- People who are analytical thinkers have strong problem-solving skills.
- Fitting careers for analytical people are those that involve finding solutions to existing and potential problems.
- Careers in engineering, accounting, business analysis, and management consultation are all great choices.
Flickr user DigitalRalph
There are several things to consider when choosing which field to major in and then which career path to follow. You want to choose a field based on job demand, expected income, and job growth outlook. As you explore your options, you should also consider your personality type and strengths, and weaknesses. If one of your strengths is being analytical, you should explore suitably analytical careers.
So, what is an analytical thinker? This is a person who has the inherent ability to identify and define current and potential problems and develop practical solutions to overcome these problems. An analytical thinker is very logical. They can identify the cause-and-effect relationship in all types of situations, no matter how complex.
Individuals who have these traits are in high demand in various fields by organizations looking for ways to boost their growth and profits. We’ve put together 5 career options that are a great fit for analytical people.
1. Business Analyst
If you’re interested in running your own business one day or in helping companies grow, innovate, and profit, consider a career as a business analyst! In this role, you look after many different responsibilities, though usually, you help CEOS, owners, and other top managers analyze current issues within their firm and develop appropriate solutions.
Other responsibilities of a business analyst include organizing teams more effectively, considering technical information and other data, identifying potential threats, weaknesses and problems, and some smart strategies to combat them.
As a business analyst, you may also spend time on financial forecasting, studying trends, and creating metrics for organizations to track, as well as interpreting key performance indicators (KPIs) to understand the past and present performance of a company, and its future projections.
If you’re keen to study a business-related degree such as an AACSB online MBA program, look for modules based around structure and systems. Boosting your skills in this area will really help you as an analyst. People in these roles must know how to see how current processes and business systems are structured within an organization. They then re-work them to make them more efficient (or introduce new ones as required). Analysts in this area may also perform root-cause analyses to trace the line and order of activities performed by workers, thereby discovering the reasons why a problem occurred.
Learn more about the subjects and skills you need to become a business analyst.
2. Engineer
Of course, if you’re an analytical person, you’ve probably already had many people tell you to become an engineer. Analyzing data well is one of the most important skills that an engineer needs, no matter what they specialize in.
This field involves analyzing a project and evaluating its current and future needs and coming up with suitable and workable solutions. This could cover anything from electrical systems, medical devices, and artificial body parts, through to computer chips, bridges, roads, and engines.
Engineers must be adept at analyzing huge amounts of information and identifying potential problems before they happen. Then, they need to troubleshoot complications or concerns, work out the root cause of problems, create and test prototypes, and evaluate the results of testing.
3. Forensic Accountant
Forensic accountants also tend to be analytical thinkers to be successful in their careers. Have you always been good with numbers, remembering facts and figures, interpreting and analyzing information, and paying attention to details? Then this could be the perfect career path for you. Note, too, that forensic accountants are particularly in demand at the moment. There is such a huge (and growing) focus on economic crime and its impacts. This demand isn’t likely to slow down anytime soon.
Accountants working in this specialized field are often tasked with looking out for accounting errors, discovering where missing funds may have gone, and investigating cases of embezzlement and then studying any traces leftover from crimes. The work is excellent for people who like to complete tasks independently, oversee intricate and challenging tasks, and spend a lot of time poring over problems looking for every tiny, relevant detail.
4. Management Analyst
Management analysts help companies solve operational issues, improve business performance, maximize growth, and boost overall efficiency. They are also known as management consultants.
As part of your job as a management consultant, you would observe procedures and processes, extract and analyze data to determine the specific issues a business is facing and provide recommendations for improvement.
This is a complex and challenging job that requires strong research, data-analysis, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills. Besides being an analytical thinker, you also need to be a quick learner and you will be working with a wide range of industries.
Management analysts may work for a company or they may be self-employed. They typically work with a team in order to quickly and efficiently identify problems and develop appropriate workable solutions. More often than that, you will be working with tight deadlines as delays in finding solutions to problems means increases losses.
While a bachelor’s degree may qualify you for an entry-level management analyst position, a master’s degree in business administration (MBA) will boost your employability and fast-tract your career and income potential.
5. Logistics Manager
Lastly, analytical people also tend to shine in logistic manager roles. These positions involve working with hundreds, thousands, or even millions of products or parts, and all the data that goes along with them. The inventory must be appropriately moved, stored, tracked, transferred, and otherwise distributed on a large scale.
These types of managers ensure company supply chains are running as efficiently and effectively as possible. They require skills such as planning, problem-solving, and attention to detail. Logistics staff members also need to be able to absorb large amounts of information at a time. They develop innovative new methods to have goods delivered for the lowest possible price and on-time, every time.
Explore careers and find the perfect fit for your analytical side!
——————————————————————————————————————
Use College Raptor to explore majors and discover personalized college matches, cost estimates, acceptance odds, and potential financial aid for schools around the US—for FREE!
