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The differences between functional leads and business 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 lead, becoming a business analyst takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a functional lead has an average salary of $113,422, which is higher than the $74,431 average annual salary of a business analyst.
The top three skills for a functional lead include ERP, client facing and enterprise solutions. The most important skills for a business analyst are project management, data analysis, and business analysis.
| Functional Lead | Business Analyst | |
| Yearly salary | $113,422 | $74,431 |
| Hourly rate | $54.53 | $35.78 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 33,917 | 170,514 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 64% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Average age | 43 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 4 |
Functional leads are professionals who analyze business requirements and provide system design while implementing system solutions for various business initiatives. These professionals must work with clients and internal stakeholders to identify and understand the functional or business requirements. They must analyze and solve complex system problems so that they can improve the organization's overall Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) development and support process. Functional leads must also facilitate a team to design document control procedures that can significantly reduce process cycle time and cost.
Business analysts are employees who are responsible for interpreting business data and coming up with business solutions. They are well-versed in whatever business the company is in, and they have strong business acumen. They collect data related to the business and then interpret and analyze the data. Business analysts should be able to conduct different levels of analyses and must also be able to create a sound study. Once the analysis is done, they provide recommendations or strategic direction to decision-makers that will help the business become sustainable and grow.
Functional leads and business analysts have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Functional Lead | Business Analyst | |
| Average salary | $113,422 | $74,431 |
| Salary range | Between $85,000 And $149,000 | Between $53,000 And $103,000 |
| Highest paying City | Sunnyvale, CA | Mountain View, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | Washington |
| Best paying company | Airbnb | The Citadel |
| Best paying industry | Retail | Finance |
There are a few differences between a functional lead and a business analyst in terms of educational background:
| Functional Lead | Business Analyst | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 64% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between functional leads' and business analysts' demographics:
| Functional Lead | Business Analyst | |
| Average age | 43 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 68.1% Female, 31.9% | Male, 53.9% Female, 46.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.4% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 9.5% Asian, 24.9% White, 52.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 8.8% Asian, 12.0% White, 67.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 11% |