Senior policy analyst vs planning analyst

The differences between senior policy analysts and planning 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 policy analyst and a planning analyst. Additionally, a senior policy analyst has an average salary of $68,774, which is higher than the $68,137 average annual salary of a planning analyst.

The top three skills for a senior policy analyst include public policy, policy issues and project management. The most important skills for a planning analyst are project management, customer service, and data analysis.

Senior policy analyst vs planning analyst overview

	Senior Policy Analyst	Planning Analyst
Yearly salary	$68,774	$68,137
Hourly rate	$33.06	$32.76
Growth rate	11%	11%
Number of jobs	64,894	92,380
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 60%	Bachelor's Degree, 73%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	4	4

What does a senior policy analyst do?

Senior policy analysts are legal professionals who are responsible for developing government policies as well as providing advice and briefings to ministers and senior management. These analysts are required to provide detailed information about the law and public policy for both government and the private sector. They must collaborate with the business development division to research and present policies and trends related to health care. Senior policy analysts must also conduct technical assistance and training to advocacy groups and service providers.

What does a planning analyst do?

As a planning analyst, you will be responsible for designing and implementing a company's business and marketing strategies with the goal of driving profits and reducing costs. You will propose measures to enhance an organization's overall efficiency, and guide managers on ways to strengthen profit margins through risk awareness reduced costs, and increased revenues. Other duties include conducting risk analyses to identify areas of potential failure, maintaining the business continuity program, and handling internal and external corporate communications with the investment community and industry analysts.

Senior policy analyst vs planning analyst salary

Senior policy analysts and planning analysts have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Senior Policy Analyst	Planning Analyst
Average salary	$68,774	$68,137
Salary range	Between $49,000 And $95,000	Between $49,000 And $93,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	New Jersey	Rhode Island
Best paying company	Google	Meta
Best paying industry	Finance	Automotive

Differences between senior policy analyst and planning analyst education

There are a few differences between a senior policy analyst and a planning analyst in terms of educational background:

	Senior Policy Analyst	Planning Analyst
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 60%	Bachelor's Degree, 73%
Most common major	Political Science	Business
Most common college	Northwestern University	Northwestern University

Senior policy analyst vs planning analyst demographics

Here are the differences between senior policy analysts' and planning analysts' demographics:

	Senior Policy Analyst	Planning Analyst
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 53.9% Female, 46.1%	Male, 53.4% Female, 46.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.5% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 9.2% Asian, 10.4% White, 67.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%	Black or African American, 8.0% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 8.9% Asian, 12.6% White, 65.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	12%	12%

Differences between senior policy analyst and planning analyst duties and responsibilities

Senior policy analyst example responsibilities.

Lead and manage junior staff collecting quantitative and qualitative data on health outcomes among Medicare and Medicaid dual eligible populations.
Lead a cross-team project to deliver state fact sheets highlighting the importance of social security and Medicare.
Manage all issues relate to high quality survey administration including training and approval/certification, performance oversight and data collection.
Conduct detailed reviews of DOD CI/HUMINT doctrine, strategies and policies.
Present analysis to the CMS via public comments, legal memorandums, and in person presentations.
Propose changing the TSA MD 2810.1and eventually the DHS MD 11056.1 to reflect these legal concerns.

Planning analyst example responsibilities.

Manage 160 footwear SKUs across 3700 stores to ensure optimal inventory depths during peak time frames.
Reduce work in process inventory by use of KANBAN system which also lead to improve customer service.
Manage suppliers (KPI's) to deliver target cost, service and quality levels in each operating center.
Manage cross-functional team which successfully create a manual for ISO 9000 certification and develop a training program for new hires.
Lead monthly and quarterly EAC forecasting and consolidate forecasts in support of corporate financial reporting.
Prepare requests for quotes (RFQ) and requests for improvement (RFI) for distribution to existing and potential suppliers.

Senior policy analyst vs planning analyst skills

Common senior policy analyst skills

Public Policy, 7%
Policy Issues, 7%
Project Management, 6%
Policy Analysis, 6%
Data Analysis, 5%
Public Health, 5%

Common planning analyst skills

Project Management, 8%
Customer Service, 7%
Data Analysis, 6%
Logistics, 6%
Strong Analytical, 5%
SQL, 5%

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Senior Policy Analyst vs Planning Analyst

Updated January 8, 2025

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