How Much Do Business Analysts Make? 2023 Pay Guide and Salary Trends
The yearly average business analyst salary in the USA for various specializations:
- Entry level IT Business Analyst salary: USD 62,744
- USD 80,016 for mid-career business analysts with 4-8 years of experience
- USD 90,364 for an experienced software tester with 10+ years of experience
What does it take to be a Business Analyst?
The job responsibilities of a business analyst are to analyze and identify improvement opportunities in a business process and operations.
They collaborate with management and users to understand how some changes can positively affect the business processes, product/service offerings, and profitability.
They also come up with solutions by coordinating with the IT and finance team while ensuring that the proposed changes are within the capabilities of the tech and finance team.
Business analysts don’t need to have an IT background, but they should have a good understanding of IT systems.
Similarly, it’s not required for business analysts to have specific degrees but a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. Information Technology, Management, is preferred when getting a job as an entry-level business analyst.
If you want to aim for high-level positions, a master’s degree in business might be helpful.
In this article, we will explore the following topics:
- What are the factors affecting Business Analyst’s Salaries?
- What are the salaries of business analysts in unicorn companies?
- What are business analyst salaries based on experience?
- What does a business analyst do on a daily basis?
- What are the skills to learn to become a business analyst?
- What does the career path of a business analyst look like?
- FAQs about business analyst salary
What Are the Factors Affecting Business Analyst’s Salaries?
Not everyone in the world will get the same salary. It varies depending on various factors. If you live in different parts of the world or have expertise in specific industries, you can get different salaries.
Following is a list of factors that influence the salary of business analysts:
- Job responsibilities
- Experience
- Designation hierarchy
- Size of the company
- Qualification
- Skills
- Location
- Type of the company
IT Business Analyst Salary in Unicorn Companies:
The average salary for business analysts in the USA ranges from $70,000 to $90,000 per year.
However, some giant companies in the USA give a good salary package to their business analyst employees.
It’s essential to look at the salary offered by the top companies to have a clear understanding of the market value.
Here are the top-rated companies with lucrative salary packages for business analysts according to Indeed:
| Company | Salary |
|---|---|
| Capital One | $101,709 per year |
| AT&T | $98,621 per year |
| Wells Fargo | $88,664 per year |
| Verizon | $81,224 per year |
| American Express | $69,022 per year |
You can get more knowledge about business analyst jobs to get the highest salary.
What Does a Business Analyst Do in a Software Company?
A business analyst in a software company is responsible for analyzing IT systems and making data-driven suggestions to improve process efficiency.
Here are some of the functions business analysts execute daily::
- Understand business processes and coordinate with cross-functional teams to identify operational challenges
- Stay updated about the latest information technology innovations
- Implement new technologies and IT solutions to improve business processes
- Draft reports and prepared presentations to assist stakeholders with data-driven decision-making
- Coordinate with developers and management to implement process improvements throughout the business
Business Analyst Qualifications
Business analysts for software businesses need to have certain experiences. The following are the qualifications for a business analyst job:
- Strong analytical skills, including report-creation skills
- Experience with managing multiple projects from start to finish by coordinating with developers
- Stronghold in verbal and written communications
- Solution-oriented mind with extreme ability to understand challenges and find solutions
- Well-versed in project management and agile methodologies
What Are Business Analyst Salaries Based on Experience
The salary of an entry-level business analyst may not look very much. But you need to understand the potential to make money in the future from your career, rather than what you are making now.
This section will talk about how different business analyst profiles have different salary ranges based on their experience. Here we go:
1. Entry Level Business System Analyst
The business system analyst position begins with an associate degree and needs 0-2 years of experience in the business analysis field.
The requirement to become an entry-level business system analyst is extremely low. You just need to know the basic business systems concepts and how they interact with the company, and you can get by just fine.
The entry-level business systems don’t generally have a say in decision-making.
The average salary of an entry-level business system analyst is $65,223/year.
2. Intermediate Business System Analyst
If you have worked as an entry-level business system analyst for 2-4 years, you should know business system concepts and database structures.
At this point, you have the experience to devise a project, identify objectives, and develop a system to fulfill your goals.
According to Glassdoor, the median salary of an intermediate business system analyst is $96,535/year.
3. Senior Business System Analyst
If you want to become a senior business system analyst from an intermediate level, you need to have your bachelor’s degree with you.
Till now, you have worked on projects that the upper management wanted you to do. But now, you can lead the projects according to your visions.
However, to do that, you need to be an extremely good communicator, should have conceptual skills, and you need to be able to handle business systems projects from start to finish.
The median salary of an senior business system analyst is $101,740/year.
4. Business System Analyst Consultant
This is the top-level business analyst job you can get. It requires you to have at least 8-10 years of experience in the field.
Your responsibilities here would be to develop processes, procedures, research methods, systems, and solutions to improve business processes.
You will have a birds-eye view of every business process and project; all questions will be directed to you.
The median salary of a business systems analyst consultant is $145,700/year.
What are Business Analyst Skills Required to Become Successful
A business analyst needs to have both technical skills and soft skills to succeed. They should know how to collect and analyze data, understand trends, and how to effectively communicate those findings to stakeholders via written and verbal communications.
Not all business analysts need to have an IT background. However, they need to have some basic skills.
Here are common business analysis skills:
| Business Analysis | Key Skills |
|---|---|
| Written and Verbal Communication | Team Management |
| Project Management | Data Analysis & Visualization |
| Analytical Thinking | Process Modelling |
| Cost-benefit Analysis | Stakeholder Analysis |
| Requirement Analysis | Process Improvement |
| Data Warehousing | SDLC |
| Data Analysis | User Requirements |
| System Enhancements | User Interviews |
| Data Flow Diagrams | Project Planning |
| Business Analysis | Technical Skills |
|---|---|
| SQL Server | Microsoft Visio |
| UAT | JAD |
| UML | SME |
| Windows XP | QA |
| Sharepoint | RUP |
| Requirements Traceability Matrix | XML |
| Waterfall Methodology | Scrum |
| HIPPA | CRM |
| GUI | Jira |
Business Analyst Career Path
Here is a typical career path displayed by Adaptive US:
Business Analyst Career Path Diagram
Frequently Asked Questions about Business Analyst Salary
Q1. How much do senior business analysts make?
Ans. According to Glassdoor, a senior business analyst can make as high as $1,22,464 per year in the United States.
Q2. What is a business analyst's starting salary?
Ans. According to Glassdoor, the starting salary of a business analyst is $81,210 per year.
Q3. What is the business analyst salary in Georgia?
Ans. According to Glassdoor, the average salary for a Business Analyst in Atlanta, Georgia is $92,254 per year.
Q4. How much does a business analyst make per hour?
Ans. According to ZipRecruiter, the average hourly pay for a Business Analyst is $45.90 an hour.
Q5. How much does a Salesforce business analyst make?
Ans. According to Talent.com, the average salary of a Salesforce Business Analyst is $110,000 per year.
Key Takeaways
To become a business analyst, a candidate must have a bachelor’s degree and good experience with business processes and analysis. Candidates must get specialist certifications or master’s degrees to get a higher salary.
Here are some of the key takeaways from the blog:
- The average salary of a business analyst is around USD 56,043 per year.
- If you get a job at a unicorn company, you will get as high as USD 100,000 per year as salary.
- The salary largely depends on the candidate’s skill level, geographic location, experience level, and qualifications.
- In cities like San Francisco and Palo Alto, you will get the highest salary as a business analyst.
If you want to become a business analyst, read about how to become a business analyst and decide for yourself.
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