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

What is a contractor-business analyst and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted experts

Rebecca Sarver,

Jana Carpenter

For most people, working in full-time jobs is essential. They like the stability that full-time jobs provide. However, there are others who prefer working in contractual arrangements. Often, these are people who like working on different projects with different people. They are called contractors. Contractors may specialize in various fields, depending on their interests. They would then get clients based on their field of interest. Some may go into finance, some to sales, while others to business analytics.

Business analyst contractors provide a fresh perspective on the company's processes. They are often engaged to analyze and assess the company's business model, systems, and services. Business analyst contractors recommend ways to improve the company's current model. These are often through information technology-related projects to promote efficiency. These recommendations are properly backed up by data analysis.

If you prefer working with different companies instead of working for just one, being a contractor will suit you. If you also have high business acumen and strong analytical skills, become a business analyst!

What general advice would you give to a contractor-business analyst?

Rebecca Sarver

Lecturer in Human Services Studies, Elmira College

Listen more than you talk. There is so much to be learned from clients, seasoned human service workers, and the community that you work within. By listening and observing versus always feeling compelled to speak, you will learn job skills, people skills, and your clients' needs.

ScoreContractor-Business AnalystUS Average

Salary

6.8

Avg. Salary $87,402

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 14.45%

Black or African American 10.58%

Hispanic or Latino 11.29%

Unknown 5.03%

White 58.47%

Gender

female 49.59%

male 50.41%

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

Key steps to become a contractor-business analyst

Explore contractor-business analyst education requirements

Most common contractor-business analyst degrees

Bachelor's

67.3 %

Master's

16.8 %

Associate

9.2 %

Start to develop specific contractor-business analyst skills

Skills	Percentages
Business Process	7.18%
Project Management	6.48%
Data Analysis	6.32%
Visio	5.13%
SharePoint	4.95%

Complete relevant contractor-business analyst training and internships

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

Research contractor-business analyst duties and responsibilities

Manage the Salesforce preparation for migration from GreatPlains to PeopleSoft and successfully execute said migration.
Provide assistance and support of client user acceptance testing (UAT), documentation of product enhancements and, defect tracking.
Promote the agile 'whole team' approach to quality along with SDLC requirement outline.
Complete assigned project load using status reports, SharePoint document management systems, and other proprietary logs.

Get contractor-business analyst experience

Generally, it takes 4-6 years to become a contractor-business analyst. The most common roles before becoming a contractor-business analyst include business analyst, project manager team lead and senior business analyst.

Prepare your contractor-business analyst resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your contractor-business 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 contractor-business 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 contractor-business analyst resume templates

Build a professional contractor-business 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 contractor-business analyst resume.