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The differences between functional analysts and product owners 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 a product owner takes usually requires 8-10 years. Additionally, a product owner has an average salary of $97,070, which is higher than the $96,841 average annual salary of a functional analyst.
The top three skills for a functional analyst include business process, lifecycle management and HR. The most important skills for a product owner are user stories, acceptance criteria, and product backlog.
| Functional Analyst | Product Owner | |
| Yearly salary | $96,841 | $97,070 |
| Hourly rate | $46.56 | $46.67 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 52,085 | 129,990 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Average age | 43 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 10 |
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.
Product owners are at the forefront of an organization's development cycle. They have various duties and responsibilities, which include ensuring that the value of products created by the development team is maximized, creating a vision and defining the goals for development projects, and working closely with all stakeholders. As the product owner, you are responsible for ensuring that the development team maintains a consistent vision and overseeing the product backlog. You are also expected to supervise the actual product development stages and anticipate the needs of clients.
Functional analysts and product owners have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Functional Analyst | Product Owner | |
| Average salary | $96,841 | $97,070 |
| Salary range | Between $71,000 And $131,000 | Between $71,000 And $130,000 |
| Highest paying City | Mountain View, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | New Mexico | California |
| Best paying company | Apple | ORIX USA |
| Best paying industry | Retail | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a functional analyst and a product owner in terms of educational background:
| Functional Analyst | Product Owner | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | University of Georgia |
Here are the differences between functional analysts' and product owners' demographics:
| Functional Analyst | Product Owner | |
| Average age | 43 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 55.9% Female, 44.1% | Male, 64.3% Female, 35.7% |
| 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, 3.0% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 8.7% Asian, 8.2% White, 74.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 10% |