Data analysts earn more than IT engineers, says report

Difficult screening and a higher cut-off benchmark explain why data analysts earn more than software engineers at a fresher level, according to a report.
"Data analysts are earning more than software engineers, which indicates that demand-supply gap is higher in the case of the former. Compared to roles in IT services, companies evaluate candidates for analytical roles through assessments that have higher difficulty and cut-off benchmarks," says the report put together by CoCubes Technologies.
CoCubes Technologies analysed results of 43,000 assessments conducted for top analytic companies in the country over the last 12 months and collated the report titled 'Guidebook for Hiring Entry Level Analytics Talent'.

It shows that data analysts at the fresher level are drawing an average annual salary of Rs 7 lakh as against Rs 3.2 lakh for software engineers.
And this figure can go up to Rs 10 lakh, depending on the job profile and fringe benefits being offered.
As per the report, companies are side-stepping tier 1 colleges and approaching tier 2 and 3 institutes to hire data analysts to ensure the new recruits stay with them longer.

According to the report, there are jobs in data analysis which don't require high cognitive abilities and client interaction and have more to do with data management and data warehousing.

"This is resulting in a re-look at hiring strategy as such roles see high attrition if candidates are from tier 1 colleges. Multiple companies have, therefore, started looking at tier 2 and 3 colleges to map the right talent for jobs which don't require a high cognitive ability," it added.
As per the report, companies are also adopting up-skilling strategy for the existing talent to meet their work necessities instead of hiring people from outside.
"Over the last one year, a re-skilling approach has emerged in which firms are looking at internal resources and up-skilling them for client and skill requirement rather than finding new resources with the existing knowledge," it said.

The analytics industry in India is expected to double its turnover to USD 2.3 billion by 2017-18, CoCubes Technologies Co-Founder and CEO Harpreet Singh Grover said.
"One of the key challenges in harnessing this opportunity is creation, development and retention of analytics talent," he emphasised.