Do business systems analysts make good money?
With the boom in small businesses, business systems analysts are in great demand to aid such companies to grow their scale of operations. According to the BLS, business systems analysts are projected to grow by 14% by 2028, and this number is set to increase in accordance with the popularity of startups.
While business systems analysts assess growth opportunities for companies, computer system analysts design computer systems to achieve the same. An average computer systems analyst salary is USD 90,920.
Quantitative Analyst, IT Business Analyst, and Management Analyst are all careers that focus on a single aspect of boosting company growth, such as finance, technology, and management. The opportunities to advance your career within this field are truly endless!
To excel in this career, you must stay updated with in-demand skills, such as business analysis, SQL, project management, SAP, etc. In addition to that, possessing certifications will bump your expertise level and deem you worthy of higher-paying jobs.
Here are some popular queries for exploring the key factors of business systems analyst salary:
- Where should I work as a business systems analyst?
- Which cities offer the most job opportunities?
- What is the career outlook for business systems analysts?
- How to become a business system analyst?
- What business analyst certifications should I take?
Average Business Systems Analyst Salary
The yearly average business analyst salary in the US is:
USD 59,262 for entry-level business systems analysts
USD 77,519 for mid-career business systems analysts with 4-9 years of experience
USD 89,239 for experienced business system analysts with 10+ years of experience.
Top Companies Hiring Business System Analyst
While the base business analysts salary is more or less stagnant across the board, certain benefits set some companies apart from the rest. Such companies focus on providing the best possible conditions to their employees that will help them boost their growth.
Here are a few companies that offer the best business systems analyst salary:
The technology tycoon offers a business systems analyst salary of $159,317, going as high as $172,538 for a senior business systems analyst salary.
A typical Google business systems analyst salary can be $153,411, aside from bonuses. An average senior business systems analyst salary can go up to $182,977.
Intuit employees get USD 128,033 as an average salary for business systems analysts. However, a senior business systems analyst can be anywhere from USD 111K to USD 140K.
Among the highest is Box with an average business systems analyst salary of USD 143,702, with their senior positions ranging anywhere from USD 161K to USD 174K.
Cisco has a yearly average business systems analyst salary of USD 111,595, with business systems analyst managers being paid USD 157,552. The senior positions get a yearly salary of USD 126K to USD 171K.
The average business systems analyst salary at Apple is USD 131,884. The senior business systems analyst salary can vary from USD 159K to USD 173K.
Also Read: What is the Average Business Intelligence Analyst Salary?
Highest Paying Cities for Business Systems Analyst Salary in the U.S.
Business systems analyst salary can vary depending on which city you’re working in. Statistics suggest that California is one of the highest paying cities for business system analysts.
| City | Business System Analyst Salary |
|---|---|
| Sunnyvale, California | $114,783 |
| Santa Clara, California | $108,551 |
| Mountain View, California | $90,000 |
| San Francisco, California | $94,625 |
| Jersey City, New Jersey | $85,000 |
| New York, New York | $78,918 |
| Seattle, Washington | $81,909 |
| San Jose, California | $83,289 |
| Irvine, California | $89,565 |
Also Read: What Is the Trending Senior Business Analyst Salary?
Ideal Business Systems Analyst Career Path To Follow
Is business systems analyst a good career?
The career prospects for business systems analysts are extensive. While each seems similar, they cater to different parts of growing businesses.
IT Business Analyst
Through their knowledge of IT, software, and business components, IT business analysts manage business projects that focus on technology.
A step up from business systems analysts, they have a deep understanding of operating systems and data requirements to make strategic decisions. IT project managers under the same heading earn a yearly average of USD 97,312.
Data Scientist
By extracting huge data sets and interpreting them, Data scientists are pioneers in enabling data-driven decision-making.
They possess strong technical skills including Python, Hadoop, and SQL, and they earn a yearly average of USD 120,000.
Quantitative Analyst
By creating and implementing mathematical models to back up financial decisions, Quantitative Analysts make sure that businesses make smart decisions to minimize errors.
They are also called financial engineers and are among the highest-paid jobs, with a yearly average of USD 116,000. Quantitative analysts are among the higher range of the pay spectrum because of their strong educational background that usually involves a master's degree.
Information Security Analyst
Responsible for protecting companies from cyber attacks, Information Security Analysts analyze and interpret security data and monitor companies’ IT systems and networks.
They strengthen a company’s security systems and are well-versed in detecting intrusions. They earn a yearly salary of USD 98,000.
Management Analyst
Constantly strategizing ways to improve company processes and control budgets, Management Analysts function to increase revenue through smart decisions. While they are similar to IT business analysts, they usually consult other companies rather than working for a single company.
They specialize in departments like IT, finance, etc., and are experts to improve a company's prospects. Owing to their flexibility in educational requirements, management analysts earn USD 83,000 every year.
Solutions Architect
By understanding the inner workings of systems, Solutions Architects determine how technical changes can affect a system and develop functional solutions that resolve business roadblocks.
Solutions Architects are revered job positions that greatly contribute to the growth of a company. They earn an average salary of USD 122,000 per year.
Also Read: How to Land the Best Business Analyst Jobs?
Important Business Systems Analyst Skills
Higher business systems analyst salaries usually entail a standard degree of expertise in diverse technical skills. One can learn them through certifications or courses, and perfect them through work experience.
Business Systems Analyst Technical Skills
Since business systems analysts deliver scalable technological solutions for companies’ success, familiarity with networks and hardware is a necessity. Here are a few skills that recruiters would need to see in your business systems analyst resume.
Performance Tuning
Business systems analysts need to be familiar with the workings of computers, routers, programs, and networks to understand and solve network issues.
