California has the largest economy of any state in the U.S. and boasts the world’s fifth-largest economy, larger than many nations, including the United Kingdom. With millions of businesses across the vast state, those with the skills, experience and disposition to gather, analyze and act on business-related data look to be in high demand all over California.
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The state overall has a relatively low rate of unemployment, and job growth looks to be robust in the coming years, which means those with a master’s degree in business analytics may be able to find gainful employment across a wide range of industries.
SEE ALSO: California Masters in Business Analytics Degrees
What sorts of jobs would a person with a Master of Business Analytics degree be qualified for, how strong are job opportunities for such roles in the state of California, and what specific employers have recently sought individuals for business analytics roles in California?
Employment in California
A degree, particularly an advanced one, in business analytics qualifies a person for a high-level jobs in virtually any industry. Because all businesses thrive on information that allows them to make smart business decisions, a person who is educated and skilled in data analysis, statistics, mathematics, analytics and similar areas could potentially find work in any conceivable industry.
You may seek a job title that includes “Business Analyst,” but a master’s degree in business analytics could lead to many other job roles and functions, depending on your own interests, including:
California’s economy is robust and expanding, which is good for those with degrees in business analytics. Because such people could work for employers as varied as tech companies, government agencies or banks, the outlook for these types of jobs is very bright.
Nearly 20 million people are currently in the labor force in California, whether they’re working right now or not. California does have an unemployment rate slightly higher than the national rate (4.2% compared to 3.6%), though it’s fallen since late spring. The state’s position as the cradle of the U.S. technology sector looks to help keep California’s economy growing — personal income is expected to rise across the state by nearly 13% through 2022.
SEE ALSO: Masters in Business Analytics Salary Outlook
Here’s a look at which sectors are strongest in terms of overall employment in California:
Sectors by percentage of all non-farm workers employed in sector
| Mining and Logging | 0.10% |
| Construction | 5% |
| Manufacturing | 7.70% |
| Trade, Transportation, and Utilities | 17.50% |
| Information | 3.20% |
| Financial Activities | 4.80% |
| Professional & Business Services | 15.60% |
| Education & Health Services | 16% |
| Leisure & Hospitality | 11.70% |
| Other Services | 3.30% |
| Government | 15% |
The unemployment rate in California has remained relatively steady since mid-2018, but it’s fallen substantially since reaching a high just after the Great Recession.
California unemployment rate by year (annual averages except for 2019)
| 2010 | 12.3% |
| 2011 | 11.7% |
| 2012 | 10.4% |
| 2013 | 8.9% |
| 2014 | 7.5% |
| 2015 | 6.2% |
| 2016 | 5.5% |
| 2017 | 4.8% |
| 2018 | 4.2% |
| Jan. 2019 | 4.2% |
| Feb. 2019 | 4.2% |
| Mar. 2019 | 4.3% |
| Apr. 2019 | 4.3% |
| May. 2019 | 4.2%* |
* Preliminary
Business Analytics Degree Jobs in California
Several job titles that are tracked by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics fall under the business analyst umbrella, but we’ll focus on three job roles to help illustrate how strong the business-analytics industry is in California:
SEE ALSO: See Online Master’s in Business Analytics Degrees
- Management Analyst
- Financial Analyst
- Operations Research Analyst
California has some of the highest wages and strongest employment metrics for these three roles of any state.
Select business analytics roles by California metrics
| Job role | Annual median income | Employment per 1,000 jobs |
| Management Analyst | $82,550 | 6.116 |
| Financial Analyst | $95,680 | 2.229 |
| Operations Research Analyst | $92,130 | 0.667 |
Let’s dig a little deeper into each of these three roles:
Management Analyst
Management analysts devise ways for business to improve efficiency and make themselves more profitable. These roles are projected to grow at a rate of 14% through 2026, a faster rate than all occupations.
SEE ALSO: Average Management Analyst Salary by State
Top states
Median income
- District of Columbia: $103,300
- Washington: $97,910
- New Jersey: $97,860
- California (17th): $82,550
Employment per 1,000 jobs
- District of Columbia: 25.8
- Virginia: 12.9
- Maryland: 6.9
- California (9th): 6.1
Top California cities
Median income
- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara: $113,150
- San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward: $100,350
- Vallejo-Fairfield, CA: $88,310
Employment per 1,000 jobs
- Sacramento–Roseville–Arden-Arcade: 22.2
- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara: 8.1
- San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward: 7.4
Financial Analyst
Within a business, a financial analyst provides intelligence backed by a deep understanding of history and trends to help a company make investment or other business decisions. Sometimes, these professionals will work directly with individuals or families. These jobs are projected to have about 11% growth through 2026.
SEE ALSO: Average Financial Analyst Salary by State
Top states
Median income
- New York: $107,160
- California: $95,680
- New Jersey: $94,070
Employment per 1,000 jobs
- Delaware: 7.7
- New York: 5.7
- District of Columbia: 5.4
- California (9th): 2.2
Top California cities
Median income
- San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward: $106,430
- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara: $105,860
- Napa: $93,710
Employment per 1,000 jobs
- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara: 4.8
- San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward: 4.2
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim: 2.3
Operations Research Analyst
Operations research analysts help businesses and organizations understand complex issues and use advanced mathematics and other analytics methods to suggest solutions to problems. This role is generally quite technical and is projected to be in high demand, with employment rising at a blistering 27% through 2026.
SEE ALSO: Average Operations Research Analyst Salary by State
Top states
Median income
- District of Columbia: $109,910
- Hawaii: $107,370
- Virginia: $105,270
- California (11th): $92,130
Employment per 1,000 jobs
- Virginia: 2.4
- Delaware: 2.1
- Maryland: 1.6
- California (24th): 0.7
Top California cities
Median income
- Salinas: $108,650
- San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward: $108,160
- San Diego-Carlsbad: $95,740
Employment per 1,000 jobs
- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara: 1.2
- San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward: 1.1
- Sacramento–Roseville–Arden-Arcade: 0.8
California Companies Hiring in Business Analytics
Business needs and the economy change all the time, but here’s a look at some of the companies, nonprofits or government agencies that are or were hiring for business analytics jobs in the middle of 2019 in California:
- Apple
- Curology
- Juvo Plus
- Enjoy
- Universal Music Group
- National Notary Association
- Hulu
- University of California-San Francisco
- Intuit
- Sony Pictures Entertainment
- S. Department of Defense
- BJ’s Brewhouse
- Financial Partners Credit Union
- Red Bull
- Bank of America
- Verizon
- Sonoma County
- Creative Arts Agency
- City of Beverly Hills
- City of Santa Cruz
Skills & Traits Needed for Jobs in Business Analytics
Many people who consider pursuing a master’s in business analytics already have a background in math, data analysis or data science, but many people who get these degrees have already had some experience in business and decide to pursue the more technical aspects through a Master of Business Analytics.
SEE ALSO: Masters in Business Analytics Salary Outlook
Whatever path a degree-seeker takes, earning any advanced degree is difficult, and the constant change of not only the tech world but also the business world means that skills that were considered cutting-edge 15 years ago could well be out of date by now.
Those who want to excel in their degree programs (and get great jobs) should have a few skills and traits as well as understanding a handful of business tools:
Traits & skills
- Critical thinking
- Orderly thought process
- Problem solving
- Communication
- Inquisitive nature
- Resourcefulness
- Quick recall
Tools
- SQL
- PowerPoint
- Excel
- Mathematics
Conclusion
The future of business is data; in fact, the future of pretty much everything is data. For those in California who want to use their ability to gather, harness and analyze data to further business objectives, the next few years look to be very bright, with a diverse array of job roles and companies to choose from.
References
- Information on recent job openings was culled from Indeed, Glassdoor and CareerBuilder in early July 2019.
- Other data came from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. Census Bureau and the California Department of Finance.