Researchers Without Lab-Coats #1: Ready for a Career in Research?

This is a 3 part series.

Part 1: Ready for a Career in Research? Key companies which hire researchers/analysts, and the common problems analysts solve

Part 2: How Far Can a Career in Research Take You? Salaries, career growth, pros and cons of choosing a career in research

Part 3: Key skills required to become a hotshot analyst and how to get hired in a research firm (coming soon)

"There’s a researcher in all of us, waiting to be found" - Urban legend in the occult research sciences

I have been hiring recently, specifically for a technology analyst for my team. As anyone who’s ever hired for any position will tell you, it is a nightmare finding talent. Countless interviews, screening rounds, written tests, skype interviews, in-person….. the list goes on and on.

But hiring for research? That’s an entirely different ballgame.

The problems start right at the definitional level. The mythical creature called the technology research analyst exists; but at least 80% of the photos google images displays for “researcher” feature lab-coat wearing scientists. Not that I am anti-science – but that’s not the kind of researcher I mean when I say research. Google or LinkedIn the words “Technology Research Analyst” and you’ll go down another rabbit hole, bringing up people who know coding – SAP, ABAP, Python, Ruby – all of which are amazing but have nothing to do with what a technology analyst, as it relates to research, is. It’s not “Business Analyst” either, which is a role that IT Services companies have created and largely own now, and which deals with processes, or so I’m told.

It is extremely difficult to even explain to people what research is, and why technology researchers don’t wear lab-coats. I’ve been a career analyst for many years now and I still struggle to explain what I do to my father.

If I can’t even explain, how can I possibly hire you?

So, here’s my attempt at creating the blue book for research – what it is, key companies which hire researchers/analysts, and the common problems analysts solve. In part 2 of this 3-part blog, let’s talk about typical career paths, salaries, and the pros and cons of being an analyst. Part 3 will deal with key skills required to become a hotshot analyst and how to get hired in a research firm. Psst…I have a #Cheatsheet.

Gather round the fire, guys. This is a nail-biter.

Let’s begin by looking for what already exists, and find areas that haven’t been written about. Caroline Dennington & Ludovic Leforestier, both veteran analyst relations professionals, last took a crack at this topic in 2013 in a report titled “Who are industry analysts and what do they do?”. I love this report and parts of it are still relevant. The one thing it misses, likely by design, is the inclusion of analysts in the Big 4s (The Big 4 firms are EY, PwC, Deloitte, and KPMG) and other captive research units (research units in larger firms such as Accenture and IBM, where research is not typically sold as a product but underpins things). There is a reason they give such research units a miss: analyst relations exist to influence and collaborate with independent industry influencers. By working for a Big 4, your independence to recommend a solution from your competitor becomes compromised to a degree. This is not to say that you can’t have independent opinions; you just need to be subtle and have very strong data to back you up when you point out negative events at companies, as they may be alliance partners or even clients. It is also important that you figure out solutions and not just point out problems.

However, in terms of a research career, these firms are big employers and extremely important. I will cover them as well. I believe that the analyst relations industry needs to co-opt these researchers as they’re leaving valuable influencer money on the table. For a comparison, consider this: Gartner, the largest analyst firm has ~820 analysts. The top 5-10 analyst firms report similar analyst headcount, and everyone else is orders of magnitude smaller. Accenture Research has ~250 analysts today, with an aggressive growth plan.

Who is a Researcher, Really?

I’m going to borrow the headline from my current employer and say that research is the art and science of “uncovering insights and shaping trends”. Researchers use a variety of data sources, methods, and tools to explore issues in-depth and come up with conclusions to business/market problems. They are often subject matter experts in their area and tend to be strongly opinionated about their space. They rely on data, knowledge, and proximity to customer and vendor preferences to take an informed view of situations. They can be articulate communicators, who can explain a problem and solution to technical as well as non-technical audiences. They are great at breaking down a large and complex problem into bite-sized actionable items.

In one sentence, researchers excel at finding solutions to problems shrouded in ambiguity.

And that’s something AI will not automate anytime soon. That’s right, I went there, Alexa! I’d like to see you write this blog.

Researchers are investigators, problem solvers, master articulators, and they thrive despite ambiguity.

What Kind of Firms Employ Technology Researchers?

Researchers are extremely valuable to wide variety of firms. Here’s a rough breakdown:

Source: My experiences, observations and industry know-how. Some of these firms have evolved to do many other things now.

Broadly, there are 6 types of firms that employ research professionals, and 2 more if you consider areas that are distinct industries in their own right (7 and 8) - their applicability is much wider. I’m going to talk about 1-6 in this post for the purposes of this blog.

What do Technology Analysts do and What Kind of Problems do they Solve?

Depends on the firm really. It’s usually a mix and match among 3 major types of activities. Bear in mind that there are more types of research than just these 3 (think Harris Interactive, 10EQS, the UN, and WHO that conduct different types of research). My experiences and writing hover around tech specifically.

1.      Independent influencer providing buy/sell/deliver advice to 3rd parties (Yelp for ICT/Industry) – Most information, communication, and technology (ICT) analyst firms and vertical/industry analyst firms are valued for their independent opinion on technologies, vendors, and markets. Researchers and analysts in these companies provide trusted recommendations and reviews of technology solutions and how well it would suit their clients, considering what they already have. They do this with a solid footing in changing market dynamics, technology developments, and other factors that might affect demand and supply of technology. I’ve done this countless number of times while working for Ovum.

2.      Syndicated research, thought leadership, point of views (help me build eminence) – Firms 1, 2, 3 and 6 from the list above publish some form of syndicated research for a variety of C-suite audiences. They value analysts who can help them create eminence in a crowded and noisy marketplace. In an ICT analyst world, a good example would be my ex-colleague and Tech guru Tony Baer, talking about ubiquitous AI or looking under the hood of Amazon Neptune.

Big 4s all are all big (bad pun?) on thought leadership, tackling extremely complicated and broad topics with wide social impact, head-on. A great example is Accenture Research’s Barbara Harvey, who has held the mantle of gender equality research for many years, most recently publishing a path-breaking paper for the International Women’s day titled, “When She Rises, We All Rise”. I’m part of the core team for “Exponential IT” research. There’s something for everyone, and tons more of that where it came from. Take a look.

3.      Client enablement/market intelligence (Make me smarter to sell, deliver, execute better) –

All categories of firms above have the need for market intelligence, even if they are not-for-profit (even they have customers). Companies value researchers who analyse market data, understand demand, supply, and the drivers for them. Analysts help management make tactical as well as strategic decisions in areas such as market opportunity, market penetration strategy, and market development. This is usually for internal consumption as understandably companies consider this their competitive advantage. A great example is the head of Accenture’s Technology practice for the UKI, Zahra, who unabashedly loves this kind of research from my team, but I have no examples to share here. If I told you I would have to …. recruit you.

Final thoughts

Parts 2 and 3 coming soon.

Willing to give research a chance? Know someone who might? Share this post widely and have a look at Accenture careers. Or at the other firms I pointed out in the figure above. If you want a flavour of working in research, a lot of firms, including Accenture, offer summer internships.

Need career advice from a #Researcher4Life? You know where to find me.

Welcome to Research, my friend. See you Monday.

#Opinions are my own and not the views of my employer.