Budget assistant vs cost analyst

The differences between budget assistants and cost analysts can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a budget assistant and a cost analyst. Additionally, a budget assistant has an average salary of $58,242, which is higher than the $54,158 average annual salary of a cost analyst.

The top three skills for a budget assistant include payroll, purchase orders and financial systems. The most important skills for a cost analyst are cost analysis, financial analysis, and cost estimates.

Budget assistant vs cost analyst overview

	Budget Assistant	Cost Analyst
Yearly salary	$58,242	$54,158
Hourly rate	$28.00	$26.04
Growth rate	3%	3%
Number of jobs	895	60,034
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 65%	Bachelor's Degree, 74%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	4	4

Budget assistant vs cost analyst salary

Budget assistants and cost analysts have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Budget Assistant	Cost Analyst
Average salary	$58,242	$54,158
Salary range	Between $37,000 And $91,000	Between $39,000 And $73,000
Highest paying City	Boston, MA	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	Maine	Virginia
Best paying company	American Water	General Motors
Best paying industry	Professional	Automotive

Differences between budget assistant and cost analyst education

There are a few differences between a budget assistant and a cost analyst in terms of educational background:

	Budget Assistant	Cost Analyst
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 65%	Bachelor's Degree, 74%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Budget assistant vs cost analyst demographics

Here are the differences between budget assistants' and cost analysts' demographics:

	Budget Assistant	Cost Analyst
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 28.3% Female, 71.7%	Male, 54.2% Female, 45.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.9% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 16.3% Asian, 8.8% White, 57.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%	Black or African American, 10.1% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 16.1% Asian, 8.6% White, 59.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%
LGBT Percentage	13%	13%

Differences between budget assistant and cost analyst duties and responsibilities

Budget assistant example responsibilities.

Manage credit card revenue reporting and reconciliations for multiple credit card merchant accounts which include recommending and implementing process improvements.
Enter and track requisitions in PeopleSoft.
Enter time and attendance for staff and work-study students in PeopleSoft.
Design budget logistics systems, which improve support without additional inspections.
Maintain logistics property accountability and life cycle support planning for equipment.
Process and monitor bi-weekly payroll for all personnel including faculty and staff.

Cost analyst example responsibilities.

Manage general ledger expense accounts assign to ERP implementation project.
Develop, maintain financial models/applications (VBA Excel/Access) to automate and streamline business processes and perform financial analysis.
Perform cost control, revenue analysis and variance analysis for several DOD contracts.
Identify parts that need to be realign to correct WBS s in order to bring costs inline.
Ensure that purchase orders and work orders are setup in accordance with establish DuPont procedures and appropriate WBS structures.
Perform fixed asset and manufacturing accounting within ERP system.

Budget assistant vs cost analyst skills

Common budget assistant skills

Payroll, 16%
Purchase Orders, 10%
Financial Systems, 6%
Budget Preparation, 5%
Financial Data, 5%
Financial Resources, 3%

Common cost analyst skills

Cost Analysis, 8%
Financial Analysis, 6%
Cost Estimates, 6%
Data Analysis, 4%
DOD, 4%
Variance Analysis, 4%