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

What is a stock analyst and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

John Clark Ph.D., CFA, CFP

The average stock analyst salary is $81,018. The most common degree is a bachelor's degree degree with an finance major. It usually takes 2-4 years of experience to become a stock analyst. Stock analysts with a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) certification earn more money. Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 9% and produce 31,900 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a stock analyst?

John Clark Ph.D., CFA, CFP

Chair, Dept. of Finance, University of Nevada - Las Vegas

Show you have experience. Doing an internship is a great way to increase your starting salary. I always advocate for doing applied research, this is research that you can show has implications for society - science for the sake of science is not good science! Obtaining an MS degree is also a good way to increase your salary, especially if your MS degree is relevant to your future job.

ScoreStock AnalystUS Average

Salary

6.3

Avg. Salary $81,018

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

5.8

Growth rate 9%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.10%

Asian 14.09%

Black or African American 5.64%

Hispanic or Latino 7.67%

Unknown 4.50%

White 68.00%

Gender

female 26.44%

male 73.56%

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

5.8

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.4

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.3

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a stock analyst

Explore stock analyst education requirements

Most common stock analyst degrees

Bachelor's

79.3 %

Master's

9.0 %

Associate

5.9 %

Start to develop specific stock analyst skills

Skills	Percentages
Financial Statements	26.43%
Investment Portfolios	17.66%
Stock Options	7.42%
Stock Market	6.43%
DCF	5.34%

Complete relevant stock analyst training and internships

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

Research stock analyst duties and responsibilities

Manage and update early engagement processes daily through SharePoint.
Analyze charts, volatility, and indicators relate to stocks, options and futures strategies.
Counsele senior management of NASDAQ list companies regarding material news disclosure and unusual trading activity.
Review data files for errors comparing current information provide by clients to historical data contain in database and fix them utilizing SAS

Prepare your stock analyst resume

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

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