So you’ve figured out what RPA is and are ready to jump into the WYWM RPA pipeline, or maybe you have been working on the courses for a while and have a new-found love of automation. And now you’re asking yourself, “What exactly are the job opportunities in the RPA industry?”
If you Google “RPA jobs”, you’ll likely notice three positions: RPA Analyst, RPA Developer, and RPA Consultant. Here we will take a look at the distinctions between these roles, and what skill-sets are required and useful for each.
RPA Analyst
The Analyst’s role is to identify which manual processes in a company are suitable for automation, as well as to determine the priority in which the processes should be automated. They have a solid understanding of the business’s structure, priorities and goals, and are the key communicator with the organization stakeholders, the subject matter expert of the process, and the RPA development team. They are responsible for preparing documents such as the PDD (Process Definition Document), which lays out the details of the manual process. Lastly, they monitor and measure the effectiveness of the RPA process through user accountability testing (UAT) to ensure that it is delivering consistent value to the organization.
Because they are the key player between all of the different individuals invested in the RPA project, the Analyst needs to have excellent project management and communication skills. They’re constantly asking questions about the details of the processes and the business’s strategies and goals, and are making sure the processes are in-line with the long-term vision of the company, so analytical thinking and problem-solving skills are a must. It’s also important for them to have a strong understanding of RPA capabilities in order to bridge the gap between the manual process and the automated solution.
The RPA Developer
Typically, there is a team of Developers that work on a project together. The lead developer (often referred to as the RPA Solution Architect) works alongside the Analyst to ensure the process is suitable for automation and then designs the solution. The team of Developers build and test the automation with RPA software such as Blue Prism or UiPath. After UAT is complete, the Developers deploy the solution as well as maintain the bots and troubleshoot when issues arise.
As you can see, the Developer has a much more technical role than the Analyst, so training and hands-on experience in RPA software is vital. In addition to that, knowledge of programming languages such as VB.NET and C# is helpful and sometimes necessary depending on which software is being used. Though not strictly necessary, exposure to data analytics, SQL, and cloud computing might be a plus for certain projects. Overall, the most important quality is that the developer is willing and enthusiastic about learning new skills as the need arises.
The RPA Consultant
A Consultant is essentially an Analyst and Developer rolled into one. Often, Analysts and Developers are internal to a company and design and develop solutions for their own organization. Consultants, on the other hand, typically work at consulting firms and provide solutions to external client organizations. They are hired by the client to assess the organization’s needs and capabilities, and then design and implement automated solutions for them.
A Consultant’s skill set needs to span those of both the Analyst and Developer. As a client-facing role, communication and collaboration skills are paramount, but the ability to design and develop solutions is also important.
Conclusion
So there you have it- the job opportunities in RPA. RPA is a rapidly growing industry, and there’s an ever-increasing demand for implementation in organizations around the world. With that comes a massive need for Analysts, Developers and Consultants who are not only knowledgeable about RPA, but also passionate about upskilling as the industry and technology evolves.