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

What is a software analyst and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted experts

Erik Johnson Ph.D.,

Kevin Treu Ph.D.

Software analysts are those that function as a valuable link between the end-users and the developers. You will perform complex analysis, design, and programming to meet business requirements. You will also develop, maintain and manage systems, software tools, and applications. The coordination and assisting software professionals in installing and analyzing applications and tools will be done by you. All complex issues relating to business requirements and objectives must be resolved. In addition, you will train and develop other software analysts. Lastly, you will analyze, design, and develop modifications and changes to existing systems to enhance performance.

To be a software analyst, you will need a Bachelor's degree in Business, Computer Science, Management Information Systems, or a related field. You must have a working knowledge and experience of software technology, broad business knowledge, and computer programming experience. You must possess strong analytical skills and problem-solving skills. To be able to perform the job well, you must be able to communicate effectively both verbally and in writing. You will earn an average of $73,059 annually.

What general advice would you give to a software analyst?

Erik Johnson Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Economics, Carthage College

Economics gives you a set of tools to analyze a variety of policy and business problems. However, determining which tools to apply in which situation requires that you learn the industry, you are working from top to bottom. When you begin a new job in a new field, be sure to do everything you can to understand how the organization and the industry work to understand the primary incentives that everyone faces. One right way to do this is to make as many connections within the company you are working for as possible, and always be on the lookout for new opportunities within the company and how they can help you learn more. Moreover, do your best to ensure that a significant portion of your job involves some creative endeavors, such as economic modeling or building tools for yourself or others to use. As computing power continues to become cheaper, and artificial intelligence becomes more advanced, relatively repetitive tasks become more comfortable and easier to automate. Therefore, you will have less job security. Creative tasks, such as modeling and tool building, are difficult to automate and are more likely to provide you with more satisfaction.

ScoreSoftware AnalystUS Average

Salary

6.1

Avg. Salary $78,400

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

5.3

Growth rate 9%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.4

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.19%

Asian 17.22%

Black or African American 10.11%

Hispanic or Latino 10.91%

Unknown 5.00%

White 56.57%

Gender

female 32.33%

male 67.67%

Age - 42

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 - 42

Stress level

5.3

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.3

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.8

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a software analyst

Explore software analyst education requirements

Most common software analyst degrees

Bachelor's

71.0 %

Master's

13.3 %

Associate

10.5 %

Start to develop specific software analyst skills

Skills	Percentages
Java	7.56%
C++	7.46%
Software Development	7.19%
Troubleshoot	4.54%
Test Data	3.71%

Complete relevant software analyst training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New software 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 software analyst based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real software analyst resumes.

Research software analyst duties and responsibilities

Lead detailed level requirement (DLR), CCL and UI sync up.
Contribute to implementing microservices used to manage entities and maintain a synchronize state between supplier and distributor.
Provide testing support to meet DITSCAP, DII COE, JTA-A, and DoD standards.
Implement the controller using J2EE (Servlets).

Prepare your software analyst resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your software analyst resume.

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Choose from 10+ customizable software analyst resume templates

Build a professional software analyst resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your software analyst resume.