Business Analyst Jobs

Singapore has carved out a niche for itself by cementing the avenues towards growth by providing avant-garde infrastructure, ease of operations, considerable autonomy, a highly-skilled workforce, and sanctity towards intellectual property. 

Besides the 150,000+ SMEs, multinational conglomerates have set offices in the country, making it one of the most sought-after destination to build a bright career. Perhaps that's the reason why business analyst jobs have bright prospects in the country.

As the world is increasingly digitised, tech-savvy and proficient business analysts have become the drivers of growth. From gauging viability to analyzing impact, business analysts are a vital part of every successful organisation.

✅ What are the responsibilities of a business analyst?

The job entails analysing the need for a particular product or service or making inferences on how to improve a product based on post-launch surveys. In a nutshell, business analysts form insights on the direction that a business must take in order to be successful. 

✅ What are the basic qualifications needed for a business analyst job in Singapore?

Business analyst jobs are becoming more and more technical in nature with each passing day as the world continues to adopt newer technologies. With concepts like Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning finding use in day-to-day running, business analysts need to be up-to-date with the realm of tech. 

A good business analyst job would require a management degree, such as an MBA. That, of course, will have to be supplemented by proficiency in technical know-how and a knack for problem-solving through creativity. Experience in business operations is an added bonus that helps you make informed decisions. One needs to know how the grunt work is done. People from the field of business or engineering can find easy ingress into business analytics. 

✅ What is a CBAP programme?

While this might not be of immediate use to freshers, the Certified Business Analysis Professional certification, awarded worldwide by the International Institute of Business Analysis, is a benchmark of professional excellence in the field. 

Usually, people with several years under their belt, opt for this certification. It signifies that you're an expert in the field. Having a CBAP certification adds a feather to your cap, and money in your wallet. 

✅ What are the most sought-after skills in business analyst roles?

If a trajectory of a firm was to be made into a film, the business analyst would occupy the director's chair. This is so because it is on the findings of the business analysts that the company hinges its decisions and future.

Myriad skills are needed to form cutting-edge insights for a business, of which some are:

• Oral/Written Communication Skills
• Analytic Thinking and Problem-Solving
• Organisational Skills
• Cost-Benefit Analysis
• Processes Modelling 
• Business Knowledge
• Stakeholder Analysis

✅ Can a business analyst work remotely?

A year ago, this question would've evoked condescending guffaws and disbelief. In present times, it is the model being adopted by almost every major player. 

Business analyst jobs pertain to the blue-collar, professional domain, and required in-office rigour. The pandemic has finally shown the world what the power of communication is. Business analysts can, and do, work remotely, they organise meetings with clients, and have even ventured into freelance consulting. Of course, a visit or two might be necessary to flatten out the creases, but there's a definite shift towards remote work when it comes to business analysis jobs. 

✅ What are the most frequently asked questions in a business analyst interview?

Almost all business analyst jobs have multi-tier assessment patterns to gauge the professional, emotional and intellectual aptitude of the applicant. The interview is a part of this layered process, but it might constitute different interviews in itself. 

To ace the interaction, one must prepare beforehand. Although we can't guarantee that the questions will be the same in each interview, a few basic questions, on the lines of which others are framed, are listed below:

• What's your usual approach to a project?
• What business intelligence tools are you familiar with?
• How do you adapt to unforeseen circumstances?
• What's the significance of flow charts? What are the other diagrams used by business analysts?
• What are SDDs and SRS?

✅ Is SQL or Python necessary for a business analyst job?

There's no definite answer to this question, but one can say that developing proficiency in these two can be an added bonus. 

Business analyst jobs are advancing, but the advance is different for business analysts working in different sectors. Not all of them require the use of SQL or Python, or for that matter, R. The mentioned three languages are predominantly used by business analysts working in the financial field, or fintech. Others, in non-IT fields, do not have much use of data in their working but use their organisational and optimisation skills. 

✅ What is the career path of a business analyst?

Business analysts usually begin at the assistant or associate level. You may be offered roles in domains like quality assurance or domain expert, till the time they turn into subject matter expert. With time, associates can bag project leadership roles, guiding teams of business analysts. Further, the career path leads one to the road down management, where one might be offered a management role for the IT section.  

✅ How much a business analyst can earn in Singapore?

Business analysts in different roles and levels earn differently. The average salary of a business analyst in Singapore can be around SD 65,000-71,000 per annum.