My World of Work

You are here

Home // My Career Options // Market research data analyst

Market research data analyst

data analyst research analyst market intelligence analyst statistician data insight professional
Bookmark
Print and publishing, marketing and advertising
Discover

Career outlook for market research data analyst

UK Salary Ranges

Entry-level

£22,000

Experienced

£60,000

Currently employed in Scotland

16,300

Salary information is provided by the "National Careers Service". "Oxford Economics" supplies job forecasts and employment figures. Due to COVID-19 the jobs market is constantly changing. Some of the information may not reflect the current situation.

What's it like?

You would analyse the responses to surveys to find out what people think and feel about issues or products.

You’d report the results to businesses and organisations and explain what the information means for their sales and services.

It would be important to be able to work confidently with statistics and written information. You would analyse data from market research surveys for clients from industry, business or government.

You’d use your creativity to make the numbers interesting and understandable for people who are not experts.

You would:

  • Speak to clients to understand what they want to know
  • Write proposals describing how you will do the research
  • Advise researchers about survey methods and design
  • Lead teams and projects
  • Check the quality of the data collected
  • Analyse the data using statistical software programs and techniques, spreadsheets and computer models
  • Present the research results through talks, written reports, graphs and tables
  • Explain findings to market research executives, who may not have specialist mathematical or statistical knowledge
  • Help research executives present the information and ideas in a way that clients can understand and use

You’d need to work well with your clients. You might work on several projects with different clients at the same time.

Working conditions

Hours

You’ll typically work standard office hours, Monday to Friday, with occasional overtime if necessary to meet project deadlines.

Environment

The work is mainly office-based.

Travel

You may sometimes travel to visit clients.

UK employment status

Full-time

61%

Part-time

28%

Self employed

11%

Create a qualification route

We've found some examples of the qualifications that could help you get this job.

Discover my route

Search course options

Thinking about your future? There are lots of courses available that could interest you. Use our course search to explore course options.

Find courses

Search job opportunities

If you're looking for your new career our job search can help you. Discover interesting opportunities and decide your next steps.

Find a job

Here are some of the skills needed for this job. Sign in to see how your skills match up.

  • Working with technology
  • Problem solving
  • Working with numbers
  • Observation
  • Researching
  • Attention to detail
  • Filtering
  • Sorting
  • Analysing
  • Understanding

Skills Explorer

Your skills can help you choose the career that's right for you. You can build your skills through work, study or activities you do in your spare time.

To understand more, have a look at What are my skills?

Our Skills Explorer tool will help you understand what skills you have and match them to jobs that might suit you.

Use the Skills Explorer tool

Getting in

Entry requirements for courses can change. Always contact the college, university or training provider to check exactly what you'll need.

Qualifications

Most market research data analysts have degrees (SCFQ level 9/10) in statistics or related subjects like maths, business or economics.

If you want to specialise in an area like medical or economic research, you may find it particularly useful to have a master’s degree (MSc) or PhD in statistics or applied statistics. 

For some data analyst roles in other areas of work, your degree may not need to be in statistics but you’ll still need to use computerised statistical packages.

You could start as a junior statistician or analyst perhaps on a structured graduate training scheme offered by some of the larger companies. Alternatively you could start as a research assistant, and move into statistical work after gaining more experience. 

To enter a degree (SCQF level 9/10) usually requires National 5 qualifications and a minimum of three Highers or a relevant HNC/HND.

Useful subjects

  • English (required by most courses)
  • Maths (required by most courses)
  • Business
  • Accounts/economics
  • ICT subjects
  • Social studies subjects such as media

Helpful to have

Knowledge of social media analytics could be useful in some roles.