How To Become A Business Analyst/Manager: What It Is and Career Path

What is a business analyst/manager and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Rebecca Sarver

A business analyst/manager find ways to increase productivity and reduce costs and serve as a liaison between IT and business teams. They also determine operational objectives, manage project analysts and other staff, and write project schedules. They are required to travel frequently in order to meet clients. Such professionals are hired by organizations that want to streamline their business interests and increase profitability.

The tasks that you will be performing within this capacity include, but are not limited to, creating budgets and verifying them, managing and overseeing the staff, hiring and training staff, increasing productivity, writing schedules, and reducing the organization's expenses by cutting costs and other means.

Essential skills needed for the position include critical thinking, problem-solving, management, communication, objectivity, and familiarity with computer software. Educational requirements include a bachelor's degree in business management or a similar field. Moreover, companies prefer an individual who has five years or more of related work experience in business or management.

The position comes with generous monetary compensation. The average hourly salary of a business analyst/manager is $50.53, which amounts to $105,096 annually. The career is expected to grow in the near future and create more opportunities across the United States.

What general advice would you give to a business analyst/manager?

Rebecca Sarver

Lecturer in Human Services Studies, Elmira College

Listen more than you talk. There is so much to be learned from clients, seasoned human service workers, and the community that you work within. By listening and observing versus always feeling compelled to speak, you will learn job skills, people skills, and your clients' needs.

ScoreBusiness Analyst/ManagerUS Average

Salary

8.1

Avg. Salary $117,198

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.8

Growth rate 11%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.17%

Asian 14.69%

Black or African American 7.60%

Hispanic or Latino 8.57%

Unknown 4.46%

White 64.52%

Gender

female 46.55%

male 53.45%

Age - 43

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 43

Stress level

6.8

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.7

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

2.2

Work life balance is very poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a business analyst/manager

Explore business analyst/manager education requirements

Most common business analyst/manager degrees

Bachelor's

68.3 %

Master's

18.1 %

Associate

9.7 %

Start to develop specific business analyst/manager skills

Skills	Percentages
Business Analysis	12.96%
Project Management	11.87%
Business Process	8.84%
Sigma	7.66%
QA	4.93%

Complete relevant business analyst/manager training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New business analyst/managers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a business analyst/manager based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real business analyst/manager resumes.

Research business analyst/manager duties and responsibilities

Enhance CRM database model to effectively manage company's interactions with customers, clients, and sales prospects.
Manage CRM database including pipeline and forecasts.
Lead development of custom quoting tool build in Salesforce from requirements definition to implementation.
Work with the testing team in coming up with test plans and conduct UAT sessions as well as chaired UAT meetings.

Prepare your business analyst/manager resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your business analyst/manager resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a business analyst/manager resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

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