After our recent coverage on “how to choose the right analytics training for you”, we had some brainstorming into presenting another interesting piece about how can the analytics professional up their skills to the next level. There is often a moaning about how the industry is facing a scarcity of skilled and efficient players. And those that are in the industry might after a point feel the need to enhance the skills sets they possess. And rightly so! Be a business analyst or a data scientist, if growth and a well carved career path is what one aims for, keeping a pace with newer developments in the industry is a must. When we talk about upgrading the skills, it goes well beyond broadening the career options- it is about scaling up your critical thinking, crafting the problem-solving abilities and more. And how exactly can we achieve that? Let’s find out in this few minutes read.

1| Network and collaborate with peers in the industry:

Being an active participant definitely reaps great benefits and by that we mean spending time both at and outside of work with the peers to take insights from their expertise and helping them learn your craft. The bigger the contacts and conversations, the more are the chances to explore and adopt newer skills. Networking is the key here. Analytics is a relatively closed knit community and there’s a lot going on in here which can only be fully actualized when you connect with your fellow analytics professionals.

2| Keep learning new techniques:

Diving into learning newer techniques is probably one of the best ways to keep your resume stronger. It not only is a way to add to the skill sets you already know but also broadens your experience as you are exposed to more and more techniques. New techniques can help explore the industry requirements in a new way and expands your business analysis skill sets too. Adding new feather onto your cap here can never go waste, it just increases your prowess. Moreover, given the pace of the analytics industry, there’s always a new skill or technique that is introduced or become trendy. Even for some of the established problem solving methodologies, new technique are introduced. You just cannot continue with what you have have been using till now.

3| Work in a new domain and a new methodology:

It’s always advisable to keep exploring new domains and methodologies than the ones you are used to. Your analytics skill can become more valuable as you gain exposure to new domains. Doing the same type of work, but in a new context, forces you to take your skills to the next level. Work in different types of projects to get exposure to new methodologies and various requirements that might be needed in the industry. It also challenges you to discover core business analysis principles that are might get some relevance in the future.

4| Participate in competitions and hackathons:

What can be a better way to up your analytics skills than to participate in hackathons and competitions of international standards. Challenging yourself to compete with thousands of others in the same field not only gives you a reality check on where you stand but also empowers you with improving upon the skills that you may lag.

5| Conference and meetups:

Giving those national and international conferences a miss? Time to re-think as these meet-ups could do a wondrous value addition to your profile. The talks, the views and the discussions at the renowned conferences include the industry aces and can provide insights useful enough to take up your skill sets to the next level. Attending conferences, events, starting your own local analytics meetup or even making friend with other analysts near you could add up to your increased network.