Earning a Master of Business Administration (MBA) is no easy feat. For many, an MBA not only opens doors for future career moves, including climbing up the corporate ladder or increasing yearly earnings, but also offers you the chance to learn more about changes in business practices, models, and strategies so you can become a more effective employee. In fact, more MBA programs, like ACU Online, are evolving with the changing market to help graduates thrive both in and out of the classroom by offering unique opportunities dedicated to equipping you with specialized skills like data analysis.
Looking to enhance your time and efforts, ACU Online offers all MBA students the chance to incorporate an online Certificate in Business Analytics to your existing degree plan as a way to boost your understanding of data science, while also making you look more competitive and competent as an employee. Plus, with data analyst positions projected to grow to 36% by 2031, it’s clear that the business world is growing, expanding, and shifting toward more data-driven marketing and scientific jobs than ever before.
In an effort to keep up with the demands of the current and future job market, here are three reasons why you should strongly consider obtaining an online Certificate in Business Analytics alongside your MBA degree.
1. It’s Competitively Priced.
Across the board, you’ll find that the price for a business analytics certificate ranges as low as a couple thousand dollars to over $10K depending on the university or platform. On top of that, similar certifications and programs can fluctuate their rate depending on factors outside of your control like inflation, internal department changes, or even lower enrollments. That could mean that the price you start off with might not be the price you end up paying by the time you complete the certificate.
To combat that, ACU Online offers every student a ‘locked-in tuition’ rate guaranteeing the same credit hour price throughout your certificate completion—no matter how long it takes you to finish! For a comparable total price of approximately $9K, you can complete your certificate knowing you will be paying for courses you need to be a skilled employee in data analytics. Our certificate stacks up against the competition because of the value we place on preparing you to succeed in your career without a financial burden hanging over you.
2. Jobs in Data Analytics are On The Rise.
According to the Knowledge at Wharton Business Journal, businesses are looking for applicants who know more than just how to use the internet for keeping tabs on tracking competitors. Rather, companies increasingly want well-rounded, analytics-informed employees who navigate interconnected markets, organize data, improve internal operations and enhance their mission while remaining cost-effective.
MBA programs, like ACU’s, are matching this need in the market by adding certificates like Business Analytics to refine students’ skills in data acquisition, collection, and processing with the goal of expanding their job placement into more data science roles. In addition to the increase in pay (approximately $100K) and job security, data-driven jobs are popping up everywhere without an end in sight. With well over 100,000 jobs currently open nationwide, employers are hungry for prospective employees with the required skills to jump straight into the workforce.
With a Certificate in Business Analytics, you can feel secure knowing you’ll have a slight advantage in understanding the importance of data, how it is affecting the industry as a whole, and trusting that a job could be waiting for you post-graduation.
3. Certificates are Great Resume Builders and are Valuable to Your Professional Development.
Obtaining a certificate has several benefits, including being a great way to add some new skills to your resume and fostering your professional development. Certificates can propel you toward greater success in your desired career, especially since you’ll bring more than just one set of skills to the table. Because certificate programs are more skills-oriented than bachelor’s degree programs, they can be easily tailored to market demands due to their adaptive curriculum and affordability.
Certificates expand on your professional development, including more practice in forming interpersonal relationships, expanding your communication skills, and adding to your critical thinking strategies. That’s why more universities are embedding certificates and certifications into their degree programs and why they’ve grown in popularity. More programs are recognizing the need for prospective applicants to be both educated and equipped to start a job without the need for additional industry credentials and testing.
And with Business Analytics being listed as one of the top 10 certificates to obtain and have on your resume, it’s easy to see why this type of certificate can be applied to numerous fields including healthcare, communications, and administration.
Clearly, gaining a certificate is a cost-effective way to turbo-charge your career and set you on the path to meaningful, high-paying work. ACU Online’s Certificate in Business Analytics can enable you to be a better employee and future business leader with the additional skills you earn during your graduate studies.
Plus, if you’re already enrolled (or are considering to be) in our Master of Business Administration degree with a Business Analytics concentration, you will automatically be given this certificate at no extra cost. Just an added benefit to join our growing online MBA program!
Interested in learning more about our certificate, six different MBA concentrations, or how you can earn your degree and certificate at the same time? Give us a call at 855-219-7300 or visit acu.edu/online to learn more.