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What is a business analyst/senior developer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025
3 min read
Quoted experts
Eduardo Zambrano,
Jana Carpenter

Business analysts/senior developers are responsible for implementing and supporting business information systems across multiple departments. They create a detailed business analysis and outline problems, opportunities, and solutions for a business. They also help guide businesses in improving processes, products, services, and software through data analysis while straddling the line between IT and the company to help bridge the gap and improve efficiency.

Business analysts/senior developers earn a median sum of $88,000 annually or $42 per hour. They look at how a company operates, conducting research and analyzing data to develop their knowledge and suggesting methods for improving their practices and processes. They primarily help the company make more money, solve existing business problems, and achieve its goals.

Business analysts/senior developers typically hold a bachelor's degree in business or a related field. They are expected to have some years of experience in business analysis or a related field. Some employers prefer candidates with exceptional analytical and thinking skills and can influence stakeholders and work closely with them to determine acceptable solutions.

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

Eduardo ZambranoEduardo Zambrano LinkedIn profile

Professor of Economics, Orfalea College of Business

First, here is some 'technical' advice:
Every Economics graduate should feel very comfortable with coding and data management. This training can be obtained, if your school does not offer it, by attending software and data carpentry workshops online (https://carpentries.org/). A graduate with good Python and R skills, and working knowledge of SQL, will stand out in a crowded field, no matter what sub-field of economics the graduate may be interested in.

Now, here is some 'big picture' advice:
Economic data does not analyze itself, and it does not come from 'nature.' Economic data is the result of the decisions of individuals. To understand data generated by a human activity, you need to think about the incentives that lead individuals to make the decisions that are captured in this data. Therefore, knowledge of econometrics is essential, as it is knowledge of economic theory. What distinguishes Economists from other kinds of data analysts is this emphasis on the understanding that if you do not factor accurately how individuals respond to incentives in the analysis of your data, your review is likely to be flawed or, at least, incomplete. Getting good at this way of data analysis takes many years, and graduates should be prepared to continue learning how to do this well past their college years. With this advice comes a caveat, and an acknowledgment of responsibility: every data analyst must understand that decisions based on data have ethical implications, and can affect some gender or ethnic groups in different ways. These considerations must be explicitly addressed, or the analyst may provide biased and ultimately undesirable advice to the decision-makers.
ScoreBusiness Analyst/Senior DeveloperUS Average
Salary
7.0

Avg. Salary $89,263

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level
5.3

Growth rate 9%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity
5.5
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.19%

Asian 14.60%

Black or African American 10.19%

Hispanic or Latino 10.97%

Unknown 5.00%

White 59.04%

Gender

female 37.73%

male 62.27%

Age - 42
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 - 42
Stress level
5.3

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level
8.5

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance
4.8

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Business analyst/senior developer career paths

Key steps to become a business analyst/senior developer

  1. Explore business analyst/senior developer education requirements

    Most common business analyst/senior developer degrees

    Bachelor's

    70.0 %

    Master's

    21.7 %

    Associate

    5.0 %
  2. Start to develop specific business analyst/senior developer skills

    SkillsPercentages
    Business Development11.17%
    Project Management7.07%
    Financial Models5.30%
    Due Diligence4.17%
    Data Analysis3.97%
  3. Complete relevant business analyst/senior developer training and internships

    Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New business analyst/senior developers 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/senior developer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real business analyst/senior developer resumes.
  4. Research business analyst/senior developer duties and responsibilities

    • Manage desktop and application technical support for project deployment of hospital software and PC upgrade.
    • Manage multiple responsibilities concurrently to maintain benefit inventory and EDI mapping.
    • Create JCL and setup CICS transaction in both the testing and production environments.
    • Remove IMS databases and convert to DB2 along with check point restart.
  5. Get business analyst/senior developer experience

    Generally, it takes 4-6 years to become a business analyst/senior developer. The most common roles before becoming a business analyst/senior developer include business analyst, senior business analyst team lead and senior software engineer.
  6. Prepare your business analyst/senior developer resume

    When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your business analyst/senior developer 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/senior developer resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

    Choose from 10+ customizable business analyst/senior developer resume templates

    Build a professional business analyst/senior developer resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your business analyst/senior developer resume.
    Business Analyst/Senior Developer Resume
    Business Analyst/Senior Developer Resume
    Business Analyst/Senior Developer Resume
    Business Analyst/Senior Developer Resume
    Business Analyst/Senior Developer Resume
    Business Analyst/Senior Developer Resume
    Business Analyst/Senior Developer Resume
    Business Analyst/Senior Developer Resume
    Business Analyst/Senior Developer Resume
  7. Apply for business analyst/senior developer jobs

    Now it's time to start searching for a business analyst/senior developer job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

    1. Browse job boards for relevant postings
    2. Consult your professional network
    3. Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
    4. Watch out for job scams

How did you land your first business analyst/senior developer job

Zippi

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Average business analyst/senior developer salary

The average business analyst/senior developer salary in the United States is $89,263 per year or $43 per hour. Business analyst/senior developer salaries range between $68,000 and $116,000 per year.

Average business analyst/senior developer salary
$89,263 Yearly
$42.91 hourly

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How do business analyst/senior developers rate their job?

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Business analyst/senior developer reviews

profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Feb 2022
Pros

-interacting with end users or customers - delivering successful products or services

Cons

Managing projects or leading large projects as this makes the BA role difficult to do well


profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Aug 2020
Pros

Challenges, problem-solving,communicating with differnet individuals

Cons

some daily monotonous aspects of job.


profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Jun 2020
Pros

Sitting in between business and data. Helped leadership to build strategy.

Cons

Distance from technology


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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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