frameworks, I just mentioned SAS and SPSS because these are the only ones I have used. Other popular frameworks are SAP Crystal Reports and Tableau but generally speaking every huge company has it’s own framework. As they say, you can spend your whole career as a business analyst without writing one query (if you use SPSS for instance) but most companies now move to open source frameworks like Hadoop and R which need programming skills.

I can’t give you any more information since I haven’t found a job as a business analyst yet…

I live in Greece and the vacancies are pretty limited, hence the difficulty to change field. Hope you find a good BI job(and then tell how it is hehe)

PS. Just in case you want to experiment and have something to tell in the interviews, download SAS(university edition is free),SPSS(is free for one month I think) and SAP Crystal Reports(I don’t remember if it’s free) and practice with basic examples like and .

There are many frameworks, I just mentioned SAS and SPSS because these are the only ones I have used. Other popular frameworks are SAP Crystal Reports and Tableau but generally speaking every huge company has it’s own framework. As they say, you can spend your whole career as a business analyst without writing one query (if you use SPSS for instance) but most companies now move to open source frameworks like Hadoop and R which need programming skills.

 

I can’t give you any more information since I haven’t found a job as a business analyst yet…

I live in Greece and the vacancies are pretty limited, hence the difficulty to change field. Hope you find a good BI job(and then tell how it is hehe)

 

 

PS. Just in case you want to experiment and have something to tell in the interviews, download SAS(university edition is free),SPSS(is free for one month I think) and SAP Crystal Reports(I don’t remember if it’s free) and practice with basic examples like and .

Thanks! I found out I've been given an opportunity to create a database for the cost department. This should be a fun adventure. I have so much to learn.