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The differences between functional 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 functional analyst, becoming an analyst takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a functional analyst has an average salary of $96,841, which is higher than the $73,007 average annual salary of an analyst.
The top three skills for a functional analyst include business process, lifecycle management and HR. The most important skills for an analyst are customer service, troubleshoot, and data analysis.
| Functional Analyst | Analyst | |
| Yearly salary | $96,841 | $73,007 |
| Hourly rate | $46.56 | $35.10 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 11% |
| Number of jobs | 52,085 | 253,138 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Average age | 43 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 4 |
Functional analysts are professionals specializing in a specific line of business, technology, and industry. They collect information by interviewing managers and employees and studying the company's systems and procedures. They design computer systems that meet business requirements and prepare reports for the managers. Additional duties for this role include installing and configuring new systems, running tests to ensure that specifications are met, and writing user manuals. Functional analysts are also responsible for conducting training on new capabilities to existing end-users.
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.
Functional analysts and analysts have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Functional Analyst | Analyst | |
| Average salary | $96,841 | $73,007 |
| Salary range | Between $71,000 And $131,000 | Between $53,000 And $99,000 |
| Highest paying City | Mountain View, CA | Jersey City, NJ |
| Highest paying state | New Mexico | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Apple | The Citadel |
| Best paying industry | Retail | Technology |
There are a few differences between a functional analyst and an analyst in terms of educational background:
| Functional Analyst | Analyst | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between functional analysts' and analysts' demographics:
| Functional Analyst | Analyst | |
| Average age | 43 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 55.9% Female, 44.1% | Male, 52.4% Female, 47.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.0% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 10.8% Asian, 19.5% White, 54.5% 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% |