Statistical Representation of
Skills Required
of Systems Analyst Applicants
In order to assemble the following statistics I gathered 26 advertisments for Systems Analyst positions from The TorontoStar, www.JobShark.com, and www.globecareers.com.
As a means of analysing the "real world" skills requirements I devised a list of the most commonly requested skills, then I studied each advertisement in order to count the number of advertisements that requested each skill. The following table summarizes those findings.
Note: The top three most requested
kills were
1)
Communication Skills
2)
Programming Knowledge
3) CS
degree (or equivalent degree)
| Desired Skill or Qualification | Number of Requests | Percentage Employer Request | Rank of Importance |
Communication Skills |
14 |
54 |
1 |
Programming Knowledge |
12 |
46 |
2 |
| Computer Science Degree (or Equivalent) |
11 | 42 | 3 |
Database Knowledge |
10 |
38 |
4 |
>5 yrs. Experience |
8 |
31 |
5 |
Analysis Skills |
8 |
31 |
5 |
Interpersonal Skills |
7 |
27 |
6 |
UNIX Knowlegde |
7 |
27 |
6 |
Windows Knowledge |
6 |
23 |
7 |
MS Office |
6 |
23 |
7 |
2-5 yrs. Experience |
5 |
19 |
8 |
Time Management Skills |
5 |
19 |
8 |
Leadership Ability |
5 |
19 |
8 |
0-2 yrs. Experience |
3 |
12 |
9 |
Problem Solving Skills |
3 |
12 |
9 |
Customer Service Skills |
3 |
12 |
9 |
Hardware Knowledge |
3 |
12 |
9 |
Technical School/College Diploma |
2 |
8 |
10 |
Organizational Skills |
2 |
8 |
10 |
Unspecified Bachelor's Degree |
1 |
4 |
11 |
Mainframe Knowledge |
1 |
4 |
11 |
I followed the same procedure same for the job decriptions. After devising a list of the common advertised job activities, I counted the number of advertisements which listed each activity. The results are summarized in the table below.
Note: The three top most advertised job activities were:
1)
Systems Design, Implementation
2)
Providing Technical Support
3)
Systems Analysis, Lead Team, Documentation
Job Activity |
Number of Advertisements |
Percentage Employers Advertised |
Rank of Importance |
Systems Design |
10 |
38 |
1 |
Implementation |
10 |
38 |
1 |
Technical Support |
9 |
35 |
2 |
Systems Analysis |
6 |
23 |
3 |
Lead Team |
6 |
23 |
3 |
Documentation |
6 |
23 |
3 |
Requirements Gathering |
5 |
19 |
4 |
Testing |
5 |
19 |
4 |
Maintenance |
4 |
15 |
5 |
Coding |
4 |
15 |
5 |
Database Administration |
3 |
12 |
6 |
Training |
3 |
12 |
6 |