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The differences between finance analysts and analysts can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a finance analyst and an analyst. Additionally, an analyst has an average salary of $73,007, which is higher than the $69,887 average annual salary of a finance analyst.
The top three skills for a finance analyst include financial analysis, financial models and financial data. The most important skills for an analyst are customer service, troubleshoot, and data analysis.
| Finance Analyst | Analyst | |
| Yearly salary | $69,887 | $73,007 |
| Hourly rate | $33.60 | $35.10 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 11% |
| Number of jobs | 138,600 | 253,138 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 76% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Average age | 40 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A finance analyst is responsible for evaluating a company's financial data and historical reports to assess investment opportunities and provide accurate financial statements in support of business strategies and company performance prediction. A financial analyst's duties also include suggesting recommendations to boost operations efficiency and grow revenues, researching the current market performance and economic trends to adjust budget goals as needed, and managing client portfolios. Finance analysts must have excellent critical and analytical thinking skills to identify the best actions for the company's profitability.
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.
Finance analysts and analysts have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Finance Analyst | Analyst | |
| Average salary | $69,887 | $73,007 |
| Salary range | Between $46,000 And $104,000 | Between $53,000 And $99,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Jersey City, NJ |
| Highest paying state | Connecticut | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | The Citadel | The Citadel |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Technology |
There are a few differences between a finance analyst and an analyst in terms of educational background:
| Finance Analyst | Analyst | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 76% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between finance analysts' and analysts' demographics:
| Finance Analyst | Analyst | |
| Average age | 40 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 56.2% Female, 43.8% | Male, 52.4% Female, 47.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 5.6% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 7.7% Asian, 14.1% White, 68.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% | 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 | 7% | 12% |