Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between researchers 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 a researcher and an analyst. Additionally, an analyst has an average salary of $73,007, which is higher than the $67,145 average annual salary of a researcher.
The top three skills for a researcher include python, lab equipment and C++. The most important skills for an analyst are customer service, troubleshoot, and data analysis.
| Researcher | Analyst | |
| Yearly salary | $67,145 | $73,007 |
| Hourly rate | $32.28 | $35.10 |
| Growth rate | 17% | 11% |
| Number of jobs | 30,498 | 253,138 |
| Job satisfaction | 3 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Average age | 41 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A researcher is responsible for collating, organizing, and verifying necessary information for a specific subject. Researchers' duties include analyzing data, gathering and comparing resources, ensuring facts, sharing findings with the whole research team, adhering to required methodologies, performing fieldwork as needed, and keeping critical information confidential. Researchers must be knowledgeable about the current market trends and align findings with the research goals. A researcher must show strong communication skills, as well as strong attention to detail and time-management skills to meet deadlines under minimal supervision.
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.
Researchers and analysts have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Researcher | Analyst | |
| Average salary | $67,145 | $73,007 |
| Salary range | Between $37,000 And $119,000 | Between $53,000 And $99,000 |
| Highest paying City | Newark, NJ | Jersey City, NJ |
| Highest paying state | Connecticut | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Renaissance Learning | The Citadel |
| Best paying industry | - | Technology |
There are a few differences between a researcher and an analyst in terms of educational background:
| Researcher | Analyst | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Most common major | Biology | Business |
| Most common college | University of Southern California | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between researchers' and analysts' demographics:
| Researcher | Analyst | |
| Average age | 41 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 50.9% Female, 49.1% | Male, 52.4% Female, 47.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.4% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.6% Asian, 26.4% White, 53.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% | 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 | 8% | 12% |