8 Business Analyst Skills Every UCSD Business Economics Major Should Develop: Amy’s Story

Business analysts document business processes, outline business challenges, and analyze data to develop and communicate key insights about a company or project. To perform their jobs and deliver the most useful insights, business analysts rely on a varied suite of soft skills and hard skills developed during college and through professional experience. Building business analysis skills early on in college empowers students to expand their professional networks and prepares them for success in corporate and entrepreneurial roles.

To learn more about how students can develop and strengthen their business analysis skills during college, we spoke with Polygence alumna Amy Wang. Amy is currently in the Business Economics program at UC San Diego. Amy shared her journey with us and outlined her essential skills for success, which we’ll discuss in detail in this article.

Why Business Analyst Skills Matter for UCSD Business Economics Majors

Corporations rely on accurate and insightful data analyses to make important decisions about developing business models, maximizing efficiency, and growing their teams. The B.S. program in Business Economics at UCSD aims to teach students the core principles of business disciplines, along with micro- and macroeconomic theories. Students with strong business analyst skills from outside of the classroom are prepared to connect theory to practice, aligning their studies with real-life business model development.

Amy’s Polygence project is an excellent example of how students can develop business analysis skills early on in their training to stand out in college and beyond. Amy completed her project during the COVID-19 pandemic. During this period, she noticed a shortage of eggs at the supermarket. Working in her local community, she decided to “build up a channel between the farmers and the people who needed eggs.” With guidance from her mentor, she conducted detailed market research, made a business model, designed an app, and even presented her business pitch.

With her Polygence project, Amy developed key business analysis skills that have directly informed her studies at UCSD.

Challenges UCSD Business Economics Students Face in Skill Development

The business community at UCSD — which includes the Business Economics major as well as clubs related to business, finance, marketing, and others — is a rigorous and challenging environment. Students are often required to:

• Balance academics with extracurricular organizations

• Apply theoretical concepts in hands-on scenarios

• Manage multiple demands on their limited time

• And navigate other challenges

Given these complexities, it can be challenging for students to develop the skills needed to maximize their success. Here are the 8 key business analysis skills that Amy recommends students focus on to meet these challenges and to amplify their careers at UCSD and beyond.

Building Technical Skills with Tools and Software

While soft skills like communication and adaptability are essential, today’s business analysts are also expected to be fluent in technical tools. At UCSD and beyond, students can get a head start by learning:

• Excel (advanced functions & pivot tables): The foundation for organizing and analyzing data.

• SQL: The language of databases, allowing you to query and manage large datasets.

• Python or R: Coding languages widely used for data modeling and advanced analytics.

• Tableau or Power BI: Visualization platforms that transform raw numbers into stories stakeholders can understand.

Amy’s experience designing her business app shows the importance of pairing creativity with technical skills. UCSD students can begin exploring these tools through online tutorials, Polygence mentorship projects, or business clubs with analytics case competitions.

Turning Projects into a Professional Portfolio

One way students can stand out is by turning class assignments or Polygence projects into portfolio-ready work. For example, Amy could highlight her app design process through:

• Screenshots of wireframes or prototypes

• Survey data from her market research

• Charts summarizing her SWOT analysis

• A short written reflection on what she learned

Portfolios not only showcase technical competence but also demonstrate real-world problem-solving. Students should also update their resumes and LinkedIn profiles to include project outcomes, using quantifiable language like: “Conducted 20+ interviews with farmers and consumers to inform business model and app design.”

Preparing for Career Launch: Interviews and Beyond

Finally, as students prepare for internships or full-time roles, they’ll need to connect their skills to interview questions and career goals. Common questions include:

• “How would you approach analyzing a dataset with missing values?”

• “Describe a time when you had to communicate complex findings to a non-technical audience.”

• “How would you evaluate the success of a new business model?”

Students like Amy can draw on their Polygence projects for answers. For example, she might explain how she translated farmer interviews into insights that shaped her app design. These narratives show employers that you can apply classroom and project learning in the real world.

Amy’s 8 Must-Have Business Analyst Skills for UCSD Students

Conducting Market Research

Amy lists market research as one of the most important skills for future business analysts, and one that she began developing during high school. For her Polygence project, she created a business model to connect farmers and consumers, and began by studying the market. “I did a lot of surveys and interviews with farmers and local communities,” she remembers, “to see what they wanted. I even went to the farms and interviewed the farmers to understand how they sold their eggs.” Amy conducted market research on how eggs were bought and sold in her community, allowing her to understand the needs of both the customers and the producers.

SWOT Analysis

After concluding the market research phase of her project, Amy conducted a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis. Business analysts use the SWOT framework to assess the strategic position of a project or system and to inform relevant decision-making:

• Strengths are the aspects of the business that create advantages compared to others.

• Weaknesses are the areas of the business that result in disadvantages.

• Opportunities are elements in the market environment that the business could use to its advantage.

