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Job outlook for senior contract analysts in the United States
Senior contract analyst job growth summary. After extensive research, interviews, and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
The projected senior contract analyst job growth rate is 9% from 2018-2028.
About 31,900 new jobs for senior contract analysts are projected over the next decade.
Senior contract analyst salaries have increased 9% for senior contract analysts in the last 5 years.
There are over 10,299 senior contract analysts currently employed in the United States.
There are 52,254 active senior contract analyst job openings in the US.
The average senior contract analyst salary is $60,645.
Are senior contract analyst jobs in demand?
Senior contract analyst job and salary trends over time
Senior contract analyst jobs over time
Senior contract analyst job growth rate over time
| Year | # of jobs | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 10,299 | 0.00% |
| 2020 | 5,612 | 0.00% |
| 2019 | 5,427 | 0.00% |
| 2018 | 10,746 | 0.00% |
| 2017 | 10,272 | 0.00% |
Average senior contract analyst salary over time
Senior contract analyst salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | $60,645 | $29.16 | +4.0% |
| 2025 | $58,336 | $28.05 | +2.4% |
| 2024 | $56,970 | $27.39 | +0.7% |
| 2023 | $56,550 | $27.19 | +1.4% |
| 2022 | $55,766 | $26.81 | +1.3% |
Senior contract analyst jobs by state
Most common states for senior contract analysts
| Rank | State | Population | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | District of Columbia | 693,972 | 522 | 75% |
| 2 | Virginia | 8,470,020 | 1,441 | 17% |
| 3 | Maryland | 6,052,177 | 881 | 15% |
| 4 | Massachusetts | 6,859,819 | 857 | 12% |
| 5 | Colorado | 5,607,154 | 652 | 12% |
| 6 | Delaware | 961,939 | 106 | 11% |
| 7 | Alaska | 739,795 | 72 | 10% |
| 8 | Illinois | 12,802,023 | 1,179 | 9% |
| 9 | Washington | 7,405,743 | 656 | 9% |
| 10 | Minnesota | 5,576,606 | 476 | 9% |
| 11 | California | 39,536,653 | 2,830 | 7% |
| 12 | Georgia | 10,429,379 | 760 | 7% |
| 13 | Arizona | 7,016,270 | 510 | 7% |
| 14 | Alabama | 4,874,747 | 321 | 7% |
| 15 | Connecticut | 3,588,184 | 252 | 7% |
| 16 | Utah | 3,101,833 | 226 | 7% |
| 17 | Hawaii | 1,427,538 | 107 | 7% |
| 18 | Rhode Island | 1,059,639 | 73 | 7% |
| 19 | New York | 19,849,399 | 1,133 | 6% |
| 20 | Kansas | 2,913,123 | 175 | 6% |
Most common cities for senior contract analysts
| Rank | City | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl | Avg. salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Severn | 3 | 7% | $64,900 |
| 2 | Springfield | 3 | 3% | $61,385 |
| 3 | Cambridge | 2 | 2% | $69,751 |
| 4 | Baltimore | 9 | 1% | $64,941 |
| 5 | Atlanta | 4 | 1% | $69,973 |
| 6 | Boston | 4 | 1% | $69,796 |
| 7 | Miami | 4 | 1% | $51,587 |
| 8 | Minneapolis | 4 | 1% | $62,573 |
| 9 | Sacramento | 4 | 1% | $65,507 |
| 10 | Washington | 4 | 1% | $71,265 |
| 11 | Tampa | 3 | 1% | $52,753 |
| 12 | Aurora | 2 | 1% | $70,376 |
| 13 | Columbus | 2 | 1% | $69,113 |
| 14 | Los Angeles | 3 | 0% | $61,224 |
| 15 | Phoenix | 3 | 0% | $63,108 |
| 16 | Chicago | 2 | 0% | $62,590 |
| 17 | Colorado Springs | 2 | 0% | $70,312 |
| 18 | Denver | 2 | 0% | $70,383 |
Senior Contract Analyst job outlook: Expert opinions
Our panel of senior contract analyst experts
UMass Lowell
University of Washington
University of Southern Maine
Western Kentucky University
John Jay College of Criminal Justice of the City University of New York
University of California, Santa Cruz
University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
Manhattan College
Drexel University
New Jersey Institute of Technology
University of New Mexico
Fairfield University
Wake Forest University
University of Akron
University of Oregon
Stonehill College
King's College
American University
Michael Ciuchta Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Program Coordinator, Masters of Science in EntrepreneurshipUMass Lowell
Department of Marketing, Entrepreneurship & Innovation
What Senior Contract Analyst skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Michael Ciuchta Ph.D.: Obviously we are seeing a tremendous increase in AI and other digital technologies. These will become a more crucial skill set for many careers going forward. But I wouldn't downplay the role of what are traditionally seen as soft skills like empathy, communications, and judgment. Not only can these distinguish you from robots but from your human competitors as well.
