Companies in nearly every industry are sitting on more data than they know how to use, but few employees can translate that data into decisions the business can act on. Pittsburg State University’s online Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Data Science and Information Systems program prepares professionals to meet the strong demand for leaders who know how to use data to strategically inform business decisions. The curriculum pairs foundational business courses with hands-on training in database management, predictive analytics and data visualization using tools like RStudio, SQL and Tableau. The program is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), a distinction held by fewer than 6% of business schools worldwide.
According to McKinsey & Company, 77% of companies report they lack the data talent and skills needed for mission-critical work like analytics and data management. That gap is pushing employers to look past narrow technical specialists and toward business-trained graduates who can manage data projects while still speaking the language of budgets, strategy and stakeholders. An MBA in data science and information systems sits in the space between the technical and the strategic side of a business, positioning graduates for in-demand leadership opportunities across industries.
Top Careers for MBA in Data Science and Information Systems Graduates
Graduates of Pitt State’s online MBA in Data Science and Information Systems program qualify for a wide range of roles that blend business strategy with data fluency. The list below is not exhaustive, but it reflects the paths employers hire for most often when they need someone who can manage both the numbers and the decisions that follow them.
Data-Driven Business Analyst
A business analyst gathers financial and operational data, tests different scenarios and recommends changes that improve efficiency or profitability. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), professionals in this category, officially termed management analysts, earned a median annual salary of $101,860 in 2025, with employment projected to grow 10% from 2025 to 2035, much faster than the average for all occupations. Professional services firms, financial institutions and government agencies are among the top employers of these analysts, and demand tends to be strongest at companies going through a major operational or technology change.
Marketing Analytics Manager
A marketing analytics manager applies data science skills to customer behavior, campaign performance and return on marketing spend, turning raw metrics into decisions about where a company should invest its marketing budget. BLS reported a median annual salary of $166,790 for marketing managers in 2025, and professionals who bring analytics expertise to the role often command pay toward the higher end of the pay range. Retail, technology and financial services companies are especially active in hiring marketing professionals who can pair creative strategy with quantitative analysis.
Operations Analyst
An operations analyst studies a company’s workflows, supply chain and resource allocation to find ways to cut costs or speed up delivery. BLS classifies this work under operations research analysts, a role with a median annual salary of $88,940 as of 2025. Employment in the field is projected to grow 12% from 2025 to 2035, faster than most business occupations the agency tracks. Manufacturing, logistics, healthcare and financial services organizations all rely on operations analysts to keep complex, data-heavy processes running efficiently.
Business Intelligence Manager
A business intelligence manager leads the team that builds dashboards, reports and data models used across a company, translating data infrastructure decisions into tools that executives and other managers use to make decisions day to day. According to PayScale, these professionals earned an average annual salary of $116,198 in 2026 in the U.S., with pay climbing toward $147,000 for experienced managers. Retail, healthcare, financial services and technology companies all maintain business intelligence teams, and the role is a common landing spot for MBA graduates who lean into the information systems side of this program’s coursework.
Database Manager
A database manager oversees the systems that store, secure and organize a company’s data, working closely with IT and business teams to make sure the right information is available where it is needed. In 2025, BLS reported a combined median annual salary of $126,760 for database administrators and architects, with database architects, who design the systems rather than maintain them, earning a median of $139,500. Healthcare systems, financial institutions and technology companies employ large numbers of database managers, and Pitt State’s information systems coursework in database design and management lines up closely with this career path.
Chief Data Officer Track
A chief data officer sits at the executive level, setting an organization’s overall data strategy, governance and use of analytics and AI. According to PayScale, chief data officers earned an average annual salary of $172,373 in 2026, with pay for experienced executives reaching $287,000. Few professionals step into this role right after graduation, but the combination of business strategy, information systems and analytics training in Pitt State’s online MBA program builds the foundation most chief data officers eventually need, whether that path runs through business intelligence, IT leadership or data governance roles first.
Management Consultant
Management consultants, a term BLS uses interchangeably with the above-mentioned management analyst role, advise organizations on strategy, efficiency and organizational change, often for multiple clients across industries. This work carries the same median salary of $101,860 reported for management analysts, and BLS projects about 94,100 openings a year on average over the next decade as demand for outside expertise grows. Consulting firms, government agencies and large corporations all hire for this role, and an MBA with a data science and information systems concentration gives candidates a technical edge over consultants who come from a general business background.
Salary Ranges by Role and Industry
Salary for MBA in Data Science and Information Systems graduates varies widely by role, industry and years of experience, but nearly every path outlined above pays a meaningful premium over a general business degree without the analytics training. The analyst-level roles outlined above, such as operations analyst and business analyst, post BLS medians in the high $80,000s to just over $100,000, while management and executive-track roles like chief data officer average well past $150,000 once a graduate has built a track record leading data projects. Among data analytics careers broadly, the roles tend to reach those higher figures fastest.
