How To Become An Operational Intelligence Analyst: What It Is and Career Path

What is an operational intelligence analyst and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Wesley Jennings

The average operational intelligence analyst salary is $73,081. The most common degree is a bachelor's degree degree with an intelligence operations major. It usually takes 2-4 years of experience to become an operational intelligence analyst. Operational intelligence analysts with a Intelligence Analyst Certified (IAC) certification earn more money. Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 3% and produce 20,600 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to an operational intelligence analyst?

Wesley Jennings

Gillespie Distinguished Scholar, Chair, & Professor, University of Mississippi

Some of the best advice I can provide for recent graduates who are beginning their career in the criminal justice field is to focus on active networking and professional development. This can be pursued through attendance at professional conferences/events, workshops, social media engagement, internships, etc. This will ensure that you are always up-to-date on what is going on in your career field, and permit you the ability to take advantage of opportunities for growth, promotion, and career advancement.

ScoreOperational Intelligence AnalystUS Average

Salary

5.7

Avg. Salary $73,081

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.1

Growth rate 3%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

2.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.66%

Asian 2.82%

Black or African American 11.79%

Hispanic or Latino 16.79%

Unknown 4.99%

White 62.94%

Gender

female 23.98%

male 76.02%

Age - 44

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 44

Stress level

6.1

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.5

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.3

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an operational intelligence analyst

Explore operational intelligence analyst education requirements

Most common operational intelligence analyst degrees

Bachelor's

50.9 %

Associate

34.2 %

Master's

7.8 %

Start to develop specific operational intelligence analyst skills

Skills	Percentages
TS/SCI	7.18%
IC	4.99%
Combat	4.93%
Intelligence Analysis	4.92%
Situational Awareness	4.89%

Complete relevant operational intelligence analyst training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New operational intelligence analysts learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an operational intelligence analyst based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real operational intelligence analyst resumes.

Research operational intelligence analyst duties and responsibilities

Prepare and manage multiple self assessment checklists to evaluate overall effectiveness and ensure compliance with USAF directives.
Contribute to databases, draft reports, and make presentations to senior NSA officials and other members of the ELINT community.
Develop lesson plans and PowerPoint presentations for public speaking events in schools.
Charge with detecting and processing threats to the DoD network to prevent loss of sensitive data.

Get operational intelligence analyst experience

Generally, it takes 2-4 years to become an operational intelligence analyst. The most common roles before becoming an operational intelligence analyst include intelligence analyst, analyst team lead and senior intelligence analyst.

Prepare your operational intelligence analyst resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your operational intelligence analyst resume.

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