Are you good at handling and understanding large amounts of data?
Do you have excellent reading and analytical skills?
Then a career in Information and Data Analysis could be the right choice for you!
This sector is one of the fastest growing sectors across the country, with large companies constantly looking for bright students to learn, apply and develop their analytical skills through internships, apprenticeships and graduate schemes.
Professionals working in this sector range from Student Advisers, Content Writers and Librarians to Statisticians, Information Scientists and Data Analysts.
As the name suggests, this sector is divided into two key areas:
Those working in this area of the sector tend to focus on finding, retrieving, accessing, compiling and or utilising information-based resources such as books, magazines, journals, websites, etc.
Professionals working in this area tend to be in advisory or customer-facing job roles such as Librarians or Careers Advisors. Therefore, to succeed in informing roles it is essential that you have excellent communication skills on all levels.
2) Data Analysis
Those who work within this area of the sector are often known as Data Analysts.
These roles can be extremely broad, especially those who are working for large companies. Data analysts in corporations may be presented with varying forms of data from across the company which they are then expected to analyse and present the outcomes to their superiors accordingly. Often, data analysis involves using highly sophisticated software and spreadsheets, especially when large amounts of data need to be processed. Having technical confidence is thus a huge bonus in this profession.
As well as working for large international companies; professionals may also be hired by government bodies to collect national information focussed on crime rates, health statistics or the nature of the economy.
This role is very much based on report writing, so excellent written skills are crucial. Sometimes you may be required by your manager to create presentations based upon your findings; being a comfortable public speaker is beneficial. Because of the highly transferable skills involved in data analysis (such as writing reports, creating presentations, analysing data), professionals could also broaden their work in areas including HR, Market Data and Internal Systems.
Some of the duties in this area of the sector include:
The main aim of this role is to ultimately provide up to date, accurate and relevant data analysis for the company in which the individual works for; this data is often used for things such as tracking employer or customer satisfaction, or incorporation into marketing schemes.
Those wishing to enter through a trainee programme or an apprenticeship will be expected to have 5 GCSEs grades A-C; some employers may also request A-levels.
Internships are also available within this sector as part of a sandwich year at university, along with an application for a graduate scheme, candidates wishing to apply for this will need to have a degree or working towards a degree in any of the following subjects:
Employers often accept no less than a 2:1 degree classification and will sometimes consider other degree subjects as long as a candidate has some relevant work experience.
Individuals working within this sector receive a good salary with an entry-level salary starting between £18,000 and £25,000. With experience this could increase to and in excess of £40,000.
Figures are intended as a guideline only.
Salaries may differ depending on what sector they wish to work in and studies have shown that the salary is significantly higher within the finance department and those working in large cities such as London.
With information being at the heart of every company, there is an increasing demand for information and data analysis services required by businesses and enterprises of all sizes.
This sector is one of the fastest growing and rapidly-changing industries, heavily affected by evolving technology. The industry is expected to continue with its upward trend in the years ahead.