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Subject matter expert vs senior analyst

The differences between subject matter experts and senior 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 subject matter expert and a senior analyst. Additionally, a subject matter expert has an average salary of $103,749, which is higher than the $84,799 average annual salary of a senior analyst.

The top three skills for a subject matter expert include SME, project management and DOD. The most important skills for a senior analyst are analytics, data analysis, and tableau.

Subject matter expert vs senior analyst overview

Subject Matter ExpertSenior Analyst
Yearly salary$103,749$84,799
Hourly rate$49.88$40.77
Growth rate11%11%
Number of jobs58,235159,807
Job satisfaction-5
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 57%Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Average age4444
Years of experience44

What does a subject matter expert do?

A subject matter expert is someone who has special knowledge and expertise about a specific process or service, providing advice to other team members or directly assisting customers with their inquiries and concerns. Subject matter experts coordinate on planning strategic procedures to improve the work processes and ensure customer satisfaction. They are also active in participating in learning programs and training sessions to share their knowledge and best practices for their specialization. Subject matter experts identify potential business opportunities to generate more revenues for the business and achieve its profitability goals.

What does a senior analyst do?

A senior analyst's responsibilities will vary in every organization or industry. However, their primary role is to gain an understanding of a company's strengths and weaknesses. Through this, they can devise strategies and determine new opportunities that would be significant in attaining financial gains and a more substantial client base. Furthermore, it is a senior analyst's responsibility to coordinate with various departments, and even clients, to establish a rapport that will be essential in gaining the needed information to catapult a company to its finest.

Subject matter expert vs senior analyst salary

Subject matter experts and senior analysts have different pay scales, as shown below.

Subject Matter ExpertSenior Analyst
Average salary$103,749$84,799
Salary rangeBetween $73,000 And $146,000Between $63,000 And $112,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateCaliforniaNew Jersey
Best paying companyAppleThe Citadel
Best paying industryEnergyFinance

Differences between subject matter expert and senior analyst education

There are a few differences between a subject matter expert and a senior analyst in terms of educational background:

Subject Matter ExpertSenior Analyst
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 57%Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeNorthwestern UniversityNorthwestern University

Subject matter expert vs senior analyst demographics

Here are the differences between subject matter experts' and senior analysts' demographics:

Subject Matter ExpertSenior Analyst
Average age4444
Gender ratioMale, 63.8% Female, 36.2%Male, 61.8% Female, 38.2%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 8.2% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 9.0% Asian, 12.1% White, 66.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%Black or African American, 7.4% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 8.4% Asian, 14.3% White, 65.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage12%12%

Differences between subject matter expert and senior analyst duties and responsibilities

Subject matter expert example responsibilities.

  • Prepare custom perl scripts to automate various monitoring functions.
  • Manage PKI SSL web certificates for Linux and Unix servers.
  • Manage the multiple CSS's require by the different organizations.
  • Develop stored procedures and complex packages using PL/SQL, manage DBA activities.
  • Manage the on-the-job training (OJT) of all new personnel on equipment and SIGINT analytical procedures
  • Participate in and hold daily scrum meetings to perform iterative and incremental agile software development framework when managing product development.
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Senior analyst example responsibilities.

  • Manage and lead a team through the verification and validation process to ensure ISO audit findings are permanently resolve.
  • Experience with the PMI methodology for project managing.
  • Lead developers with complex DB2 coding efforts reducing system overhead.
  • Ensure adequate liquidity in each fund while managing WAM exposure across treasury bills.
  • Manage all monthly and quarterly reporting for the pump segment of the company (PMI).
  • Manage reconciliations of accounts on monthly basis.
  • Show more

Subject matter expert vs senior analyst skills

Common subject matter expert skills
  • SME, 18%
  • Project Management, 6%
  • DOD, 6%
  • Logistics, 4%
  • Customer Service, 4%
  • Windows, 4%
Common senior analyst skills
  • Analytics, 13%
  • Data Analysis, 6%
  • Tableau, 6%
  • Project Management, 5%
  • Strong Analytical, 4%
  • Power Bi, 4%

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