Move Ahead
Although the M.S. in Intelligence Studies will produce some graduates seeking entry-level positions, for many, the master’s degree is likely to be a platform for advancement and career development among professionals already working in related positions. Recent studies show that people with graduate degrees have higher earnings (more than a third higher ) and better prospects for employment than those with bachelor’s degrees. A report just released by The Commission on Pathways Through Graduate School and Into Careers shows that:
By 2020, 2.6 million new or replacement jobs will require an advanced degree. Yet a new report warns that the nation will not be able to tap graduate students with high-level knowledge and skills unless university, business, nonprofit and government sectors team more closely — and innovatively — than they do now .
The U.S. Intelligence Community (IC) is a coalition of 17 agencies and organizations within the executive branch that work both independently and collaboratively to gather the intelligence necessary to conduct foreign relations and national security activities.
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) describes Intelligence Analysts as "skilled subject-matter experts who study and evaluate information from many sources. Information flows in from around the world, including satellite surveillance, foreign newspapers and broadcasts, and human contacts. This information varies widely in terms of reliability, and often it is conflicting or incomplete. The analyst's role is to develop meaningful and usable intelligence assessments from all of those sources."
Careers
Nearly three out of four business executives report that their organizations have a competitive intelligence apparatus in place, and 80% of companies believe that improving the accessibility of business intelligence (BI) to business users would improve their organization’s competitiveness, according to BizTechReports, an independent research agency.
Analysts working in competitive intelligence or business intelligence gather and process trends about an organization's major competitors, customers, suppliers, and distributors, to assist with opportunity analysis as well as product and strategic planning decisions that affect the organization's ability to compete.
“By 2018, the United States alone could face a shortage of 140,000 to 190,000 people with deep analytical skills as well as 1.5 million managers and analysts with the know-how to use the analysis of big data to make effective decisions,” according to a report from McKinsey, a global management consulting firm.
Analytics managers and decision support analysts develop approaches and perspectives in the areas of business intelligence, analytics, and the use of "big data" to advance the organization’s objectives. They design, develop, maintain and optimize reports, documents, datamarts, dashboards, mobile, and other applications to support and enhance the organization’s reporting environment and to help executives to make more informed decisions.
National Intelligence
Competitive Intelligence
Analytics & Decision Support
Management, scientific, and technical consulting services are projected to be the fastest growing industry over the next decade
US Bureau of Labor Statistics
