Introduction
A system analyst is a specialist in the field of formulation of the requirements for information and software. The profession of a system analyst in the modern labor market is one of the most demand due to the rapid development of information technology. A systems analyst must know the basics of programming, software documentation, database theory, the basics of information security and have general knowledge in the field of management.
The Region
I live in Seattle; the city is large and provides good opportunities for career growth. Big companies developing new technologies are based in Seattle: Amazon is one of the biggest (Sadq et al., 2018). Regarding economic development, Seattle entered the top most considerable cities in the United States, ranking 12th (Cotton, 2019). Despite the pandemic, Seattle has maintained its position as one of the most economically strong and rapidly growing cities. Thus, my region offers good possibilities to start a career as a computer science graduate.
Research Systems Analysts’ Positions
Several companies in Seattle offer systems analyst jobs, but almost all are aimed at more experienced applicants. There are not many positions for beginners in this field; jobs in related areas, such as business analytics and management, are mainly offered. This seems strange to me as I expected more vacancies, given that many companies in Seattle need such specialists for business development.
Required Qualifications
The main activities involve collecting, analyzing, and documenting software requirements in technical language. In addition, accompanying communication with customers and the project team, studying the subject area, participation in the design of solutions, and verification of the implemented functionality for compliance with the requirements is expected. Required hard skills include skills in developing technical documentation, work experience with various DBMS, and confident knowledge of SQL (Ziprecruiter, 2022). It is necessary to be able to design data models, have knowledge of UML, BPMN notations, various methods of system integration, and understand REST API design principles (Ziprecruiter, 2022). From the employee, it is required to have SOAP experience in understanding the features of JSON/XML data exchange formats (Ziprecruiter, 2022). The necessary soft skills include communication skills, the ability to find a common language with both development and business, analytical thinking, working in conditions of lack of information, and adaptability to changes.
We are developing some of the mentioned skills during the course, but most requirements are not covered. It seems that the system analyst is not a narrow specialist and does a huge part of the work in the company. Even though my field of study is much broader, I feel I will not have enough skills to work immediately after graduation. Most likely, all the required skills develop gradually during the process; however, for the career start, it seems unjustified.
Salaries
It is difficult to determine the exact amount offered for a systems analyst position. For a beginner position, the amount offered varies from $50 to $130 per hour; remote workers receive slightly less. This level generally corresponds to my expectations from the average annual salary. However, according to the Glassdoor website (2022), the specialist’s average wage per year is $94,000, which is somewhat less than I would like to receive. However, lower wages are now associated with increased competition in the IT industry. Computer technology is developing rapidly, and specialists are willing to work even for smaller amounts to stay in a promising area.
Expectations
Before researching the jobs offered in Seattle, I assumed that the job market should be better. The number of vacancies does not meet my expectations; moreover, most are only suitable for people with more than three years of experience. There are few vacancies for beginners, most of them for related fields, which are already very far from programming and computer science. Salary expectations also correspond to the positions of experienced specialists; I would like to earn a little more. Of course, the data varies from company to company, but it seems that there are already so many specialists in the labor market that employers are not ready to pay more. I also expected a more significant overlap between the skills covered in the course and the system analyst position; these are quite different areas.
Considerations
Even though I have the required soft skills, it will take me a lot of time and hard work to master the complex skills for a systems analyst position. It seems to me that this is serious and very responsible work that does not leave much room for creativity. As a future computer scientist, I would like more creative work related to new developments. The position of systems analyst does not seem to offer such an option. Most likely, I would not want to work as a systems analyst. However, it would be a good experience for a beginner career path. Perhaps I will choose this profession as a reliable start and a way to learn new things. In such a case, I would prefer to work remotely to get more career choices and find the best working conditions.
Conclusion
My expectations from the system analyst profession turned out to be too high and differed from the actual state of affairs in the market. This kind of work is not quite suitable for me because I do not have all the required competencies, and I would like a more creative job. However, being a systems analyst is an excellent job for beginners who want to learn and develop valuable skills during work.
References
Cotton, J. S. (2019).Seattle. Weigl Publishers.
Glassdoor. (2022).System analyst job in Seattle, WA.
Ziprecruiter. (2022). RevOps, Senior business systems analyst.
Sadq, Z. M., Sabir, H. N., & Saeed, V. S. H. (2018). Analyzing the Amazon success strategies.Journal of Process Management and New Technologies, 6(4).