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The differences between risk analysts and underwriters can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a risk analyst has an average salary of $81,484, which is higher than the $61,751 average annual salary of an underwriter.
The top three skills for a risk analyst include risk management, risk assessments and powerpoint. The most important skills for an underwriter are customer service, investor guidelines, and mortgage loans.
| Risk Analyst | Underwriter | |
| Yearly salary | $81,484 | $61,751 |
| Hourly rate | $39.17 | $29.69 |
| Growth rate | 9% | -4% |
| Number of jobs | 71,284 | 8,510 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 3 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Average age | 40 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | - |
As a risk analyst, you will oversee the identification, assessment, and monitoring of risks that your company has been exposed to. You will evaluate financial documents, potential clients, and economic conditions to determine the level of risk in business decisions. You will be responsible for aggregating data from several sources to develop a comprehensive assessment and create reports, processes, and presentations to better present results. You are also expected to work closely with other team members to analyze and show data effectively.
An underwriter's duties depend on the line of work or industry involved, such as mortgage companies, insurance, or lending firms. However, an Underwriter's responsibility will mainly revolve around using their extensive expertise on how a company will achieve financial gains, and assessing the possible financial risks of a client by reviewing various aspects to determine their capacity to uphold monetary obligations. Most of the time, the Underwriter's tasks will also involve evaluating a client's credit history, health, assets, overall financial history.
Risk analysts and underwriters have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Risk Analyst | Underwriter | |
| Average salary | $81,484 | $61,751 |
| Salary range | Between $59,000 And $112,000 | Between $39,000 And $96,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | Connecticut | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | The Citadel | |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a risk analyst and an underwriter in terms of educational background:
| Risk Analyst | Underwriter | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between risk analysts' and underwriters' demographics:
| Risk Analyst | Underwriter | |
| Average age | 40 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 53.4% Female, 46.6% | Male, 38.4% Female, 61.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 5.6% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 7.7% Asian, 14.1% White, 68.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% | Black or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 2.5% Hispanic or Latino, 9.6% Asian, 5.6% White, 72.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 9% |