What Can You Do as a Systems Analyst?

These highly trained professionals monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of an organization’s computer systems, and design and develop solutions to resolve weaknesses in those systems. Once improvements are made, they continue to manage and monitor them and add enhancements as necessary. 

On any given day, a systems analyst can be found:

There are several different types of systems analysts that use their knowledge, skills and experience to help organizations develop, implement and optimize system performance in different ways. 

If you’ve ever wondered how businesses use technology to solve problems, boost productivity or enhance efficiency, it’s the result of this professional’s specialized work. Leveraging a deep understanding of a business’ processes and needs to develop their IT systems, they coordinate with stakeholders and examine cost-benefit analyses to ensure their proposed IT solutions are aligned with the company’s objectives. 

Within organizations that depend on data-driven decision-making, these analysts are essential. Working with large datasets, they maintain and analyze expansive dashboards to create actionable business strategies. But they don’t always work alone; these professionals frequently collaborate with data scientists and business intelligence (BI) teams as well.

Concentrating on the technical aspects, these professionals typically work on the back end of a computer system, ensuring that the hardware and software are operating in harmony. Their work with system design, troubleshooting and configuration requires a deep understanding of both IT skills and system architecture.

This role is essential in organizations that store sensitive information. Concentrating on information systems security, their responsibilities typically involve protecting against unauthorized access and associate risks, implementing security measures and ensuring compliance with regulations and standards.

Today’s healthcare systems operate in a highly competitive and regulated environment and handle massive amounts of sensitive data in the form of electronic health records (EHR), clinical decision support systems and health information exchanges. As they work to optimize healthcare delivery, they are charged with improving the functionality of the systems that keep the data secure. They must therefore be familiar with clinical workflows, patient privacy and government regulations for handling patient information. 

To be effective, these IT professionals must not only be technically adept, but demonstrate the interpersonal or workplace skills (sometimes called soft skills) that allow them to collaborate effectively with team members and stakeholders alike. 
 

Effective systems analysts need to have a grasp of the following workplace skills:

The technical skills required will vary according to an analysts’ specific role, but generally a mixture of data analysis, system design, programming and cyber security capabilities are required; such as:

Your journey toward this career begins with the appropriate education. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), computer systems analysts typically need a bachelor’s degree in computer information technology or a related field. Some business education may also be helpful, as it is important for these professionals, who straddle the IT and business worlds, to understand how business decisions are made.

The BLS further notes that some employers prefer applicants who have an MBA degree with a concentration in information systems for some roles.
 

At DeVry, you can get started down this career path by earning our online Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Information Systems program. Coursework in this program will expose you to skills in writing and debugging programs, creating and testing code in languages like Python, Java and C#, and implementing and testing hardware using a variety of real-world applications. 

You can enhance your education by choosing one of 7 different specializations in areas like Database Management, as well as Information Systems Security, Software Programming, Computer Forensics, Cyber Security Programming, Web Development and Administration, and Web Game Programming. 
 

If you’ve already earned a bachelor’s degree, you may be considering advancing your education to prepare to pursue higher-level, industry specific or management-focused roles. When you enroll in our Keller Graduate School of Management’s Master of Business Administration program you can choose a Specialization in Information Systems Management to further focus your education in this area, exploring topics like systems analysis, planning and control, database concepts, upgrading information systems, maintaining networks and acquiring and deploying new technologies and software.

You’ll learn these industry-relevant skills alongside a core MBA curriculum that includes courses in management theory, strategic business concepts, communication, leadership and much more. 
 

As in many other IT and IS management roles, industry-recognized certifications are an important tool to have in your arsenal, and may be required by some employers. 

Examples of certifications for systems analysts include:

The BLS projects strong overall growth for computer systems analysts, projecting the role to grow 10% from 2022 to 2032 (much faster than the average for all occupations) with about 37,600 openings each year, on average, over the decade.¹ The BLS attributes this growth primarily to business organizations’ reliance on information technology across the economy, requiring the design and installation of new computer systems.