Hi All,

I am currently finishing a graduate program where for the last year I have been trained as a Systems Analyst. The year included 3 months of class room training and then 9 months of project work where I worked on two projects. In both projects I worked for the requirements gathering phase, design phase and QA phase. I pretty much enjoy what I do especially the requirements gathering phase.

But after this year of training is over, I get placed within a Business Unit for the Company. I have been offered a role as a Data Analyst not as Systems Analyst. Can you tell me what are the different roles and work a data analyst does. I have very good experience in Access, Excel and SQL from college and I enjoy database design and drawing ERDs etc. Could you please provide a run down of the differences between a SA and DA.

I meet with the hiring manager tomorrow; are there any questions you think I should ask him?

Also is it a wise career choice? In the future I want to move from an SA role into a more Business analysis focusing role, Is it a step in the wrong direction?

Thanks.

Hi Hazy,

The differences between "Systems Analyst" and "Data Analyst" role will vary greatly from organization to organization so you should really take a look at the specific job descriptions for the positions your are exploring.

Having said that, here are some general differences between the two roles:

• The Data Analyst may only focus on the actual data (once it has been collected) while the Systems Analyst may focus on how to collect the data (design the screen where the use enters the data),
• The Data Analyst creates documentation which shows how data relates to other data while the System Analysts creates functional specifications for a system which allows and end user to CRUD data (Create, Read, Update, and Delete).
• Many Data Analysts have a background in statistics and mathematical modeling while a Systems Analyst may have a background in programming and system design.

In many organizations both systems analysis and data analysis tasks may be performed by the same person as there are many similarities between the two roles such as:

• both perform activities which support specific goals of a business organization,
• both require strong analytical skills,
• both must have excellent problem solving skills,
• etc.

Hope this helps!

- Adrian