Hi everyone,
I’m looking for some honest advice from Business Analysts working in the UK.
I recently completed an MSc in International Business Management in the UK and am currently based in India. I have experience working on a Business Analyst-style project with a UK university, where I delivered a 12-week market intelligence project involving competitor benchmarking (35+ organisations), analysis of large datasets, and development of strategic recommendations that contributed to commercial growth planning.
I’m also currently undertaking internships focused on market and competitor analysis across different domains, including an AI-based HR platform and the fashion-tech space in the GCC region. My work involves structuring research into datasets, analysing competitor positioning, identifying market gaps, and generating insights to support business and product decisions.
Alongside this, I’ve had experience in business development and operations roles, where I worked with data, supported performance tracking, improved data accuracy through structured reporting, and coordinated teams in high-pressure environments. These roles have helped me build strong problem-solving, communication, and process improvement skills.
At the moment, I’m continuing to build my technical and BA skillset, currently learning intermediate to advanced Excel, and planning to learn SQL, Power BI, also tools like Jira/Confluence. I’m also developing portfolio projects based on my internship work (e.g. competitor analysis with structured datasets, pivot tables, and insight generation), and taking courses to strengthen my understanding of requirements gathering and documentation.
My goal is to move into a Business Analyst / Strategy / Analyst role, ideally in the UK.
I’d really appreciate honest advice on:
- Am I on the right track with focusing on Excel, projects, and internships?
- What skills or tools should I prioritise next for entry-level BA roles in the UK?
- How important are SQL, Power BI, and Agile/Jira at this stage and what roadmap would you advice given my experience and background?
- How can I better position my current experience to align with BA roles?
I’m trying to be realistic and build a strong foundation, so any practical advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance!