Job Overview To be able to determine the potential demand of certain product or services, a company or a business institution should have adequate and credible data as a reference. Those who collect, analyse as well as interpret these kind of statistics are called marketing research analysts. With their analysis of the buying behavior, the capability, needs and wants as well as preferences of the consumers, these analysts are able to recommend ways to increase sales, improve and innovate more on the products as well as expand the customer base.
Education, Knowledge and Trainings Required
If you wish to establish as career in market research, the college preparatory classes and programs that are advisable include classes in Marketing, English, Economics, Sociaology, Psychology and Mathematics. The minimum requirement in the post secondary level is a possession of a bachelor's degree in any of the following courses: Business Administration, Economics, Mathematics, Psychology, Sociology and Computer science, to name a few.
Skills and Abilities
As a market research analyst, the skills that are needed are skills in doing research and /or interpreting researches, and analytical/critical thinking skills. Organization skills will help him organize data and ideas that will aid in a more accurate interpretation, while communication skills both in oral and in written form will be of great aid in doing reports and relaying recommendations to the executives. Other characteristics that are highly valued in this career include being detailed oriented, accurate and having a good numerical aptitude.
Duties
A number of professionals are involved in the market reaserch team.
The duties vary by position. Take for example, a project supervisor oversees the research from the start to finish. The statistician designs research methodologies and interprets statsitical results. Field interviewers are the ones who collect data by way of surveying the consumers and the porducers of good and services. The goal of every member of the team is to be able to undertake researches of a project of choice and provide recommendations to the applications in the economic arena.
Earnings and Job Outlook
The employment outlook for this specific type of profession is predicted to move faster than the average for the other professions. This is due to the increasing competition among producers and their growing awareness of the importance of the market research data. The salary ranges from 31,000 U.S. dollars per annum to 57,000 U.S. dollars. Those who are already in the supervisory positions with a respective name in the field may earn around and over 108,000 U.S dollars yearly. The salary is dependent on the following factors such as the employer, the location, position and the level of education and significant work experience.
Paula Hiz is a researcher and a human resource specialist who helps newly graduates, job applicants and post graduate professionals be aware of their job opportunities and available trainings for skills and practice upgrading.