Data Analytics Jobs on the Rise – Latest MTSU Jobs Report Finds
Written by: Alex Curtis | Posted Sep 11, 2019

On Sept. 10, 2019, Dr. Amy Harris, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Information Systems and Analytics in the Jennings A. Jones College of Business at Middle Tennessee State University, released “Analytics in Middle Tennessee,” the latest in a series of studies that provide vital information to understanding the Middle Tennessee technology workforce. The full report can be downloaded here.

The report was produced in partnership with the Greater Nashville Technology Council and underwritten by AMSURG, an Envision Healthcare Solution. It was released with a panel discussion of local talent hiring experts at the 2019 Nashville Analytics Summit, including:

  • Victor Brown, Founder and CEO, Xcellent Life
  • Chad Pankake, Owner, Affinity Search Partners
  • Ken Raetz, Shareholder and Practice Leader, Data Insights, LBMC
  • Eric Thrailkill, VP & CIO, Amsurg

Key findings of the report include:

  • There were over 49,000 unique job postings for tech jobs in Middle Tennessee from July 2018 through June 2019. Of those postings, 8503 (17.3%) referenced analytics.
  • From 2017 to 2018, the number of unique analytics-related postings grew by 27.6%. Halfway through 2019, the number of postings was at 83.3% of 2018 posting volume, indicating that this year-over-year positive growth trend will certainly continue.
  • Deloitte LLP was the top-posting company, accounting for 3.8% of the analytics postings and 2.8% of the overall tech postings. Altogether, the top 10 companies by posting volume accounted for 19.2% of the analytics postings and 14.8% of overall postings. This indicates that hiring is not concentrated in a dominant subset of companies but is instead spread over many companies searching for tech talent.
  • The top occupation group by postings volume for both analytics and overall tech was Software Developers, Applications. Postings mapping to this occupation accounted for 23.7% of all analytics postings and 17.3% of overall tech postings. It was followed by the Computer Occupations, All Other, and Management Analysts occupations, which each accounting for approximately 13% of the analytics postings.
  • The job title appearing with greatest frequency in the analytics postings was Business Analysts (Business and Financial Operations) accounting for 6.3% of all analytics postings. This title is also the second- largest in postings volume for overall tech where 3.6% of all postings mapped to it. Software Engineersand Research Analysts rounded out the top three for analytics postings, accounting for 4.7% and 4.3%of all postings, respectively.
  • The hard skill appearing most frequently in both the analytics and overall tech postings was SQL. This skill was referenced in 43.0% on the analytics postings and 20.1% of postings for overall tech.
  • Management was the top-ranked common skill for both analytics roles and tech overall, although it appeared with greater frequency in the analytics postings (52.7%) than in the overall tech postings (43.8%).
  • Master of Business Administration (MBA) was the top-ranking qualification for the analytics occupations, being referenced in 2.4% of the postings. In general, the number of analytics and overall tech postings referencing qualifications was quite small. The top-ranking qualification for overall tech,Certified Information Systems Security Professional, was referenced in only 1.3% of all tech postings.