Career Options
Graduates of Northwestern University’s Master of Science in Predictive Analytics program will be prepared to step in and help businesses and organizations leverage and manage data and develop data-driven solutions, either as in-house experts and managers or as independent consultants. The growing volume of data will likely lead to new kinds of positions in a wide variety of industries where MSPA graduates will have a competitive edge.MSPA Potential
The use of data to inform decision-making and strategy is not new — but with new technologies and new analytic tools and techniques, never before has such a high volume of quality data been available to businesses and other organizations. As a result, the field of analytics will continue a positive, upward trend, outpacing many other occupational fields.- The demand for analytic skills is supported by research from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, which predicts that by 2018 there will be a 13 percent increase in the need for statisticians, a 22 percent increase in demand for operations research analysts and a 24 percent increase in management analysts.1 And while the demand for analytic skills crosses multiple industries, fields such as marketing, health care and finance are expected to experience a particularly strong need for analytics professionals.
- According to IDC, a provider of market intelligence consulting services, the business analytics market will grow by at least 6.1 percent in 2010 alone.2 The growth may stem, in part, from a growing awareness of the power of data-driven strategies: another IDC study showed that businesses that used predictive technologies experienced a much higher return on investment (145 Percent) than those that did not (89 percent).3
- A Forrester Research study showed that business analytics is the fastest growing category of global IT software expenditures, and approximately 69 percent of businesses are interested in using analytics.4
Graduates of Northwestern University’s Master of Science in Predictive Analytics program will be prepared to leverage and manage data and develop data-driven solutions, either as in-house experts and managers or as independent consultants. The growing volume of data will likely lead to new kinds of positions in a wide variety of industries where MSPA graduates will have a competitive edge.
1 www.bls.gov
2 IDC, 2010 State of the U.S. Business Analytics Market
3 IDC, Predictive Analytics and ROI: Lessons from IDC’s Financial Impact Study
4 Forrester Research, The State of Business Intelligence Software and Emerging Trends – 2010