Earning such a degree provides professionals with the technical and practical skills needed to rise in the ranks and ultimately become a leader in this field. Examples include the key assumptions check, analysis of competing hypotheses, Devil's advocacy, Red Team Analysis, and Alternative Futures/Scenarios analysis, among others.[20]. Such an analyst might have mentioned that while aluminum has been used, maraging steel is the material of choice for Zippe-type centrifuges. Effective intelligence analysis must ultimately be tailored to the end user.

Recent scholarship on theories of the sociology of knowledge raise important caveats. To make the best use of opportunity analysis, there needs to be a set of objectives for one's own country, preferably with some flexibility to them. Discuss the relative likelihood of all the hypotheses, not just the most likely one. But what does an intelligence analyst actually do? This is especially true if wheels are already in motion. This is especially important in specialized areas, when the analyst may be the only one that reads every field report, every technical observation on a subject. Master’s in Strategic Intelligence and Analysis. Analyze how sensitive your conclusion is to a few critical items of evidence. "Coordination with peers is necessary...If you think you are right, and the coordinator disagrees, let the assessment reflect that difference of opinion and use a footnote, called a reclama,[27] inside the U.S. intelligence community if necessary. This is a challenging and stressful position that requires a high degree of mental fortitude including the ability to work through disasters and move past mistakes. HUMINT revealed that a single Mach 3.2 flight of the MiG wrecked the engines beyond hope of repair, and the cost of replacement was prohibitive. An analyst will work both in the office and in the field working with classified and public information to complete investigations and create assessments on their targets. Scott W. O'Connor is a writer and SEO specialist for Northeastern University. She might consider enemy Order of Battle records and help prepare reports on captured enemy material. This page was last edited on 22 August 2020, at 21:56. It could be the Best Decision You Ever Make! Just because someone is your boss, is a higher grade, or has been around longer than you does not mean he or she knows more about your account than you do.

Gather, analyze, correlate, or evaluate information from a variety of resources, such as law enforcement databases. The qualities that employers are looking for include not only a high degree of analytical skill but also extraordinary patience, creativity, and interpersonal skills. Although the product or outcome of intelligence analysis may vary between specific professions in this field, the process remains the same. As an analyst, I put my university research skills to good use, becoming a subject‑matter expert. A: Intelligence analysts are employed by government or law enforcement agencies, the military, or private organizations to analyze data and other information and to identify and prevent potential threats. Elements in the private sector also prize the analytical capabilities of these professionals. An intelligence analyst, then, is a professional who uses this process to gather, analyze, and interpret data and information. Stay up to date on our latest posts and university events. Timeliness includes not only the amount of time required to deliver the product, but also the usefulness of the product to the customer at a given moment. My job description called for me to help prepare the President for making policy decisions, including at meetings with foreign counterparts and other officials...Do you think that after I have spent long weeks shaping the agenda, I have to be told a day or two before the German foreign minister visits Washington why he is coming?". To accomplish this, intelligence analysts must “research carefully, consider multiple sources, and make factually-based, analytical judgments that serve to inform policymakers, either in the public or private sector,” Hagen says. They may have vulnerabilities that could render them impotent, or there may be a reward, not a shared opportunity, that would make them cooperate. "When I was working at State on European affairs, for example, on certain issues I was the Secretary of State. Objectivity is the intelligence analyst's primary asset in creating intelligence that For the product to be useful, the analyst and policymaker need to hear feedback from one another, and they refine both analysis and requirements. Tactical alternatives for advancing stated national policy goals. As Jones and Silberzahn documented in the 2013 volume Constructing Cassandra: Reframing Intelligence Failure at the CIA, 1947–2001, while hypotheses are essential to sorting "signals" from "noise" in raw intelligence data, the variety, types and boundaries of the types of hypotheses an intelligence organization entertains are a function of the collective culture and identity of the intelligence producer.