Life of a Business Analyst in Vancouver

When I was first introduced to the role of a ‘Business Analyst’ in University, I remember I was pretty impressed and I told myself that I found my dream job! As I focused my skills and classes to get there, I somehow ignored all the other growing and exciting roles happening around me such as; social media, brand management, venture capitalists etc. I actually had plenty of entrepreneur friends around me starting up their own businesses, whom I really admired but did not give much chance of success.

Now, I am a Business Analyst at one of the largest companies in Canada, just as I told myself that I will become one back one I was in University. On the other hand, my friends who picked to start their own businesses, some of them failed and started again, some of them are still trying to gain momentum, and some of them became very successful… But they all have one thing in common, bravery. Whereas me, I have always played the safest bet, and I am not complaining about it, it’s just a different choice and becoming a Business Analyst was one of them. I knew that the role would perfectly align with my strengths and challenge my weaknesses.

Now that I have spent a year at my role, I feel like I can speak to my role with a bit more experience and knowledge. When you first start as a Business Analyst you may feel a bit overwhelmed because you are expected to do a full cycle of data searching, analysis, sign-offs and presentations. This is heaven for people who get bored of doing the same thing all the time. So I felt very lucky to be able to use my minor SQL/Oracle skills and improve on them, get to work on my soft skills, and learn from the ex-consultants around me. Even though it does not seem like much, it can be very satisfying.

Meanwhile, if you live in Vancouver, you will definitely have friends who work at one of the hip Yaletown/Gastown/Coal Harbour areas, bragging about how they can drink, play ping pong, get free food at their office etc. On the other hand, as a Business Analyst, you may feel a bit less ‘unique’ next to them since almost every other person has the same title as you, and you have no idea what they are doing in the company, which we also know as the ‘corporate world’. But to be honest, after thinking on this for a bit, I realized that it’s not so black and white. It’s the difference in choice of a life style, work style, ambition, passion, etc. It’s such a stereotype to assume that corporate will kill your passion; your passion is still there as long as you are aware of it, and believe in what you are doing.

Some final words on this… In Vancouver, in an environment where there are tons of growing start ups, medium sized firms, and some corporate firms, being a Business Analyst is one of the main door openers and transferable tags on you to go anywhere you want to go as long as you keep growing and developing your skill sets to keep up with today’s technology.