You have probably heard of big data by now. Data underpins a number of the online platforms and services that many of us now use on a daily basis. It is also at the heart of our most advanced artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies. However, while data is all around us, and numerous businesses are collecting vast amounts of data, a data analyst is needed in order to make the data useful.

Here are 6 reasons that anyone with an interest in data should consider studying it formally as a degree.

Make a Significant Difference to Businesses

Data analytics is now widely used amongst businesses across a variety of industries. There is seemingly nothing that can’t be achieved with data analytics, and now that businesses are waking up to this reality, they are tripping over themselves to acquire the skills that they need to take advantage of this new science. By studying data analytics, you will be perfectly positioning yourself to take a leading role in helping to shape corporate strategies and empower businesses to do more with less.

The right data analyst can completely transform a business’s fortunes and rapidly become one of their most important assets. Whether you end up assisting in devising an overall corporate strategy, or you take the lead in ensuring that the business’s marketing strategy is on point, as a data analyst you have a real opportunity to make a difference to your business’s successes.

Open New Job Opportunities

Anyone who is already working in a department like management or marketing - departments that can benefit the most from the presence of a qualified data analyst - can use a data analytics qualification to elevate their importance and access opportunities for progression that would otherwise have passed them by.

The role of data analyst is rapidly changing from being relatively niche and obscure to becoming every bit as essential as a social media manager is to a marketing department. Just as social media managers were rare 10 years ago, so too will the role of data analyst become common a decade from now.

Increase Your Earnings Potential

Qualifying as a data analyst will enable you to add a very valuable skill to your CV as well as providing you with the knowledge that you need to take on better-paid and more sought-after roles within your chosen business. Even if you don’t work primarily as a data analyst, having a background in data analytics is still considered extremely valuable when you are applying for work within any modern corporation.

Choose from a Number of Industries

Data analysts now have a role to play in just about every major modern industry. The precise roles that data analytics play within these industries vary according to the industry in question, and the nature of the data that it generates or handles. It is up to you whether you look for your preferred industry and then find a data analytics role within it, or whether you look for existing data analyst roles regardless of the industry they are in.

Whichever way you go about choosing an industry to work in, you will have all the choice you could possibly want. Whatever your ideal industry to work in is, there is almost certainly a data analytics role available somewhere within it.

Make Better Business Decisions

For many businesses, every major decision can feel like a difficult one. Businesses that don’t have evolved decision-making processes will find it especially difficult to make informed and reliable decisions with any kind of consistency. On the other hand, a business that is utilising data analytics is able to establish the best way forward objectively and more efficiently.

You Can Study from Anywhere

Studying for any qualification has never been easier thanks to the rise of remote learning. Studying for a degree or qualification online makes skills and knowledge that would previously have been considered very specialist more accessible to everyone. Studying for a data analytics degree isn’t going to be easy; it is a challenging subject that is underpinned by advanced mathematics and statistics. However, there are numerous universities located around the world that now offer online variants on their traditional campus courses. For example, check out these analytics & data science options from UNSW - https://studyonline.unsw.edu.au/.

The field of data analytics is one of the fastest-growing and most diverse in the world. Data analysts now operate within just about every industry that you can think of, enabling businesses to make smarter decisions and better understand the environment in which they exist.