Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between principal analysts and information analysts can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a principal analyst and an information analyst. Additionally, a principal analyst has an average salary of $114,156, which is higher than the $75,933 average annual salary of an information analyst.
The top three skills for a principal analyst include portfolio, ERP and project management. The most important skills for an information analyst are patients, data entry, and data analysis.
| Principal Analyst | Information Analyst | |
| Yearly salary | $114,156 | $75,933 |
| Hourly rate | $54.88 | $36.51 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 158,160 | 141,418 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
A principal analyst is responsible for evaluating the project management and product development procedures of an organization by analyzing data statistics and market trends. Principal analysts conduct operational audits to identify inconsistencies and defects, including the networks and system database. They create reports on their findings, as well as recommendations to improve optimization and maximum productivity. A principal analyst should be highly communicative and analytical as they also analyze sales reports and financial transactions to develop techniques for increasing profits and revenues.
Information Analysts are employees who collect data and analyze the information from the data they collected. They are usually found in companies with information technology departments. They collect network, software, or hardware performance data and analyze these data. The data that Information Analysts collect would help in identifying and anticipating problems in the system. As such, they will be able to troubleshoot and provide a sound analysis of the systems and networks. They would then be able to give recommendations to address problems, based on what they analyzed.
Principal analysts and information analysts have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Principal Analyst | Information Analyst | |
| Average salary | $114,156 | $75,933 |
| Salary range | Between $87,000 And $149,000 | Between $55,000 And $104,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | Oregon |
| Best paying company | Putnam Investments | |
| Best paying industry | Pharmaceutical | Technology |
There are a few differences between a principal analyst and an information analyst in terms of educational background:
| Principal Analyst | Information Analyst | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between principal analysts' and information analysts' demographics:
| Principal Analyst | Information Analyst | |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 75.6% Female, 24.4% | Male, 51.7% Female, 48.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.3% Asian, 14.4% White, 58.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 10.2% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.0% Asian, 14.6% White, 59.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 8% |