How To Become A Program Analyst Lead: What It Is and Career Path

What is a program analyst lead and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted experts

Erik Johnson Ph.D.,

Meaghan Goodman Ph.D.

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a program analyst lead. For example, did you know that they make an average of $48.39 an hour? That's $100,660 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 9% and produce 56,000 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a program analyst lead?

Erik Johnson Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Economics, Carthage College

Economics gives you a set of tools to analyze a variety of policy and business problems. However, determining which tools to apply in which situation requires that you learn the industry, you are working from top to bottom. When you begin a new job in a new field, be sure to do everything you can to understand how the organization and the industry work to understand the primary incentives that everyone faces. One right way to do this is to make as many connections within the company you are working for as possible, and always be on the lookout for new opportunities within the company and how they can help you learn more. Moreover, do your best to ensure that a significant portion of your job involves some creative endeavors, such as economic modeling or building tools for yourself or others to use. As computing power continues to become cheaper, and artificial intelligence becomes more advanced, relatively repetitive tasks become more comfortable and easier to automate. Therefore, you will have less job security. Creative tasks, such as modeling and tool building, are difficult to automate and are more likely to provide you with more satisfaction.

ScoreProgram Analyst LeadUS Average

Salary

7.6

Avg. Salary $100,660

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

5.3

Growth rate 9%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.19%

Asian 14.54%

Black or African American 10.36%

Hispanic or Latino 11.11%

Unknown 5.01%

White 58.80%

Gender

female 44.15%

male 55.85%

Age - 42

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 - 42

Stress level

5.3

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.5

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.8

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a program analyst lead

Explore program analyst lead education requirements

Most common program analyst lead degrees

Bachelor's

67.0 %

Master's

18.8 %

Associate

8.7 %

Start to develop specific program analyst lead skills

Skills	Percentages
Program Management	16.96%
DOD	7.92%
Data Entry	6.35%
Project Documentation	5.81%
Federal Agencies	5.80%

Complete relevant program analyst lead training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New program analyst leads 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 a program analyst lead based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real program analyst lead resumes.

Research program analyst lead duties and responsibilities

Design system architecture for managing and deploying distribute databases to sales representatives.
Build and verify users in the Allscripts EHR.
Work with pharmacy staff to develop discharge medication application for nursing and pharmacy staff to provide patients with clearer medication instructions.
Conclude decisions regarding utilization of services to other internal or external providers/facilities while adhering to Medicare and Medicaid guidelines.

Get program analyst lead experience

Generally, it takes 4-6 years to become a program analyst lead. The most common roles before becoming a program analyst lead include program analyst, internship team lead and project manager.

Prepare your program analyst lead resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your program analyst lead resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a program analyst lead resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable program analyst lead resume templates

Build a professional program analyst lead resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your program analyst lead resume.