What will help Senior Contract Analysts increase their earning potential?
Michael Ciuchta Ph.D.: If all you want is the highest potential starting salary, then you should aim for careers that offer them. But that is a shortsighted way to view things. For example, many careers that have tournament-like pay structures (think entertainment) often have very low starting salaries but the so-called winners enjoy outsized financial gains. If you are thinking about a more traditional career, I think it's important to make sure you are more valuable to your employer than they are to you. This means you have to market yourself, both to your current employer as well as to potential ones. Of course, this approach may not be for everyone and maximizing your salary potential is only one thing you should be considering when assessing job and career opportunities.
What will help Senior Contract Analysts increase their earning potential?
Victor Menaldo: Develop oral communication skills that allow you to speak in an articulate manner and organize your thoughts to signal your competence, knowledge, work ethic, and willingness to keep learning and improving.
Tove Rasmussen
LecturerUniversity of Southern Maine
Specialized Sales, Merchandising And Marketing Operations
What general advice would you give to a Senior Contract Analyst?
Tove Rasmussen: Tove Rasmussen advises graduates beginning their career in the field to...
What Senior Contract Analyst skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Tove Rasmussen: Tove Rasmussen believes that the skills that will become more important and prevalent in the field in the next 3-5 years are...
What Senior Contract Analyst skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Timothy Rich PhD: Think about the types of jobs that interest you and the skills necessary for those jobs early. So many students start thinking about post-graduation life spring their senior year, when it should be an incremental process much earlier. Another pieces of advice would be to talk to faculty and alum about your interests, find internship or research opportunities when possible, and try to figure out early your strengths and weaknesses. It's easy for students, especially high performing ones, to not fully consider what their weaknesses are. I encourage students to jot down what they see as their skills too and to share them with others. It helps them to identify what's a common skill versus something that might make them stick out.
Professor Shonna Trinch Ph.D.
ProfessorJohn Jay College of Criminal Justice of the City University of New York
Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, And Group Studies
What general advice would you give to a Senior Contract Analyst?
Professor Shonna Trinch Ph.D.: Being able to negotiate a salary is also a skill that students need to learn and one that is rarely taught in college. Students need to be able to ask for more than they are offered, but also take jobs at entry levels, prove themselves and then ask for an increase in pay six months into the job after they have shown that they are doing the work and achieving their goals.
What Senior Contract Analyst skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Stephanie Lain Ph.D.: I would advise graduates to be open to considering jobs in lots of different fields. The skills acquired through their major- such as problem-solving, critical thinking, and writing- are ones that transfer well to a variety of situations.
What general advice would you give to a Senior Contract Analyst?
Dr. Paige Novak P.E. (Minnesota), BCEE: Ask questions, stay curious and open minded, take opportunities to learn and develop new skills.
What general advice would you give to a Senior Contract Analyst?
Dr. Natalia Boliari PhD: First, learn everything about the company you just started working for - its historical path, management, the way it's dealt with crises, etc. Second, learn everything about the specific industry the company belongs to and see how the company has developed relative to the development of the industry domestically and internationally. Third, always be extremely alert to notice new opportunities and be prepared to take calculated risks. That is, actively look for opportunities to complete as many and diverse tasks as possible, and volunteer to complete any type of work regardless of whether it seems relevant to your assigned job or not. Opportunities to learn, grow, and improve and thus to maximize your income, will only come up if you are exposed to diverse situations.
What Senior Contract Analyst skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Dr. Natalia Boliari PhD: Be open minded. Finance is the broad definition of an industry which provides opportunities for careers in financial consultancy, financial analysis, stock brokerage, foreign investment, modeling, exchange rate forecasts, and many more. While most of those careers are attributed to the banking industry, you can find those and others in other sectors of the economy, such as insurance, technology, health care/medical, government, and so on. So, be open and look beyond the banking sector, examine the current and predicted trends in the economy to hunt for exciting career options.
What Senior Contract Analyst skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Mark Stehr PhD: At the start of your career, it's very important to land a role where you learn a lot and find good mentors. The additional skills will pay dividends as your career progresses.