• Threats are elements in the market that could weaken the business’ position.

The ability to conduct an effective SWOT analysis is a valuable skill for UCSD Business Economic students to develop.

Value Proposition Development

A value proposition is a component of an overall marketing strategy that clarifies the unique benefits of a product or service. Being able to develop and then successfully communicate a value proposition to future customers is another essential for students at UCSD who, like Amy, are interested in business and marketing. Amy says she also strengthened her skills in this area during the completion of her Polygence project.

Business Model Canvas Design

Visualizing key business components is another important analysis skill that Amy highlights. Being able to visually map out, connect, and assess the various pieces of her business model allowed her to strengthen her idea and brainstorm with her research program mentor.

Presentation and Communication Skills

Creating and delivering compelling pitches and reports is a skill that Business and Business Economics majors frequently rely on throughout their coursework and extracurricular opportunities. Aspiring entrepreneurs must craft and deliver exceptional business pitches to communicate the value of their product and their business plan. Furthermore, after graduation, business analysts are expected to effectively communicate key insights in meetings and presentations with stakeholders. Amy notes that presenting her business model and app design as part of her Polygence project helped her strengthen this valuable skill.

Time Management

Balancing classes, clubs, and personal time effectively is essential to finding success in UCSD’s Business Economics program. “Classes can be from 8 AM to 9 PM,” Amy notes. “I remember at first I felt like I had so much freedom that I didn’t know what to do with it.” Time management is a life skill that is valuable not only during college, but also throughout professional careers in business.

Networking and Community Building

Joining clubs has enabled Amy to connect with peers and build her network outside of the classroom. “I joined three clubs that I was interested in,” she says: “a business club for entrepreneurship, a Chinese club called Cesa for international students, and a table tennis club because I used to play in elementary school… I remember one day I finished classes and then went to table tennis practice, plus some business meetings where we worked on business plan proposals just for fun.” 

The international community at UCSD has been especially impactful for Amy’s growth: “Since I grew up in Shanghai, China, before middle school, I wanted to meet more Chinese students. So I joined Cesa, the Chinese club. We celebrated our own festivals together. I also became an officer, and I helped organize activities like hiking and camping. That helped me practice my team-organizing skills.”

Adaptability and Openness to New Opportunities

Finally, Amy’s commitment to exploring new opportunities and evolving career goals has amplified her development during her early college career. She says her Polygence project shaped her career goals: according to her, it “made me realize I wanted to study business economics in college.” And, although she “never imagined” she’d end up in California for college, she says “Choosing a UC school changed my life, and I don’t regret it.”

How Amy Balances Academics, Clubs, and Personal Life

Considering Amy’s busy schedule with classes, clubs, and more, it became essential for her to organize her days and keep track of her various commitments. “After two quarters,” she says, “I learned to plan my days. I chose morning classes because I’m a morning person, then went to the gym in the afternoon, and hung out with friends at night. But it’s important to finish all your assignments on time. A good way is to use an Apple Calendar or Google Calendar with all your class times, assignments, and club activities listed.” Creating and maintaining a structured daily schedule has empowered Amy to go all in on her academic and professional goals.

Advice for Incoming UCSD Business Economics Students

The skills discussed above are crucial for students who are about to enter the Business Economics program at UCSD. We highly recommend students begin developing these skills as soon as possible by completing internship programs and independent projects. Additionally, we recommend using a digital calendar app or a planner to stay organized. This is especially important during the first year of the program, when students must take several core courses and adapt to a faster academic pace than what they are used to from high school. Finally, students should actively engage in campus clubs and activities to connect with peers, find communities, and expand their networks.

Certifications and Continuous Learning

Beyond coursework, students can validate their skills through certifications recognized in the business analysis community. A few examples include:

• CBAP (Certified Business Analysis Professional) – widely respected in the industry.

• IIBA Entry Certificate in Business Analysis (ECBA) – a strong starter credential for undergraduates.

• Microsoft Excel or SQL certifications – demonstrating technical competence.

For UCSD students, adding certifications provides a competitive edge in internships and signals a commitment to professional growth. Pairing these with Polygence projects creates a strong foundation for career readiness.

Looking Forward: From College Skills to Career Success

The valuable business skills that students build in college can be directly applied to internships and post-graduation roles in exciting startups or larger corporations. Most students in UCSD’s Business Economics program use their summers to complete internships, where they must connect theory to practice and solve real-world business problems on a daily basis. Pursuing these hands-on challenges is a must for students hoping to strengthen and solidify their business analyst skills.

Amy’s story demonstrates the importance of a) developing a passion for entrepreneurship, and b) building the necessary skills to translate that passion into business success. Polygence is your ultimate partner to ignite your business analyst career. By completing our research mentorship program or Polygence Pods, you can build a project like Amy’s, strengthening and demonstrating the valuable skills you’ll use in college and beyond. Apply now to launch your business career with Polygence!