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The differences between business specialists and business analysts can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a business analyst has an average salary of $74,431, which is higher than the $73,521 average annual salary of a business specialist.
The top three skills for a business specialist include patients, customer service and product knowledge. The most important skills for a business analyst are project management, data analysis, and business analysis.
| Business Specialist | Business Analyst | |
| Yearly salary | $73,521 | $74,431 |
| Hourly rate | $35.35 | $35.78 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 95,909 | 170,514 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 65% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | - | 4 |
A business specialist's role is to perform research and analysis to determine the company's strengths and weaknesses, aiming to improve and develop areas for optimal performance. Their responsibilities revolve around coordinating with different departments to gather relevant data, identifying new opportunities and ways to meet clients' needs, devising strategies and programs for profit growth, and developing new processes for business efficiency. Furthermore, it is essential to provide corrective measures on various issues and concerns, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.
Business analysts are employees who are responsible for interpreting business data and coming up with business solutions. They are well-versed in whatever business the company is in, and they have strong business acumen. They collect data related to the business and then interpret and analyze the data. Business analysts should be able to conduct different levels of analyses and must also be able to create a sound study. Once the analysis is done, they provide recommendations or strategic direction to decision-makers that will help the business become sustainable and grow.
Business specialists and business analysts have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Business Specialist | Business Analyst | |
| Average salary | $73,521 | $74,431 |
| Salary range | Between $44,000 And $120,000 | Between $53,000 And $103,000 |
| Highest paying City | Seattle, WA | Mountain View, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | Washington |
| Best paying company | BP America Inc | The Citadel |
| Best paying industry | - | Finance |
There are a few differences between a business specialist and a business analyst in terms of educational background:
| Business Specialist | Business Analyst | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 65% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Western Carolina University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between business specialists' and business analysts' demographics:
| Business Specialist | Business Analyst | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 48.1% Female, 51.9% | Male, 53.9% Female, 46.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.4% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.4% Asian, 8.8% White, 70.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 8.8% Asian, 12.0% White, 67.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |