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The differences between senior planning analysts and policy 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 senior planning analyst and a policy analyst. Additionally, a senior planning analyst has an average salary of $79,238, which is higher than the $66,359 average annual salary of a policy analyst.
The top three skills for a senior planning analyst include powerpoint, project management and SR. The most important skills for a policy analyst are public policy, policy analysis, and policy issues.
| Senior Planning Analyst | Policy Analyst | |
| Yearly salary | $79,238 | $66,359 |
| Hourly rate | $38.10 | $31.90 |
| Growth rate | 11% | 11% |
| Number of jobs | 84,455 | 69,173 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 65% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A senior planning analyst specializes in developing business plans and marketing strategies to raise brand awareness and improve business operations. Their responsibilities typically revolve around performing market research and analysis to identify new business opportunities and company needs, determining the strengths and weaknesses of existing processes to find areas needing improvement, analyzing data, and recommending solutions to optimize business procedures. Furthermore, as a senior planning analyst, it is essential to lead and serve as a mentor to junior analysts in the joint effort to reach goals, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.
Policy analysts are responsible for developing government policies and providing advice and briefing to senior management. These professionals work to influence both social and political decisions. They typically work in four key areas, including collecting information, analyzing policies, providing recommendations, and sharing information with government officials and the public. Additionally, they are also expected to consult with stakeholders to provide quantitative evidence supporting their policy. The rest of their time is spent on writing, reading, and analyzing information.
Senior planning analysts and policy analysts have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Planning Analyst | Policy Analyst | |
| Average salary | $79,238 | $66,359 |
| Salary range | Between $61,000 And $102,000 | Between $47,000 And $92,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Seattle, WA |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | Connecticut |
| Best paying company | Citi | Apple |
| Best paying industry | Retail | Insurance |
There are a few differences between a senior planning analyst and a policy analyst in terms of educational background:
| Senior Planning Analyst | Policy Analyst | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 65% |
| Most common major | Business | Political Science |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between senior planning analysts' and policy analysts' demographics:
| Senior Planning Analyst | Policy Analyst | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 59.0% Female, 41.0% | Male, 46.1% Female, 53.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.1% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 8.9% Asian, 13.3% White, 64.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 8.4% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 9.1% Asian, 12.1% White, 65.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 12% | 12% |