Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between investigative 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 an investigative analyst and an analyst. Additionally, an investigative analyst has an average salary of $125,975, which is higher than the $73,007 average annual salary of an analyst.
The top three skills for an investigative analyst include criminal justice, external stakeholders and anti-money laundering. The most important skills for an analyst are customer service, troubleshoot, and data analysis.
| Investigative Analyst | Analyst | |
| Yearly salary | $125,975 | $73,007 |
| Hourly rate | $60.56 | $35.10 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 11% |
| Number of jobs | 28,703 | 253,138 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
An investigative analyst is responsible for handling and resolving suspicious activities that pose risks for an organization's reputation and stability. Investigative analysts review incident reports, such as fraud and other law violations, strategizing on effective ways to minimize losses and prevent misconduct reoccurrence. They collect evidence, including documents and interviews, to support their claims and record their findings. An investigative analyst must be highly communicative and organizational, as well as the ability to keep and secure confidential information until further notice.
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.
Investigative analysts and analysts have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Investigative Analyst | Analyst | |
| Average salary | $125,975 | $73,007 |
| Salary range | Between $102,000 And $154,000 | Between $53,000 And $99,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | Jersey City, NJ |
| Highest paying state | Montana | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Meta | The Citadel |
| Best paying industry | Professional | Technology |
There are a few differences between an investigative analyst and an analyst in terms of educational background:
| Investigative Analyst | Analyst | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Most common major | Criminal Justice | Business |
| Most common college | SUNY at Binghamton | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between investigative analysts' and analysts' demographics:
| Investigative Analyst | Analyst | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 44.9% Female, 55.1% | Male, 52.4% Female, 47.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.9% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 16.9% Asian, 2.8% White, 62.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | 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% |