Mail us: training@siliconindia.com
Ph: + 91-9060999239
How to be an analytics expert?
By Gaurav Vohra
Gaurav Vohra
Director - Jigshaw Academy
Knowledge of analytics – what it is, how it works, what it can do, what it can’t do- has become a key criterion for becoming successful at work place. No wonder, academic institutions of all kinds are striving to provide this knowledge to their students.
Analytics in India
Analytics has taken off in a big way in India as India becomes the global centre for talent in the field. During the early stages of analytics evolution (2000-2010), most companies like Genpact, Symphony, Inductis etc. were looking to hire bachelors and masters in Statistics and Economics from institutes such as Indian Statistical Institute, JNU and Calcutta University. As demand for qualified resources grew, the pool grew to include graduates, postgraduates and PhDs from all quantitative streams such as Math, Science, Commerce and Engineering. Now, BBAs and MBAs are also making their mark in the field.
Lack of Trained Resources
While India has a large pool of Statisticians, Economists and MBAs for companies to hire from, none of them come equipped with all the skills that today’s employers are looking for. Companies spend precious time, money and resources in training the new hires on the skills required at the work place.
Analytics Training in India
Analytics training options in India are severely limited at this point of time. Some of the largest B-schools like IIM Calcutta, IIM Bangalore and SJMSOM, the MBA college of IIT Bombay have all started certificate or diploma courses in analytics and advanced analytics. Most of the courses are of 1 year duration and are either part-time or full time. While these courses have a comprehensive curriculum, they are again not designed entirely around the needs of today’s workplace. There is too much emphasis on theory and very little exposure to practical and real-life business problems. About 75% of what is taught is not really required in business but is more suited for research. Exposure to analytic tools and software is limited to screen shots and this is a big handicap for anyone looking for a job in analytics.
There are several small training institutes that are trying to fill the demand-supply gap in analytics. However, most of these institutes do not have a rich enough curriculum. They are either training students to be a SAS (or any other tool) programmer or are focusing on a very narrow segment within analytics.
The high cost of analytic software is another deterrent to analytics education. While universities in the US get heavily discounted academic licenses, Indian training institutes are not eligible for those. A popular tool like SAS or SPSS could cost lakhs of rupees annually and this increases the cost of analytics education.
What makes a good analytics training?
Training in analytics needs to focus on four different things :-
Statistics for analytics
Modeling methodology
Analytic techniques
Analytic tool training
Soft skills for analytics
Finally, analytics education has to include exposure to real-life business situations and data. Real business data is very different from the ‘ideal’ research data that students practice on. It is important that the training methodology includes working on case studies and business projects so students are able to translate what they learn in class to what is used in business.
Reader's comments(6)
1: hello sir i m doing engineering and want to
be an analyst...could u suggest me what i
shud do as a fresher to become one......thank
u already
Posted by: ashish sharma - 12:24 PM Jan 23, ' 12
3: Hello Sir,
i have 7 years of experience in IT. and now i want to know about Analytics and i also want to move to analytics software side. Could you please guide me on how to proceed on this.
Thanks and Regards,
Naveen
i have 7 years of experience in IT. and now i want to know about Analytics and i also want to move to analytics software side. Could you please guide me on how to proceed on this.
Thanks and Regards,
Naveen
Posted by: naveen - 10:06 AM Sep 15, ' 11
