I also like Ariana’s idea of starting with the public sector. It’s usually a lot better paid than internships to be fair, but in this economy, I would be positive that the application numbers would be through the roof.

Laura

I would only add that being in the public sector is not too bad a starting point for a career as a BA in the financial industry. Perhaps the reader would be able to become involved in finance-related projects where he/she is working now? Before my first job as a BA for a financial institution on Wall Street, I worked for the equivalent in Brazil to the U.S. GAO (Government of Accountability Office) as an auditor. I’m sure my experience with public finance had a positive influence in the decision to hire me as a junior BA. Finding projects that will expose you to a range of public finance issues could be an excellent starting point for a BA interested in switching from the public sector to the financial industry domain.

Your suggestions are spot on and also ones that I have had come up when posed with this question. This and similar situations like it are very tough to overcome, but I think one of the best things one can do is to plan, as opposed to react.

Specifically, an analyst that wants to jump to another industry sector should not expect to wake up one day and walk into a job in an investment firm when they were in insurance the day before…..without having prepared first.

In addition to the networking that is so crucial, there is a lot that can be done to plan an prepare. First, I would reread Laura’s “How to Start a Business Analyst Career” book as if you were doing just that. Come up with a study plan and locate resources. Begin reading and taking classes in the desired sector to familiarize yourself with concepts and terminology. Address your planning from scratch as if you are a brand new analyst.

Also mentioned in Laura’s book, locate and align yourself with a mentor analyst that is aligned with your desired domain. How do you find someone like this? Keep networking and joining professional organizations that may eventually lead you to a person willing to tutor you in the desired disciplines that you seek. Finally, seek out written references that you can keep yourself busy with to study up.

Why do all this? Because at the end of the day, you are going to try to move to a new industry and prove that you can perform in a new role that you have no experience in. Having gone through the efforts to prepare goes along way to stating that “analysis is analysis”.

My two cents….

Doug