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Policy analyst vs technical business analyst

The differences between policy analysts and technical business analysts can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a policy analyst and a technical business analyst. Additionally, a technical business analyst has an average salary of $81,757, which is higher than the $66,359 average annual salary of a policy analyst.

The top three skills for a policy analyst include public policy, policy analysis and policy issues. The most important skills for a technical business analyst are project management, business analysis, and business processes.

Policy analyst vs technical business analyst overview

Policy AnalystTechnical Business Analyst
Yearly salary$66,359$81,757
Hourly rate$31.90$39.31
Growth rate11%11%
Number of jobs69,173203,686
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 65%Bachelor's Degree, 70%
Average age4444
Years of experience44

What does a policy analyst do?

Policy analysts are responsible for developing government policies and providing advice and briefing to senior management. These professionals work to influence both social and political decisions. They typically work in four key areas, including collecting information, analyzing policies, providing recommendations, and sharing information with government officials and the public. Additionally, they are also expected to consult with stakeholders to provide quantitative evidence supporting their policy. The rest of their time is spent on writing, reading, and analyzing information.

What does a technical business analyst do?

As a technical business analyst, one oversees the technical business project and solution implementation. Technical business analysts work with the technical team members and stakeholders for the mapping, analysis, and documentation of business projects and processes. People in the business world consider them as market technicians, chartists, securities traders, or researchers. The job also involves the documentation of redesigned computer systems and applications. Skills in computer programming, leadership, communication, and management are necessary.

Policy analyst vs technical business analyst salary

Policy analysts and technical business analysts have different pay scales, as shown below.

Policy AnalystTechnical Business Analyst
Average salary$66,359$81,757
Salary rangeBetween $47,000 And $92,000Between $62,000 And $106,000
Highest paying CitySeattle, WAWashington, DC
Highest paying stateConnecticutNew Jersey
Best paying companyAppleMeta
Best paying industryInsuranceTechnology

Differences between policy analyst and technical business analyst education

There are a few differences between a policy analyst and a technical business analyst in terms of educational background:

Policy AnalystTechnical Business Analyst
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 65%Bachelor's Degree, 70%
Most common majorPolitical ScienceBusiness
Most common collegeNorthwestern UniversityNorthwestern University

Policy analyst vs technical business analyst demographics

Here are the differences between policy analysts' and technical business analysts' demographics:

Policy AnalystTechnical Business Analyst
Average age4444
Gender ratioMale, 46.1% Female, 53.9%Male, 53.2% Female, 46.8%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 8.4% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 9.1% Asian, 12.1% White, 65.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%Black or African American, 7.5% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 8.5% Asian, 14.5% White, 64.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage12%12%

Differences between policy analyst and technical business analyst duties and responsibilities

Policy analyst example responsibilities.

  • Develop comprehensive consumer education material around the changes to behavioral health services in Medicaid manage care.
  • Manage all issues relate to high quality survey administration including training and approval/certification, performance oversight and data collection.
  • Process data using STATA statistical software to get it ready for regressions.
  • Develop research and programmatic reports create in SAS to be used for analysis.
  • Work to maintain, update, and correct SalesForce database for pertinent mailings.
  • Develop PowerPoint presentations on trends for use with legislature, law enforcement, and the public.
  • Show more

Technical business analyst example responsibilities.

  • Lead migration of payroll and human resource data to 3COM following U.S. Robotics and 3COM merger.
  • Manage single large projects or multiple concurrent smaller projects in the human resources, payroll, and employee benefits areas.
  • Manage all phases of the business requirement from initial research to the UAT following the process and maintaining the quality standards.
  • Achieve online editorial content management by editing HTML for publishing health information.
  • Manage development intranet and internet sites for internal sales reps and external channel partners using SharePoint technology.
  • Generate SSRS reports using MDX/DAX queries.
  • Show more

Policy analyst vs technical business analyst skills

Common policy analyst skills
  • Public Policy, 7%
  • Policy Analysis, 6%
  • Policy Issues, 6%
  • Public Health, 5%
  • Health Policy, 5%
  • PowerPoint, 4%
Common technical business analyst skills
  • Project Management, 7%
  • Business Analysis, 5%
  • Business Processes, 5%
  • User Stories, 5%
  • Test Cases, 4%
  • Scrum, 4%

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