What Senior Contract Analyst skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Michael Smullen: Putting this in context, higher education is about to experience a massive change called the 'enrollment cliff' during which we anticipate a significant drop off in new student enrollment. Within the next five years, it's likely that the employment marketplace will look quite different: - Greater focus on certifications and 'mini-degree' programs to obtain new positions or to advance; - Dramatic increase in the use of artificial intelligence, similar to how email, web, Slack, and most recently Zoom/Teams supplanted former methods of communication; - Increased awareness of prioritizing mental and physical health in the workplace; - Continuous skill improvement: Certifications and 'mini-degree' will be supported by a constant flow of information updates; - Greater need for professional independence: New graduates would be wise to consider how they maintain and own their personal intellectual property to carry it through multiple employers.
Dr. Maggie Siebert Ph.D.
Epidemiologist, NMDOHUniversity of New Mexico
Health/Medical Preparatory Programs
What will help Senior Contract Analysts increase their earning potential?
Dr. Maggie Siebert Ph.D.: Programming languages for reporting, querying, and optimizing/automating
What general advice would you give to a Senior Contract Analyst?
John McDermott Ph.D.: To maximize your salary potential, keep learning, investing in your human capital, and expanding your capabilities. Learn as much as you can about your new position and industry, work with a variety of people at your firm, and seek opportunities outside your comfort zone. Your salary potential will increase as you are recognized as a capable and hard working colleague.
What Senior Contract Analyst skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Dr. Mark Evans: Don't stop learning. Treat your first job like more graduate school. Learn everything you can.
What will help Senior Contract Analysts increase their earning potential?
Clemens Kownatzki PhD, MBA: As a beginner in any field, it pays to listen more than to talk. Be humble, pay attention, be nice to folks and probably most helpful is having a mentor who can guide you along and show you some best practices for navigating your career. You should take advantage of your education, not just to show a piece of paper that says you graduated but think of every single project, essay or paper that you write as part of a portfolio that demonstrates your skill sets. Especially in finance where we can sometimes be enamored with the beauty of a mathematical model, think about how any model should be applied in the real world. In some cases that might mean that you have to “get your hands on the wheel and learn how to drive.” I am not suggesting that you should put all your savings at risk and buy the next iteration of the latest cryptocurrency, but If you’re interested in a career in investing, put a small amount of money at risk and trade a stock, or if you must trade a few dollars’ worth of Bitcoin or Ether – as much as you would risk for a movie ticket seems reasonable. There are lots of virtual trading apps where you can trade with paper money, but there’s nothing like understanding risk when your own dollars are at stake, even if it’s just a few dollars. You should also absorb all the workshops, seminars and resources available out there. Follow Prof. Aswath Damodaran who has a YouTube Channel and hundreds of spreadsheets with financial models, all for free! Also follow some good content providers on various channels to get additional insights – in the field of finance, you need to be up-to-date on all events because those influence markets and the economy. Be ready to continue learning and update your skills and understanding while you’re working. Education doesn’t end after you finish your degree. All successful people are life-long learners.
What Senior Contract Analyst skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Timothy Egan M.S. Marketing: -Understanding finance and how it impacts the operations of where you work, can help you have great insight into new opportunities or see the writing on the wall in tough times. -Don't be afraid to learn new technologies, especially ones that collect data. Enhance your tech-based skills as that will increase your value to the organization where you work and the business community at large. -Learn Spanish. While globalization may have you think about learning an Asian language, the Spanish speaking market is the faster growing in the US and has been since 2010.
What will help Senior Contract Analysts increase their earning potential?
Eric Brisker Ph.D.: Focusing on developing skills in communication, networking, social skills, analytical skills, financial knowledge, and obtaining professional certifications can help maximize salary potential in the finance industry. Developing these skills and following the advice provided can lead to opportunities for higher salaries.
Z. Jay Wang
Department Head, Associate Professor of FinanceUniversity of Oregon
Finance And Financial Management Services
What will help Senior Contract Analysts increase their earning potential?
Z. Jay Wang: Students who have a history of doing work in the field outside the classroom either through internships, industry projects, or school-sponsored clubs managing financial decisions are better poised to maximize starting salary potential. Starting early to secure internships with top companies will also position students well for higher earning potential. Most top banks and firms will post internships from April/May to August, and close by the end of September for the following summer. They are also rolling, so may fill the roles by as early as June of the sophomore year for the following summer after junior year. Finally, networking with industry and alumni professionals in the companies, firms, banks prior to applying for an internship or full-time position will have an impact. The candidate will learn more about the opportunity and company culture for their resume and potential interview, and most top companies in finance will have a referral program. If the candidate impresses the internal connection with excellent questions and strategic answers, they may get a referral that moves them up in the stacks of applicants.
