Business Analyst Foundation Courses

[chris101]

I am looking to change my career direction from IT Support into a Business Analyst.
I have no exposure or experience in a Business Analyst role and therefore was looking at going to course or 2 (BCS Foundation Certificate in Business Analysis and Agile or Prince 2 Foundation).

Would this be the correct training courses I require?
If so, I was thinking of the Knowledgeacademy or QA as training providers but my worry is the training that is provided is too complexed/complicated and I won't be able to to keep up.
Have any of you got experience with any training courses and what did you make of it?
Were the courses instructors easy to understand and explained in detail without too much complicated jargon?

Thanks

[northernladuk]

I assume you are a contractor so Just a certification isn't going to help you. You need to show demonstrable experience to the client before he's going to part with any money. There will be plenty of experienced BAs on the bench going for the same gig's.

Not so sure about the being able to keep up comment. How can you go and do BA work as a contractor if you are nervous about the course being too complicated?

Have you considered going permie for awhile to get the experience you are missing?

[chris101]

I assume you are a contractor so Just a certification isn't going to help you. You need to show demonstrable experience to the client before he's going to part with any money. There will be plenty of experienced BAs on the bench going for the same gig's.

Not so sure about the being able to keep up comment. How can you go and do BA work as a contractor if you are nervous about the course being too complicated?

Have you considered going permie for awhile to get the experience you are missing?

Thanks for your response.

I guess I do need to go perm from being an IT Support Contractor.
In terms of the courses and how to get exposure, would any of you be able to advise or do I need to find a more premie suited forum?

Thanks

[Felix22]

If so, I was thinking of the Knowledgeacademy or QA as training providers but my worry is the training that is provided is too complexed/complicated and I won't be able to to keep up.

Firstly if you are unsure about your aptitude it would be definitely be best to use a realtime training provider as opposed to an online course.
I have used Knowledge Academy for Prince2 and the course was well delivered by an experienced trainer who was able to relate to 'real' project issues and offer the benefit of experience also.

Couple of queries about your post:
If you are seriously worried you can't hack the basic training, how do you expect to fare in a real-world pressured BA contract?
Why do you want to change career direction - is it because you think you'll earn more as a BA or because you have a passionate interest in the role?

[northernladuk]

Thanks for your response.

I guess I do need to go perm from being an IT Support Contractor.
In terms of the courses and how to get exposure, would any of you be able to advise or do I need to find a more premie suited forum?

Thanks

If you are going to go perm they will handle your career profile which will include courses I guess. I would say yes, a contractor site isn't the best place for perm career advice but I am sure there are many guys here that are BA's can help you with how they got in to it.

[chris101]

Firstly if you are unsure about your aptitude it would be definitely be best to use a realtime training provider as opposed to an online course.
I have used Knowledge Academy for Prince2 and the course was well delivered by an experienced trainer who was able to relate to 'real' project issues and offer the benefit of experience also.

Couple of queries about your post:
If you are seriously worried you can't hack the basic training, how do you expect to fare in a real-world pressured BA contract?
Why do you want to change career direction - is it because you think you'll earn more as a BA or because you have a passionate interest in the role?

I believe as long as the course is well delivered in a way I could understand, I will be able to deliver in a real-world pressurised environment as I have been doing so as an IT Contractor.
I have also seen a few inexperienced BA's manage to secure roles and run a few projects that I implemented from the technical side and I know, I could of done things better and at times I did do exactly that.

I am seriously bored of my current role and have found progression to be limited. I am no longer enjoying support and after speaking and dealing with a few BA's directly I feel this would be a good option for me.

[mudskipper]

If so, I was thinking of the Knowledgeacademy or QA as training providers...

If you're a member, bear in mind that QA is one of the suppliers that you can get a discount with through IPSE Academy.
https://www.ipse.co.uk/academy

[Felix22]

I believe as long as the course is well delivered in a way I could understand, I will be able to deliver in a real-world pressurised environment as I have been doing so as an IT Contractor.
I have also seen a few inexperienced BA's manage to secure roles and run a few projects that I implemented from the technical side and I know, I could of done things better and at times I did do exactly that.

I am seriously bored of my current role and have found progression to be limited. I am no longer enjoying support and after speaking and dealing with a few BA's directly I feel this would be a good option for me.

Sounds like a new challenge is just what you need!
Maybe do a course, see how you find it then make the decision and take action to move on. The courses are short, so there's not much to lose - aside from the fee!

[Pherlopolus]

I went from Support/Infrastructure Engineer to SA/BA by entering the permiedom sausage machine for 11 years, if I hadn't I would still be putting tin on desks or fixing it.

I don't think the courses will do anything if you don't have the right mindset, no different to doing the Prince/PMI courses to become a project manager, or being able to manage your time by going on a time management course.

[LondonManc]

If you're a member, bear in mind that QA is one of the suppliers that you can get a discount with through IPSE Academy.
https://www.ipse.co.uk/academy

But who'll take a contractor on with only a BA certificate and no BA experience, especially at a rate that the OP will be happy with?

If you are going to go perm they will handle your career profile which will include courses I guess. I would say yes, a contractor site isn't the best place for perm career advice but I am sure there are many guys here that are BA's can help you with how they got in to it.

Correct. Free training is one of the perks of permiedom; most companies offer decent enough training courses both internal and external in some cases. I went on various training courses when I was a perm; the more I could get on, the better as it's partly a networking opportunity when it's a public course too.