Analytics Consultant Jobs

Analytics is a hot market to work in as the business of data continues to grow and evolve. In a consultancy role, you will be examining systems with a view to proposing ways of improving data and its usage within an organisation.

It’s more than likely that you’d be entering the world of consultancy with a number of years’ work experience to your name. Whether you’ve come from a career in management, human resources or information technology, organisations certainly feel more comfortable working with someone well versed in their line of business.

As to the type of work you can expect to be doing in a consultancy role, that will of course be dictated by your level of experience. Certainly, the greater your experience the more responsibility you’ll find handed to you; with seniority comes opportunities to supervise teams working on more complex projects and greater involvement in the pursuit of new business opportunities.

Working in analytics consulting requires a great skill in networking as in this game it’s not just about your expertise as it is about who knows about you and what you can do for their company. So you may have excellent domain knowledge, experience with various tools and techniques and the technical prowess to hold your own as a consultant but first you need to build up that initial business base. The people you’ve made connections with throughout your career to this point will form a great starting point, so former bosses and colleagues, those you’ve studied under, and friends are most likely to serve as your launchpad to demonstrate your ability to handle their data.

Blogs may be somewhat passé but they are still a great tool to showcase your portfolio and position you as a thought leader in your niche of analytics. After all, this is the age of online and social media so why not use all means available to extend your reach. Though nothing can compare with the connections you can make in person as they will most likely prove more resilient, so look at attending conferences and seminars with a view to network as well as staying updated with developments in your field. Ultimately you’re looking to secure repeat business and client referrals.

Thus customer satisfaction is key. However the reality is you’re not always going to get things right, especially if you work outside of the box rather than sticking with traditional methods, something that’s important when you’re working independently to maintain an edge. So think about things like customer discounts or incentives if you encounter a situation where expectations haven’t been met satisfactorily or you’re competing for a client’s business.

When you’re starting out it’s better to under-commit and over-deliver even if it affects your profits. You need to find your feet and understand your limitations so be prepared to take risks but keep that balanced with fulfilling the technical requirements of the project. Not to mention investing in the relationship management side of your job as an analytics consultant.

Analytics consultants tend to start out studying advanced degrees in quantitative disciplines such as statistics, maths, operations research or something similar. Employers will also be looking for substantial hands-on work experience involving statistical or heavy numerical analyses.

That statistical understanding is hugely important to working in analytics, specifically in the areas of deep learning, machine learning and neural networks. Fluency in programming languages like R, Python, Julia, SQL, GMPL or similar is also expected, so if you have two or more of those down pat you’ll be in a strong position. You’ll also need to demonstrate understanding of frameworks like TensorFlow.

Complementing the technical, organisations will be looking for analytics consultants who are proficient multi-taskers, and individuals who are able to be flexible and patient to adapt to a continuously changing landscape. Finally, strong communication skills, as ever, are most definitely a requirement of analytics consulting jobs, both on paper and in person as you will need to be able to explain your analytic processes from end-to-end to people across the business.