Business Intelligence Degree

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Working in business intelligence (BI) is a natural step for those interested in both business operations and the fields of mathematics and research. The end result: the ability to explain a business story through the quantification of business processes, and persuade the company toward action using those verifiable numbers.

Because this field is about using data to understand and improve operations, training will involve mathematics, statistics, quantitative decision-making tools and technologies, knowledge of data repositories, and most importantly, analytical skills.

Business Intelligence Job Description

Generally, business intelligence (BI) uses computer-based techniques to find and analyze business data such as sales revenue by products and/or departments or associated costs and incomes. But the job may also include:

• Generating reports that summarize business/financial data for review by executives
• Collating current business intelligence data to support recommended actions
• Analyzing competitive market strategies
• Collecting business intelligence data from outside sources -- industry reports, public information, field reports, or purchased sources
• Creating tools or systems to help with BI
• Suggesting document specifications for business intelligence reports or dashboards

BI Related Careers

• Business Intelligence Analyst

  BI analysts are information specialists who review and report on material compiled from corporate databases. Their main objective is to use their analytical skills and business expertise to help companies maximize the use of stored information.

Business Intelligence Salary

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual wages of business intelligence analysts were $71,100 in May 2008. The middle 50 percent earned between $54,330 and $90,740. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $41,660, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $110,920.