Why An Analytics Education Can Extend into More Industries Than You Think

If you are interested in pursuing an education in analytics, you are probably prepared for a challenging road ahead. Analytics is not easy and  success within the discipline requires a special kind of mind. Students have to be prepared to spend long hours learning statistics and working out solutions to abstract problems. Analytics is, however, about much more than crunching numbers. And careers stemming from a background in the discipline do not have to be limited to the math and sciences. In fact, there are plenty of areas that one may not automatically associate with analytics, but that need that knowledge base just as much as any career path in math, science or technology.

Analytics is about determining patterns and analyzing those patterns in a way that applies to real life and that can be channeled into a goal, solution or theory. This particular form of education can prepare graduates to critically analyze information in ways that other people may not be able to. Graduates will come out of an analytics program primed for success in many different types of industries. In fact, with the right career direction, analytics can be applied within absolutely any type of career.

These are just a few examples of the places you could take an analytics education, but they are certainly not the only ones:

Entertainment.

The entertainment industry is one of the most highly-profitable markets in the United States. People who know how to understand ratings, ticket sales and success rates of different forms of entertainment have the potential to do business in entertainment using their knack for analytics. Even understanding the patterns among shows and moves that are successful as opposed to those that are not is a valuable commodity in the entertainment field, and a education in analytics can provide a basis for understanding that transcends what is available to the naked eye.

Academia.

The academic realm is also ripe for people with an understanding of statistics and the meaning behind them. Research in areas such as psychology, sociology and anthropology often use widespread data collection to better understand human life and the realities of the world. The type of brain that can latch on to research findings and actually use them to disseminate accurate information to the masses is always a positive contribution to society.

Business and Entrepreneurship.

Anyone interested in delving into the business world and becoming an entrepreneur is also going be very well-prepared with an analytics education under their belt. If you don’t want to start your own business, you could prove very useful to companies and entrepreneurs as a consultant. Being able to interpret the numbers behind profit margins is a highly-coveted skill and something that can be used from one business to the next.

One of the best ways to figure out exactly where you want to take your analytics degree is to learn as much as possible about the world you live in. Take as many classes in areas of interest as you can. You may not see a connection now between your analytics classes and your love of soccer, but these two could actually be much more interconnected than they seem. The more you delve into analytics, the more you may begin to see the patterns in your own interests and how those can be applied toward your own distinct career path.

Stephanie Brooks is a freelance education blogger who believes that online education is the future. Thus when she’s not researching about the best universities in the country, she’s giving her readers advice on how to get the most out of an online higher education.