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

What is a business planning analyst and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Miguel Vicens

All businesses use processes to optimize their actions and increase output. Business planning analysts help optimize these systems by examining the current production methods and implementing upgrades. Business planning analysts mostly work on production processes where they increase profits and reduce costs.

As a business planning analyst, you may analyze all the factors contributing to the organization's costs and find better alternatives. Part of the job also entails calculating a return on investment based on the estimated costs.

Business planning analysts frequently work with data when analyzing processes. When results are generated, a business planning analyst may be involved in implementing the recommended changes. They may also be charged with overhauling the entire process by developing a new workflow.

To become a business planning analyst, you need a degree in business, economics, or other finance-related fields. You also need relevant industry experience. Some of the critical skills for this role include analytical thinking, problem-solving, and the use of analytics software.

What general advice would you give to a business planning analyst?

Miguel Vicens

Associate Dean of School of Business, Associate Professor of Finance, Western New Mexico University

The labor market environment these days is characterized by flexibility, credentials, and ethics. As a Finance major, your job is to help make sense of the critical financial situation in which we find ourselves these days. The Finance job market has changed since the great recession in 2008, to incorporate some of your other courses such as management. Most of the jobs you will find will have a management component, due to the importance of human interactions, strategic management perspectives, and overall long-term orientation.

ScoreBusiness Planning AnalystUS Average

Salary

5.9

Avg. Salary $75,822

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 47.58%

male 52.42%

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 planning analyst

Explore business planning analyst education requirements

Most common business planning analyst degrees

Bachelor's

74.5 %

Master's

17.0 %

Associate

6.1 %

Start to develop specific business planning analyst skills

Skills	Percentages
Project Management	9.17%
HR	5.79%
Financial Analysis	5.62%
Process Improvement	5.07%
Financial Performance	4.83%

Complete relevant business planning analyst training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New business planning analysts 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 planning analyst based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real business planning analyst resumes.

Research business planning analyst duties and responsibilities

Lead monthly and quarterly EAC forecasting and consolidate forecasts in support of corporate financial reporting.
Test ERP layout to ensure the system is meeting corporate needs.
Assist in training curriculum to enable users to explore and interact with ERP data.
Write SQL query to retrieve processing volume for each revenue/cost items associate with newly approve merchant accounts.

Prepare your business planning analyst resume

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

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