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

What is a contract analyst and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

John Clark Ph.D., CFA, CFP

Do you know who is responsible for analyzing the details of business contracts and managing the company's expectations and the other business party? It is a contract analyst who ensures that the contract must represent the company's analyzing sections, commitments, and understanding conditions to avoid legal problems.

As a contract analyst, you must analyze the contract's terms and conditions of both the parties, ensure that both the parties are fulfilling it, review the renewals of terms and conditions, and prepare the cost estimates based on the contract. A minimum salary of a contract analyst starts from $59,521 per annum and varies depending on location and eligibility.

The eligibility criterion for a contract analyst position is a bachelor's degree in business or business law with a mandatory two years of experience in a related industry. Besides that, you must have advanced knowledge in national contract laws, excellent communication skills, negotiation skills, time management skills, computer skills, and the ability to work under pressure.

What general advice would you give to a contract analyst?

John Clark Ph.D., CFA, CFP

Chair, Dept. of Finance, University of Nevada - Las Vegas

Show you have experience. Doing an internship is a great way to increase your starting salary. I always advocate for doing applied research, this is research that you can show has implications for society - science for the sake of science is not good science! Obtaining an MS degree is also a good way to increase your salary, especially if your MS degree is relevant to your future job.

ScoreContract AnalystUS Average

Salary

4.3

Avg. Salary $54,544

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

5.8

Growth rate 9%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.10%

Asian 14.09%

Black or African American 5.64%

Hispanic or Latino 7.67%

Unknown 4.50%

White 68.00%

Gender

female 58.79%

male 41.21%

Age - 38

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 - 38

Stress level

5.8

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.4

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.3

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a contract analyst

Explore contract analyst education requirements

Most common contract analyst degrees

Bachelor's

67.1 %

Master's

11.8 %

Associate

11.7 %

Start to develop specific contract analyst skills

Skills	Percentages
Customer Service	10.38%
Contract Management	8.05%
Contract Terms	5.35%
SQL	5.10%
HR	4.42%

Complete relevant contract analyst training and internships

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

Research contract analyst duties and responsibilities

Manage RFQ generation, proposal analysis, documentation, PO generation, and subcontractor and supplier follow-up.
Lead and educate internal stakeholders in the proper use of document review and approval processes using SharePoint document management tools.
Conduct internal audits of the company and audits of subcontractor performance and adherence to Medicare and Medicaid regulations.
Coordinate and monitor ethics training with NFA and vendor.

Prepare your contract analyst resume

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

Choose from 10+ customizable contract analyst resume templates

Build a professional contract analyst 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 contract analyst resume.