Who can become a Business Analyst ?

Literally ANYONE !

Yes you read it right.

Anyone with a passion to resolve people’s problem and interest in technology can become a business analyst .

There is not set path defined to reach this profile.

I have seen people with background in sales, finance, healthcare, hospitality and even military working as Business Analysts in some of the well known companies around the world.

Although there are no prerequisites in becoming a business analyst, some technical knowledge or relevant industry certifications can make your path relatively easy.

Let me explain you this with an example  that how somebody from a totally different industry (other than IT) could be a well fit for a business analyst profile:

There is an IT company which is developing a software for its clients serving in hotel industry. Now, this IT company wants somebody to join their team as a Business Analyst who can understand the requirements of the hotel industry as well.

The company gives a job advertisement for the same on various media channel and in turn receives application from the candidates willing to apply for this position.

Now ,the hiring panel while shortlisting the candidates and inviting them for the subsequent stage of interview would see if any of the applicants has the relevant experience with the clients in Hotel industry.

By relevant experience , I mean anyone who has worked as a business analyst (or in any other tech related profile) in some other IT company and have handled the project related to hotel industry before. If anyone has this sought of experience then they would surely invite this candidate.

Next, the hiring team might also consider somebody who doesn’t really have a background in IT but has worked in hotel industry and is aware of the processes that are sought by the hiring panel.

So, here is the chance for this candidate belonging to a non IT background to enter the IT as a business analyst.

But for this he might need to show his technical skills on his resume too. He should at least be familiar with how the things work in IT, different technologies, how a software is developed etc. If convinced with his resume, the hiring team might decide to call him for an interview too.

We will also cover the key skills of a business analyst in a different section.