The figures below reflect national median or average pay reported by BLS and PayScale, though compensation depends heavily on location, company size and industry. Roles based in major metro areas or in finance, healthcare and technology tend to pay above these medians, while smaller organizations and nonprofit or government employers often pay somewhat below them.
- Data-driven business analyst, $101,860 median annual salary (BLS, 2025)
- Marketing analytics manager, $166,790 median for marketing managers overall (BLS, 2025)
- Operations analyst, $88,940 median annual salary (BLS, 2025)
- Business intelligence manager, $116,198 average annual salary (PayScale, 2026)
- Database manager, $126,760 median for database administrators and architects (BLS, 2025)
- Chief data officer, $172,373 average annual salary (PayScale, 2026)
- Management consultant, $101,860 median annual salary (BLS, 2025)
These figures represent typical pay nationally, and professionals who take on people-management responsibilities or move into larger organizations often earn above the reported medians. Graduates who pair a second MBA emphasis with this concentration, an option Pitt State offers with just three additional courses, often find that the combined skill set opens doors to higher-paying roles faster than a single specialization would.
How Does the Information Systems Concentration Expand Your Career Options?
The information systems aspect of this concentration is what separates Pitt State’s program from a typical data-focused MBA, opening doors to database and IT leadership roles that a marketing or finance-focused MBA would not reach. Courses like database management train students to design and analyze large, integrated databases and to understand the roles of database managers and analysts within an organization, while data visualization coursework teaches students to turn raw numbers into the dashboards and reports executives rely on. This combination gives graduates a working knowledge of the systems that IT departments manage every day, not just the analytics that sit on top of them.
Graduates who lean into this side of Pitt State’s online MBA in Data Science and Information Systems program often move into information systems MBA careers such as IT project management, systems analysis or enterprise resource planning (ERP) management, paths that that typically require more information systems coursework than many general MBA programs provide. Because the curriculum builds both business strategy and technical systems knowledge, graduates develop skills applicable to data science, database management and IT leadership career paths.
The MBA Advantage in Translating Data Into Business Decisions
A data scientist can build a model, but not every data scientist can convince a chief financial officer to act on what that model shows. MBA in data science and information systems graduates learn to do both, pairing the data science and information systems concentration with MBA core courses such as Financial Strategy, Marketing Strategy and Strategic Management that build the business judgment a stakeholder conversation requires. That combination prepares these specialized leaders to run meetings where technical staff and executives often struggle to understand each other.
This business fluency shows up in day-to-day work such as building a business case for a new analytics tool, explaining why a predictive model’s output should change a pricing decision or presenting a data project’s return on investment to a board. Employers consistently value this hybrid skill set. A technical data science hire often needs a business partner to translate results into a decision, while a Pitt State MBA graduate can do both without waiting on someone else to make the case.
Long-Term Career Trajectory and Earnings Growth
Career growth for MBA in data science and information systems graduates tends to follow one of two tracks: a technical leadership path that moves from analyst to business intelligence manager to chief data officer, or a general management path that moves from analyst into operations, strategy or consulting leadership roles. Both tracks tend to reward the same thing, a proven ability to turn data into decisions that improve a company’s bottom line.
Several of the roles this program prepares graduates for, including management analysts and operations research analysts, carry a Bright Outlook designation from O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor’s database of occupational information, meaning the government expects these fields to grow rapidly over the next several years. That kind of sustained demand may create additional opportunities for career advancement for professionals who keep their analytics and business skills current, and graduates who pursue a second MBA emphasis or learn in-demand tools along the way often see their earnings grow faster than peers without those specialized skills.
Learn more about Pittsburg State University’s online MBA in Data Science and Information Systems program.
About Pitt State’s online MBA in Data Science and Information Systems Program
Pitt State’s 30-credit-hour online MBA in Data Science and Information Systems program is designed for working professionals looking to gain in-demand credentials on a flexible schedule. Coursework covers financial strategy, marketing strategy, leadership and a three-course data science and information systems concentration in database management, predictive analytics and data visualization. The program does not require the GMAT or GRE for admission, and students who already hold a bachelor’s degree in any field can begin core MBA coursework immediately, without prerequisite or foundation courses. Students can also add a second area of emphasis, with options ranging from marketing to healthcare administration, and graduate with two areas of specialization on one diploma.
Pittsburg State University is a public university in Pittsburg, Kansas, and its Gladys A. Kelce College of Business has awarded MBA degrees for 50 years. The college’s faculty bring both classroom teaching and industry experience to the program, and the university offers the program in a fully online format so working adults can complete a graduate business degree in as few as 12 months without pausing their careers.
