How To Become A Senior Credit Analyst: What It Is and Career Path

What is a senior credit analyst and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

A senior credit analyst is in charge of reviewing the credit history of individuals or organizations to determine the risk level of loaning them money. He/She analyzes the financial statements of clients and ensures that all data entry is accurate and complete. He/She underwrites loan requests and annual reviews. Additionally, he/she reviews legal documentation and ensures the proper administrative follow-up of credit decisions. Furthermore, he/she analyzes loan data which includes data provided by clients, credit bureaus, and bank records on new, renewal, and existing loans.

To become a senior credit analyst, you need a minimum of a bachelor's degree in business administration, finance, accounting, or a related field. You need to gain about two to seven years of experience in a similar role. Core skills include communication, negotiation, and interpersonal, analytical, and organization skills. Senior credit analysts make an average annual income of $72,510. It varies between $48,000 to $110,000.

ScoreSenior Credit AnalystUS Average

Salary

6.7

Avg. Salary $86,364

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.0

Growth rate 17%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.7

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.27%

Asian 9.96%

Black or African American 8.34%

Hispanic or Latino 9.91%

Unknown 2.70%

White 68.81%

Gender

female 45.39%

male 54.61%

Age - 38

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 - 38

Stress level

6.0

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.0

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.4

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a senior credit analyst

Explore senior credit analyst education requirements

Most common senior credit analyst degrees

Bachelor's

71.0 %

Master's

12.9 %

Associate

10.8 %

Start to develop specific senior credit analyst skills

Skills	Percentages
Credit Analysis	6.24%
Customer Service	6.12%
Real Estate	5.58%
Risk Management	4.41%
Credit Risk	4.34%

Complete relevant senior credit analyst training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New senior credit analysts 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 senior credit analyst based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real senior credit analyst resumes.

Research senior credit analyst duties and responsibilities

Supervise staff of 20-30 credit professionals managing an $80 - $100 million A/R portfolio consistently exceeding aging goals.
Partner with small and entrepreneurial business to develop business plans and assist business owners with achieving payroll.
Maintain customer master database in ERP.
Pull all back-up documentation for quarterly SOX compliance audit.

Get senior credit analyst experience

Generally, it takes 1-2 years to become a senior credit analyst. The most common roles before becoming a senior credit analyst include credit analyst, credit manager team lead and customer service representative.

Prepare your senior credit analyst resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your senior credit analyst 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 senior credit analyst resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable senior credit analyst resume templates

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