Analytics can be a game changer for almost any business or organization, but it can be a long, daunting journey before the benefits are realized. To successfully implement analytics, the numbers not only have to be accurate, understandable, and actionable, but you somehow need to make data science and data visualizations…exciting. That’s way easier said than done. Try talking about nonlinear regression with your friends and see how quickly they shut that conversation down.

The point is, analytical insights are only helpful to a team if they use them. The impactful business leaders of tomorrow will not only understand analytical concepts but will generate excitement and enthusiasm around the opportunities for application. 

From my experience as a manager on the Disney Decision Science & Integration team and a former management consultant, I can attest to the transformative impacts of analytics on business strategies and outcomes. That’s what motivated me to pursue a graduate degree that could equip me with analytical technical skills and a business education.

After completing the Duke MSQM: Business Analytics program, here are the top five program benefits that made the journey worthwhile.

1. Next-Day Application of Course Material

Empirical Analysis for Strategy and Business Communication were courses I could apply to my work right away. For example, I was able to apply material from Empirical Analysis for Strategy to determine if suspected variables were the cause for demand shifts or simply correlated with them. Business Communication provided tangible techniques to persuade audiences and build arguments. I had several presentations coming up at work and was able to apply Professor David Brown’s feedback on my presentation approach.

2. Understanding the Code Behind the Insights

Attention! This is a technical graduate degree that will require you to learn how to code, and you’ll eventually love it. 

In courses such as Data Analytics and Applications and Programming for Data Analytics and Visualization, my cohort and I were living in the code. These courses required us to earn our experience through challenging assignments and creative projects. By the end of the program, I was confident enough in my programming skills to find insights, review code, and figure out how to fix bugs in R and Python.

3. Learning While Earning

Leaving my role with Disney and pausing my full-time income for two years to pursue a graduate degree was not the right option for me. The program allowed me to pursue a graduate degree while not having to leave my Disney team.

4. Exposure to Industry Perspectives

My perspectives and knowledge around how leading companies operate dramatically increased. We had classmates from large companies such as Meta, Coca-Cola, Lockheed Martin, Bank of America, and IBM. Others were from leading companies in specialized industries such as Sunrun, IQVIA, and Novartis. We were even lucky enough to have a Ph.D. chemist, members of the U.S. military, professionals from financial institutions, and tech entrepreneurs in our cohort. I gained rare insights into how major and emerging firms operate in diverse industries. 

5. High-Stakes Teamwork

This program operates like the real world. There is only so much you can do solo before you’ll need to successfully partner with clients, vendors, and/or internal teams to get to the next level. This program actively required my cohort and I to adjust our communication styles, resolve conflicts before they impacted our grades, and grasp that our individual ideas are rarely better than the ideas crafted by a team.

After completing this program, I found myself less likely to assertively defend an idea and more likely to ask my team to help find my idea’s blind spots in order to craft an overall better product. This adjustment has created an environment on my Disney teams and projects where constructive feedback is valued and expected.