The Ideal Marketing Analytics Employee

Introduction

Now that you know what kind of jobs exist within the marketing analytics field and what the typical day looks like, you're probably wondering what employers are looking for in potential employees. There are a lot of ways to prepare for a job like a data scientist, and it doesn't necessarily have to be getting a data science related degree. There are plenty of ways to prepare yourself to stand out as a candidate in this field.

What kind of college degree?

Not all colleges offer actual data science or analytics majors. At Illinois State University, it is possible to major in marketing with a sequence in advanced analytical marketing. Even if you are not a marketing major, it is still possible to minor in analytics. Many of these classes will be marketing focused. More analytics related majors could be data science or computer science. If the college you are attending does not have a major or minor that pertains to analytics, there will most likely be a few analytics courses that you are able to take in order to start getting a feel for the field. If there aren't ANY analytics courses in your business school, there are still ways to start learning analytics online for free.

Certifications

These certifications offer ways for you to bolster your resume while learning valuable knowledge. All of the following courses are free to participate in online.

Google Analytics - One of the world's most popular web data tracking tools. Google offers free courses for people to begin learning to use their software. Users can start with getting their beginner certification before moving on to advanced. Upon completion, an actual certificate with your name on it will be awarded that can be shown to potential employers.

Hubspot - Software that works with sales and inbound marketing. Hubspot offers free lessons and a final test on their software to be rewarded with a certification.

Software Skills

Although not all of the following software are free or include certifications, employers typically look for some sort of experience in all/some of these when considering to hire a new employee in marketing analytics.

R - One of the most popular programming languages that is available for free. Although used as a foundational tool, many free plugins/add-ons can be installed to enhance the software. RStudio is one of the most common ways of making the software more user friendly. 

SAS - Advanced analytics software that can be downloaded to be used locally or used through cloud computing. SAS offers several methods of data mining.

SPSS - A statistics software that offers a user friendly way to run analyses such as KNN and regression. 

Tableau - Used primarily for data visualization. Tableau offers great ways of showing sales data across geographic locations.