A senior policy analyst is responsible for analyzing, developing, and improving the policies within an organization, either in the private or the public sector. Most senior policy analysts work in finance and healthcare companies, as well as the government.
Aside from the responsibilities mentioned above, a senior policy analyst's duties may include leading the collection of relevant data, developing and implementing policy changes, educating stakeholders and staff about policies, and providing technical assistance to service providers when needed. As senior employees, they may also be responsible for hiring and training junior members of the staff.
To become a senior policy analyst, one must have a degree in business, political science, law, or something else that is relevant to their line of work. More than that, a senior policy analyst must have gained enough experience in the industry before attaining the role.
In terms of salary, the average senior policy analyst makes around $32 an hour or roughly $65,000 a year.
How to Become a Senior Policy Analyst
What is a Senior Policy Analyst
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a Senior Policy Analyst. For example, did you know that they make an average of $36.88 an hour? That's $76,712 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 14% and produce 118,300 job opportunities across the U.S.
What Does a Senior Policy Analyst Do
There are certain skills that many Senior Policy Analysts have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed Time-management skills, Analytical skills and Communication skills.
How To Become a Senior Policy Analyst
If you're interested in becoming a Senior Policy Analyst, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 59.8% of Senior Policy Analysts have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 24.7% of Senior Policy Analysts have master's degrees. Even though most Senior Policy Analysts have a college degree, it's impossible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become a Senior Policy Analyst. When we researched the most common majors for a Senior Policy Analyst, we found that they most commonly earn Bachelor's Degree degrees or Master's Degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on Senior Policy Analyst resumes include Doctoral Degree degrees or Associate Degree degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a Senior Policy Analyst. In fact, many Senior Policy Analyst jobs require experience in a role such as Policy Analyst. Meanwhile, many Senior Policy Analysts also have previous career experience in roles such as Consultant or Internship.
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Senior Policy Analyst Career Paths
In addition to switching up your job search, it might prove helpful to look at a career path for your specific job. Now, what's a career path you ask? Well, it's practically a map that shows how you might advance from one job title to another. Our career paths are especially detailed with salary changes. So, for example, if you started out with the role of Executive Director you might progress to a role such as President eventually. Later on in your career, you could end up with the title President & Chief Operating Officer.
Senior Policy Analyst Jobs You Might Like
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Tell us your goals and we'll match you with the rights job to get there.
Average Salary for a Senior Policy Analyst
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Senior Policy Analyst Demographics
Senior Policy Analyst Gender Distribution
After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
- Among Senior Policy Analysts, 46.1% of them are women, while 53.9% are men.
- The most common race/ethnicity among Senior Policy Analysts is White, which makes up 70.4% of all Senior Policy Analysts.
- The most common foreign language among Senior Policy Analysts is Spanish at 32.1%.
Find the best Senior Policy Analyst job for you
Senior Policy Analyst Jobs You Might Like
- High Paying Senior Policy Analyst Jobs - $109K and Up
- Work From Home Senior Policy Analyst Jobs
- Entry Level Senior Policy Analyst Jobs
- Part Time Senior Policy Analyst Jobs
- Actively Hiring
- No Degree Senior Policy Analyst Jobs
Top Colleges for Senior Policy Analysts
1. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
2. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
3. New York University
New York, NY • Private
4. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
5. Harvard University
Cambridge, MA • Private
6. George Washington University, The
Washington, DC • Private
7. University of Georgia
Athens, GA • Private
8. Pennsylvania State University
University Park, PA • Private
9. University of Notre Dame
Notre Dame, IN • Private
10. Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL • Private
Find the best Senior Policy Analyst job for you
Senior Policy Analyst Jobs You Might Like
- High Paying Senior Policy Analyst Jobs - $109K and Up
- Work From Home Senior Policy Analyst Jobs
- Entry Level Senior Policy Analyst Jobs
- Part Time Senior Policy Analyst Jobs
- Actively Hiring
- No Degree Senior Policy Analyst Jobs
Online Courses For Senior Policy Analyst That You May Like
An Introduction to Policy Analysis Concepts and Practice For The Real World!...
Learn about leading foreign policy challenges confronting U.S. policy makers and the American public...
In this course, learners will become familiar with principles and theories of global health problems, and major challenges and controversies in improving global population health as well as practical applications of quantitative methods to analyze and interpret issues and challenges for policy. Topics will include health and foreign policy, health governance, acute disease surveillance, non-communicable diseases, burden of disease, universal health coverage, health systems strengthening, health...
Top Skills For a Senior Policy Analyst
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 6.2% of Senior Policy Analysts listed Public Policy on their resume, but soft skills such as Time-management skills and Analytical skills are important as well.
Best States For a Senior Policy Analyst
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a Senior Policy Analyst. The best states for people in this position are Illinois, Maryland, Oregon, and New York. Senior Policy Analysts make the most in Illinois with an average salary of $100,029. Whereas in Maryland and Oregon, they would average $96,900 and $95,023, respectively. While Senior Policy Analysts would only make an average of $92,711 in New York, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. District of Columbia
$106,580
Avg. Salary
2. Illinois
$100,029
Avg. Salary
3. Maryland
$96,900
Avg. Salary