Budget assistant vs senior cost analyst

The differences between budget assistants and senior 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 senior cost analyst. Additionally, a senior cost analyst has an average salary of $77,845, which is higher than the $58,242 average annual salary of a budget assistant.

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

Budget assistant vs senior cost analyst overview

	Budget Assistant	Senior Cost Analyst
Yearly salary	$58,242	$77,845
Hourly rate	$28.00	$37.43
Growth rate	3%	3%
Number of jobs	895	53,872
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 65%	Bachelor's Degree, 78%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	4	4

Budget assistant vs senior cost analyst salary

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

	Budget Assistant	Senior Cost Analyst
Average salary	$58,242	$77,845
Salary range	Between $37,000 And $91,000	Between $57,000 And $105,000
Highest paying City	Boston, MA	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	Maine	California
Best paying company	American Water	Apple
Best paying industry	Professional	Automotive

Differences between budget assistant and senior cost analyst education

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

	Budget Assistant	Senior Cost Analyst
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 65%	Bachelor's Degree, 78%
Most common major	Business	Accounting
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Budget assistant vs senior cost analyst demographics

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

	Budget Assistant	Senior Cost Analyst
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 28.3% Female, 71.7%	Male, 63.5% Female, 36.5%
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, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 15.6% Asian, 7.9% White, 60.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%
LGBT Percentage	13%	13%

Differences between budget assistant and senior 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.

Senior cost analyst example responsibilities.

Lead HFM and Essbase implementation efforts, including training of field and headquarters personnel.
Prepare and post journal entries, prepare balance sheet reconciliations and analysis of plant performance for presentation to internal management.
Work also include preliminary stages of SOX compliance and implementation at the plant level.
Run the entire tests for the SOX quarterly audit and check for any issue for the audit.
Finance representative on ERP system implementation team.
Prepare month-end accruals and perform month-end/year-end close.

Budget assistant vs senior 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 senior cost analyst skills

Financial Analysis, 9%
Cost Analysis, 6%
Cost Estimates, 5%
Reconciliations, 5%
DOD, 4%
Variance Analysis, 4%

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Budget Assistant vs Senior Cost Analyst

Updated January 8, 2025

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