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The differences between data processing analysts and analysts can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a data processing analyst, becoming an analyst takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a data processing analyst has an average salary of $76,487, which is higher than the $73,007 average annual salary of an analyst.
The top three skills for a data processing analyst include data analysis, process improvement and visualization. The most important skills for an analyst are customer service, troubleshoot, and data analysis.
| Data Processing Analyst | Analyst | |
| Yearly salary | $76,487 | $73,007 |
| Hourly rate | $36.77 | $35.10 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 11% |
| Number of jobs | 128,197 | 253,138 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Average age | 43 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 4 |
Data Processing Analysts are responsible for analyzing and maintaining the data systems of an organization. Their duties include interpreting data, analyzing statistical results, creating databases, identifying patterns from data sets, and undertake data filtering. They are also involved in preparing analytics reports, developing data visualizations, and mining data sets from primary or secondary sources. Data Processing Analysts also execute process automation, data validation, and documenting client's business requirements. They continuously monitor the performance metric of a project.
Analysts are employees or individual contributors with a vast experience in a particular field that help the organization address challenges. They help the organization improve processes, policies, and other operations protocol by studying the current processes in place and determining the effectiveness of those processes. They also research industry trends and data to make sound inferences and recommendations on what the company should do to improve their numbers. Analysts recommend business solutions and often help the organization roll out these solutions. They ensure that the proposed action plans are effective and produce the desired results.
Data processing analysts and analysts have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Data Processing Analyst | Analyst | |
| Average salary | $76,487 | $73,007 |
| Salary range | Between $54,000 And $107,000 | Between $53,000 And $99,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Jersey City, NJ |
| Highest paying state | Washington | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | PayPal | The Citadel |
| Best paying industry | Automotive | Technology |
There are a few differences between a data processing analyst and an analyst in terms of educational background:
| Data Processing Analyst | Analyst | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between data processing analysts' and analysts' demographics:
| Data Processing Analyst | Analyst | |
| Average age | 43 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 54.4% Female, 45.6% | Male, 52.4% Female, 47.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.5% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.3% Asian, 14.5% White, 58.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 7.4% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 8.5% Asian, 14.3% White, 65.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 12% |