Targeting issues and bottlenecks while trying to adjust system programs and improve the functionality of programs is a revered skill in fast-paced work environments.
Programming Languages
While it is not entirely necessary to know programming languages and coding, it can be useful when collaborating with other members of the company.
C++ and Java are some of the few programming languages that you can boast on your business systems analyst resume.
Computer Platforms
To operate in tech work environments, familiarity with operating systems like Windows, Mac, Linux, and AIX is a must!
As business systems analysts, you can list these in your resume to show recruiters that your expertise in diverse technologies makes you a flexible employee.
Hardware
Since business systems analyst performs deep dives into technical equipment, one must be acquainted with the functioning of hardware. It is also an important skill for gauging equipment damage and working to repair systems.
Expertise in information on storage, computing capacity, routing equipment, printers, and other Bluetooth devices are some of the hardware skills that business systems analysts would need.
Network Structure
A major part of the work that business systems analysts do is handling computers on the network, so it is crucial to maintain familiarity with computer networks, structures, topologies, and the specifics of managing networks.
By taking relevant courses and gaining practical experience, business systems analysts can leverage this important skill to get jobs with a high business systems analyst salary.
Data Structures
To derive robust solutions for resolving business problems, business systems analysts must be familiar with handling data. They should have experience operating databases and acquaint themselves with tools like Oracle and FoxPro.
Computer Security
In uncertain times where security issues are more fragile than ever, business systems analysts help to keep computers and networks secure from viruses and other destructive mechanisms.
They work to ensure maximum security of on-site data to keep systems and networks secure and protected to continue their work with minimal instability and disruption.
Also Read: How to Get Higher Business Analyst Salary?
Prepare for Business Systems Analyst Interviews
Once you prepare your business systems analyst resume and cover letter, you must start with your interview prep. There are two parts to every interview, and one part is made of common interview questions like:
- Why should we hire you?
- What are your strengths and weaknesses?
- Why do you want to work here?
The other part is comprised of technical interview questions. Such questions will be harder for you to cook up suddenly in an interview. Hence it is important to prepare beforehand and make sure that your delivery is smooth and convincing.
What Are the Strengths of a Business Analyst?
No set rules have been laid out for business analysts to follow. It is an evolving field, and so, some rules change with each company. Hiring managers pop this question to see how aware you are of your responsibilities.
To answer this question, you must perform a thorough review of their job description and find out what kind of answer they expect from you. Try to gather hints about their company culture and work ethic so you can craft your answer accordingly.
Make sure that you highlight your technical attributes and relate them to company growth. Your job here is to convince recruiters that you are the ultimate candidate.
How Do You Approach Projects?
Recruiters want to know how you go around your job. Instead of being nervous that your technique is inadequate, make sure you explain your techniques properly.
More than delving deep into the technical side of it, make sure that you talk about general deliverables and how you choose different approaches for different projects. Show how you can adapt your skills to requirements.
How Do You Deal with Difficult Associates?
Since a major chunk of your job responsibilities includes coordinating with other people, you must show recruiters that your soft skills are on point. Be professional and do not include any controversial statements.
Some stakeholders can be difficult to communicate with, and working around that will show your charm. You can either bring up a work anecdote or simply talk about how you would handle different situations.
However, remember to follow that in real life as well.
Which Tools Are You Comfortable With?
You could name all the tools you know blankly, or you could take it a step further and describe briefly how you use different tools for different circumstances. Again, check the job description and see what tools they have listed in their requirements section.
Ensure that you cover all tools and show that you have the technical expertise to ace your role.
How Do You Handle Changes to Projects?
Dealing with stakeholders is not an easy task. Hence, hiring managers want to see how you employ your logical reasoning and critical thinking skills.
You could explain what it takes to enforce changes at later stages of a project. Doing so explains that you care about doing your job carefully and completely instead of doing the minimum and getting it done quickly. In short, you care about quantity over quality, which is a quality that most recruiters direly care about.
Requirements for a Business Systems Analyst
Since business system analysts are important jobs with extensive responsibilities, there are certain requirements to qualify for them.
Get Basic Academic Qualifications
Along with strong computer skills, business system analysts can possess a bachelor's or masters in the following fields:
- Computer Science
- Computer Information Systems
- Business Administration
Any related field with similar courses can also suffice to qualify for a business system analyst job.
Training and Certifications to Become a Business Systems Analyst
For that added step of building your expertise, it will be greatly advantageous to gain certifications from authentic institutes. It will help your recruiters assess your expertise and give you brownie points for actively seeking out opportunities to enhance your knowledge.
If you are a fresher, it is of utmost importance to acquire valuable certifications to increase your entry level business systems analyst salary.
Business System Analyst Certifications for Freshers:
- IIBA Entry Certificate in Business Analysis (ECBA)
- IQBBA Certified Foundation Level Business Analyst (CFLBA)
Business System Analyst Certifications for Mid-Career Professionals:
Business System Analyst Certifications for Experts:
Key Takeaways
Once you build your skills through professional experience and certifications, it can be a cakewalk to travel up the career ladder and increase your business system analyst salary. Here is what you can take away from this blog:
- Even though an average business systems analysts salary can be around a stagnant number of USD 61,680, few companies like NVIDIA, Google, Box, Apple, etc. are among the highest paying
- A few California cities like Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, Mountain View, and San Francisco host companies that offer higher business systems analysts salary
- Jobs like IT Business Analyst, Information Security Analyst, Management Analyst, Solutions Architect are a few promising careers that business systems analysts can look forward to
- Gaining valuable experience through certifications can greatly help business systems analysts develop their expertise and explore in-demand skills
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