How To Become A Business Planner: What It Is and Career Path

What is a business planner and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Business planners are responsible for developing procedures that protect organizations from catastrophe. They help to return operations to normal as quickly as possible and minimize the disruption of operations when calamity strikes by developing improved processes that are more resilient to upheaval. These planners also help analyze the impact of disruptions and identify the most important issues when surviving threats.

Business planners earn an average salary of $112,000 annually or $54 per hour. They primarily develop, document, and implement business plans, processes, and procedures. They perform other duties, including developing presentations for management and stakeholders on business operations and developments. They also support business-planning functions for new and existing strategic partnerships and alliances.

In terms of academic qualifications, business planners typically hold a bachelor's degree in business or public administration, emergency management, or other related disciplines. They are expected to have solid communication, collaboration, and leadership skills as well as the ability to make important decisions under stressful circumstances that require a rapid response.

ScoreBusiness PlannerUS Average

Salary

8.1

Avg. Salary $119,250

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.1

Growth rate 4%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

4.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.79%

Asian 9.50%

Black or African American 4.82%

Hispanic or Latino 12.64%

Unknown 4.69%

White 67.56%

Gender

female 41.34%

male 58.66%

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

7.1

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

10.0

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.3

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a business planner

Explore business planner education requirements

Most common business planner degrees

Bachelor's

69.9 %

Master's

17.5 %

Associate

8.5 %

Start to develop specific business planner skills

Skills	Percentages
Data Analysis	9.94%
Strong Analytical	8.17%
Financial Analysis	8.13%
Business Plan	6.75%
Supply Chain	5.82%

Research business planner duties and responsibilities

Manage cost-centers and leverage unique Indian production and post- production capabilities and position the company as a prefer production partner.
Coordinate logistics with multiple carrier partners and multiple distribution centers.
Coordinate raw material logistics, serum manufacturing, gamma irradiation processing and other serum processes with third party contract manufacturers.
Lead monthly and quarterly EAC forecasting and consolidate forecasts in support of corporate financial reporting.

Get business planner experience

Generally, it takes 1-2 years to become a business planner. The most common roles before becoming a business planner include finance analyst, buyer team lead and planner.

Prepare your business planner resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your business planner 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 planner 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 planner resume templates

Build a professional business planner 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 planner resume.