Top Business Analyst Certifications To Boost Your Career
The business analyst is an emerging course which offers you plenty of good jobs. Courses for this career options are increasing, but when it comes to certified courses, there are only a few. The role of a business analyst includes managing the data of organizations in the best possible way. The analyst has to check out the data for trends, errors, and patterns so that the bugs could be identified before they go unnoticed. The business analyst understands the business aspects of an organization by working on their data to manage it. An analyst has to connect with people outside the IT with that data for the progress of the business.
According to recent surveys, business analysts are offered an attractive package. Their entry-level salary is also quite good which makes it a lucrative career option. The need for analysts is also increasing day by day which means if you have the knowledge and the certifications, you can get a good job quickly. So, if you are interested in pursuing such a course to boost your skills or to learn, here are six amazing certifications to help you.
1. IIBA Entry Certificate in Business Analysis
International Institute of business analysis offers a chain of courses for beginners as well as experienced. The first one in the list is entry level certificate in business analysis. The course is best for those who have just started their career in business analysis and don’t have any prior experience. The course begins with the basics and helps you in improving your skills. The course requires you to do professional training before your eligibility for the exam. Within the past for years, you have to do training of at least 21 hours. The certification doesn’t require you to renew because once you pass it, you will be moved to the second stage of the IIBA certification.
2. IIBA Certification of Competency in Business Analysis
The lever two of international institute of business analysis includes both training and guidance from books. Minimum 3,750 hours of business analysts work experience is mandatory to complete the second step. The business analysis book of knowledge (BABOK) from the Institute must also be finished for this stage. All this have to be done within the past seven years. The time requirements in the book are in two options, either you can go for 900 hours in six BABOK or 500 hours in four of the six BABOK. The additional requirements are 21 hours of professional training in the next four years as like in case of stage one. The professionals who are pursuing the second stage also need to have two professional references to move to the next step. The exam consists of analysis and scenario based questions. All 130 questions are picked from the fundamentals, key concepts, competencies, techniques, and everything covered in the six knowledge area of the book by the institute.
3. IIBA Certified Business Analysis Professional
Certified business analysis professional is the third step of proficiency when you are studying with the international institute of business analysis. The course is designed for those who have extensive experience in the industry. In the past ten years before you apply for this certifications, you have must 7500 hours of work experience in the profile. With at least four out of the six BABOK knowledge areas, you need to have work experience of minimum 900 hours in addition to 35 hours professional development training. You will also need to have professional references as like in the second stage to move on to the fourth step.
The 3.5 hours long examination consists of 120 questions, and those all are multiple choice. All the questions are bases on off case study. Also, after passing the exam, you need to report at development units for the next three years for about 60 hours.
4. IQBBA Certified Foundation Level Business Analyst
This is also an entry level course that opens the door to some high-level courses in the same industry. The training for this exam is available in centers all over the world, and so you can easily access the study material and guidance. Moreover, the exam is also conducted on various centers of the world. The people who are working with an organization on process analysis, business modeling, and improvement of processes, must go for this examination for improvement. The entry level course will cover some critical areas such as enterprise analysis, planning, and management of business analysis process, requirements analysis, requirements elicitation, and solution validation. It also emphasizes the development of tools, techniques, and innovative designs. After passing the entry level exam, you can move on advance level and expert level examination from the same institution. The training courses and exams can also be accessed online if you see any difficulty in finding an institute nearby.
5. IREB Certified Professional for Requirements Engineering
The course is offered in three stages and is best for those who work in requirements engineering. The first stage is the fundamental stage where you learn the basics of RE. The next step is the advanced level which offers you three paths to choose from which are Requirements Elicitation and Consolidation, Requirements Modeling and Requirements Management. After doing your basics level, you will have to wait for 12 months to move on to the next step. The final stage is the expert level where the combination of skills, knowledge, and experience of all the three levels make you an expert in your field. The certificates never expire which means there is no need for renewal.
6. PMI-Professional in Business Analysis Certification
Project management institute offers this course to people who work on analytics, projects, and programs. The course includes training through business analysis principles, tools, projects, and fundamentals. For people who have a bachelor degree needs to have three years experience or 4,500 in the past eight years. If you don’t have bachelor degree a minimum of five years or 7,500 hours experience is mandatory. To maintain the renewal status, you need to have 60 professional development units after completion of certificate and within three years. If you fail to keep this, you are suspended for one year and after that its terminated completely.