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The differences between defense 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 defense analyst, becoming an analyst takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a defense analyst has an average salary of $86,453, which is higher than the $73,007 average annual salary of an analyst.
The top three skills for a defense analyst include incident response, DOD and windows. The most important skills for an analyst are customer service, troubleshoot, and data analysis.
| Defense Analyst | Analyst | |
| Yearly salary | $86,453 | $73,007 |
| Hourly rate | $41.56 | $35.10 |
| Growth rate | 32% | 11% |
| Number of jobs | 24,879 | 253,138 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Average age | 42 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 4 |
A defense analyst specializes in developing programs and policies about national security and safety. They usually work for the military, government agencies, private firms, and even the Department of Defense. Their responsibilities focus on conducting extensive research, analyzing military procedures and operations, assessing threats, identifying potential risks, and studying the current laws and policies, recommending solutions to optimize processes, solve issues, or prevent problems. Moreover, through their research, a defense analyst develops conclusions that will help offices in making decisions.
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.
Defense analysts and analysts have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Defense Analyst | Analyst | |
| Average salary | $86,453 | $73,007 |
| Salary range | Between $65,000 And $114,000 | Between $53,000 And $99,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Jersey City, NJ |
| Highest paying state | - | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | - | The Citadel |
| Best paying industry | - | Technology |
There are a few differences between a defense analyst and an analyst in terms of educational background:
| Defense Analyst | Analyst | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between defense analysts' and analysts' demographics:
| Defense Analyst | Analyst | |
| Average age | 42 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 76.2% Female, 23.8% | Male, 52.4% Female, 47.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 6.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.0% Asian, 9.6% White, 65.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | 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 | 9% | 12% |