Study Finds New Career Path Primed for Growth

WGU Tennessee and its students are known for keeping an eye on the future.

When you look at the future of the job market, data analytics stands out as an industry with plenty of opportunities now, and even more in the years ahead. According to a study by IBM, the number of jobs for all U.S. data professionals will include 364,000 new openings by 2020, and these openings pay well too, with data engineering positions paying an average of $117,000.

So what exactly is data analytics?

In short, it’s examining data in order to draw conclusions about the information they contain, increasingly with the aid of specialized systems and software. Data analytics technology and techniques are widely used in commercial industries to enable organizations to make more-informed business decisions. As more and more information is moved and stored digitally, additional workers are needed to handle of all of that data.

With an increased demand for experts in data science – experts who can manage the flow of data and translate it into meaningful insights – the only thing missing from the puzzle is a trained workforce.

That’s where WGU Tennessee comes in. The B.S. Data Management/Analytics and master’s program in Data Analytics allow students to work toward advancing their careers without putting their lives on hold.

Because WGU Tennessee’s learning model allows students to demonstrate the skills and knowledge they already have, students are able to advance quicker than they could at most traditional universities.

WGU Tennessee also embeds industry certifications in its I.T. curriculum at no additional cost to the student, allowing them to graduate with workplace skills needed to advance their careers.

“The certifications I gained will go a long way for my career. I earned eight certifications that have increased my knowledge of the information technology field,” said Rick Rutan, a WGU Tennessee alumnus.

Want to learn more about workforce needs in the Information Technology industry? Check out the recent report by WGU and LinkedIn on shortages and growth opportunities in cybersecurity.