What general advice would you give to a Senior Contract Analyst?
Dr. Wayne Durr: Maximizing your salary potential starts with understanding your value. What skills and
capabilities can you articulate to a prospective employer? The ability to articulate these skills
and what you bring to that company can be challenging. Think of your resume like an artist
thinks of their portfolio. What projects or analysis have you worked on? You cannot articulate
the value you will bring to that prospective company without the ability to articulate your skills
and capabilities. Do your research to determine what other employers pay people with the
same abilities. Ask employers what the salary range is and use that as your baseline. As you
get close to graduating, your classmates talk about the job offers they receive and most likely
share the salaries they are being offered. Listen and use this as a baseline. All this gives you
an idea of your value. Your first job isn't always the place where you'll be able to maximize your
earning potential. Think of your first job as where you will get the work experience to maximize
your future earning potential. Look at this as the place where you will sharpen your skills and
develop new ones. This first job will be where you fill out your resume and either have an
opportunity to maximize your earning potential there or elsewhere in the future.
Additionally, think about passive income and the "side gig". If you don't feel like you're
maximizing your earning potential at that first job, think about how you can make money on the
side. I believe we now live in a society where truly maximizing your earning potential comes
from more than your current employer. The ability to earn money from a side gig is more
prevalent than ever before. I think every student should take an entrepreneur class. Think
about your skills, which one could make you some side money. Don't dismiss jobs you did
growing up, like delivery service, landscaping, etc. There are so many apps and websites that
people and companies are looking for anything from an hour to a couple of days worth of work.
Take that first six months on the job to get settled in, and then start thinking about that side gig.
Peter Ibbott
Associate Professor of EconomicsKing's College
Economics
What will help Senior Contract Analysts increase their earning potential?
Peter Ibbott: If you are considering a career in economics or finance, it is best to get an MA in Economics or a Masters in Financial Economics. If you are considering a career in Business or Finance, it is best to develop your experience through work, while seeking additional educational opportunities throughout your career. Many find that accumulating micro-credentials can be useful. A more valuable path is to work towards obtaining a Chartered Financial Analyst designation. For strong students, taking a break later in your career to pursue an MBA or Masters of Finance can be useful in advancing your mid-career prospects.
Octavian Ionici PhD
Sr. Lecturer in FinanceAmerican University
Finance And Financial Management Services
What Senior Contract Analyst skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Octavian Ionici PhD: The finance profession is lucrative, rewarding and very competitive. Graduates should do their research about the organization they are interviewing with and be able to discuss how their skills can contribute to the business. They should also know if they would rather interact with people and clients or if they are drawn to intellectual pursuits such as analysis. Do they value power, prestige status, risk, or something else? Ultimately our core values, personal goals, interests, aptitudes, and personality will shape our career paths.
Being able to articulate what sparked their interest in the financial field and why they are interested in a chosen role will be an advantage during the hiring process. While still in college, students should join a professional association like the Financial Management Association to give them more access to that broad network, as well as access to career development resources that can set them apart from the crowd.
It's also critical to get an internship (paid or unpaid) in order to show some real-life experience. They can do this while they are still in college, during the summers, or even afterwards, to get a foot in the door.
Reading the WSJ and FT daily, and listening to Bloomberg, or other financial programs as a regular practice will help them to have fluency in the language of our profession. Because the finance sector is heavily regulated and changes occur due to changing economic and political conditions, they will need to stay updated with those changes. Financial media sources will help bring them that context to stay up to date on all of these moving parts.
What will help Senior Contract Analysts increase their earning potential?
Octavian Ionici PhD: Try to understand what your boss or your company needs, then see if you can fill that gap with your skill set and work ethic. Finance constantly evolves. A career with lifelong learning will help keep you employable. Investing in continuous learning and skill development can increase your income potential down the road.
Plus, don't underestimate the power of a positive attitude and strong work ethic. You may not be an expert at the beginning, but you can take on every challenge given to you, work hard and try to turn it into a success for your organization. Each win will build your reputation and your portfolio of skills which you will then bring with you to your next job. As you do this, you will inevitably acquire specialized skills.