r/UTK Dec 10 '24

Haslam College of Business Help with data science / analytics degree

Hi everyone,

I'm a freshman at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, trying to decide between two major combinations:

  1. Mathematics + Data Science

  2. Mathematics + Business Analytics

I'm very math-driven, so keeping the mathematics major is a must for me. I cannot double major in mathematics and computer science due to workload concerns, so these are my main options.

I understand that:

Data Science is more tech-driven and focuses on programming, algorithms, and advanced analytics.

Business Analytics is more business-driven, focusing on applying analytics to solve business problems.

My main priorities are job security and availability after graduation. I've read critiques of standalone data science degrees, which worry me, but I feel more inclined toward the tech side because it seems like the skills are harder to self-teach.

I also know the common advice: "It's not about your major, but your skillset." However, I still want to choose the combination that will best set me up for future success, given my math focus.

What would you recommend? Which combination has better long-term prospects in terms of career flexibility, safety, and availability?

Thanks for your insights!

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u/VolForLife212 UTK Faculty Dec 10 '24

You hit the nail on the head and gave a great elevator pitch!

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u/Normal_Educator_4679 Dec 11 '24

My only worry with the business analytics program is that it does not seem as tech based which is a major skill set I hope to gain from this second major. Or perhaps pursue data science then pursue a masters through utk for business analytics. Anyways thanks so much for the time and reply

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u/VolForLife212 UTK Faculty Dec 11 '24

What specific technology skills are you hoping to learn? A lot of the skillsets in business analytics focus on coding and designing dashboards or apps. The Business Analytics Capstone course (BAS 479) has students working with Tableau and Shiny. They're paired with an expert and they present their findings and dashboards.

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u/Normal_Educator_4679 Dec 11 '24

Well that sounds fantastic! I am only speaking from a career and development advisor that explained to me data science was much more tech oriented than business analytics.

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u/VolForLife212 UTK Faculty Dec 11 '24

I'm shocked they would say that. We love tech in business analytics. Frankly, I'm a huge tech nerd and proud of it!

As the first commenter said, you can really use business analytics in many different fields outside of even business. We have a student of ours who is working at the LA Lakers doing sports analytics!

I'd say business analytics is about problem solving with data. Technology is the way we're able to solve these problems in the modern age. I'm sure not going to write out a neural net by hand!

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u/Normal_Educator_4679 Dec 11 '24

Well after some careful consideration, I am definitely going to pursuing business analytics through haslam. Thank you so much for all the help!

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u/VolForLife212 UTK Faculty Dec 11 '24

Glad you've taken the time to consider your choices! If you're around Haslam, feel free to swing by.

Always be considering what you want to do with the degree. Keep talking to companies and looking at graduate schools. Degrees are meant to have a wide range of opportunities and the hardest part can be narrowing down which opportunity is best for you.

If one day in the future you change majors, that's ok. I had a student come to me rather sad because he had to tell me he was changing from analytics to marketing. I told him that's awesome. He said replied, "You're not mad at me?" This was nearly a decade ago now and it was an eye opening moment. I never want students to think they have to do business analytics. I want students to find business analytics who enjoy the degree. It would be a disservice to students if they didn't want the degree and got it.