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Subject matter expert vs technical business analyst

The differences between subject matter experts and technical business 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 technical business analyst. Additionally, a subject matter expert has an average salary of $103,749, which is higher than the $81,757 average annual salary of a technical business analyst.

The top three skills for a subject matter expert include SME, project management and DOD. The most important skills for a technical business analyst are project management, business analysis, and business processes.

Subject matter expert vs technical business analyst overview

Subject Matter ExpertTechnical Business Analyst
Yearly salary$103,749$81,757
Hourly rate$49.88$39.31
Growth rate11%11%
Number of jobs58,235203,686
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 57%Bachelor's Degree, 70%
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 technical business analyst do?

As a technical business analyst, one oversees the technical business project and solution implementation. Technical business analysts work with the technical team members and stakeholders for the mapping, analysis, and documentation of business projects and processes. People in the business world consider them as market technicians, chartists, securities traders, or researchers. The job also involves the documentation of redesigned computer systems and applications. Skills in computer programming, leadership, communication, and management are necessary.

Subject matter expert vs technical business analyst salary

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

Subject Matter ExpertTechnical Business Analyst
Average salary$103,749$81,757
Salary rangeBetween $73,000 And $146,000Between $62,000 And $106,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CAWashington, DC
Highest paying stateCaliforniaNew Jersey
Best paying companyAppleMeta
Best paying industryEnergyTechnology

Differences between subject matter expert and technical business analyst education

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

Subject Matter ExpertTechnical Business Analyst
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 57%Bachelor's Degree, 70%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeNorthwestern UniversityNorthwestern University

Subject matter expert vs technical business analyst demographics

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

Subject Matter ExpertTechnical Business Analyst
Average age4444
Gender ratioMale, 63.8% Female, 36.2%Male, 53.2% Female, 46.8%
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, 7.5% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 8.5% Asian, 14.5% White, 64.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage12%12%

Differences between subject matter expert and technical business 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.
  • Show more

Technical business analyst example responsibilities.

  • Lead migration of payroll and human resource data to 3COM following U.S. Robotics and 3COM merger.
  • Manage single large projects or multiple concurrent smaller projects in the human resources, payroll, and employee benefits areas.
  • Manage all phases of the business requirement from initial research to the UAT following the process and maintaining the quality standards.
  • Achieve online editorial content management by editing HTML for publishing health information.
  • Manage development intranet and internet sites for internal sales reps and external channel partners using SharePoint technology.
  • Generate SSRS reports using MDX/DAX queries.
  • Show more

Subject matter expert vs technical business analyst skills

Common subject matter expert skills
  • SME, 18%
  • Project Management, 6%
  • DOD, 6%
  • Logistics, 4%
  • Customer Service, 4%
  • Windows, 4%
Common technical business analyst skills
  • Project Management, 7%
  • Business Analysis, 5%
  • Business Processes, 5%
  • User Stories, 5%
  • Test Cases, 4%
  • Scrum, 4%

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