“I highly recommend this career field,” she said. “My instructor, JoAnn, was supportive and flexible, and set me up for success in the field.”
Sometimes where you start, isn’t where you are destined to end up, and Catherine Holmes of Fond du Lac knows that first-hand.
Her educational journey began after she earned her bachelor’s degree in sociology and started her career working with special needs children. She left the workforce for a short time when she relocated to Fond du Lac and began raising her family. Catherine then joined the team at Agnesian HealthCare in Fond du Lac, where she has been an employee for over 10-years. It was there that she was introduced to the business analyst career field, a high demand job that is considered one of the best-kept career secrets.
The beauty of this career path is that it wears many hats. In fact, you may have never actually seen the job title of business analyst. However, jobs like project manager, business systems analyst, functional analyst, process analyst, market research analyst, or management consultant, are all actually business analysts.
Catherine enrolled in Moraine Park’s business analyst program in August 2017 and was hired as a business analyst for Agnesian prior to graduating.
“I love that no two days are the same,” Catherine said. “We call ourselves the engineers of change, but my role is to reevaluate processes and offer guidance.”
More specifically, she is helping to navigate a change in computer systems by holding conversations and being the liaison between her employer and the computer system company.
One of the best parts of this career path is that it is considered in high demand by many industries, including healthcare, insurance, manufacturing, finance, and retail. Employers throughout the United States will need 861,400 analysts by 2024. That is a growth of 14% compared to all occupations at 6.5% growth. In Wisconsin, employers will need 13,151 analysts by 2024, and the median annual wage is $71,230 for an experienced analyst. (Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections).
Today, Catherine is a college graduate, with goals to continue her educational journey.