Business analysts have a crucial job: They must use tools, skills, and often their own intuition to analyze massive amounts of company and industry data. That analysis, in turn, guides their company’s development of products, processes and services. There’s nothing more crucial to growth—which is why a business analyst salary is often quite generous.

But how generous? Let’s analyze a typical business analyst salary and how skills, background, and education can impact it. If you’re thinking of becoming a business analyst, there’s no better time to explore what the market has to offer.

What is a business analyst starting salary?

According to Emsi Burning Glass, which collects and analyzes millions of job postings from across the country, a starting business analyst salary can range from $53,000 to $82,000 per year. That varies considerably with education, employer, location, and other factors.

As business analysts build up tenure, that salary obviously rises. Emsi Burning Glass predicts that, after more than nine years of experience in the industry, business analysts can earn as much as $113,000 per year. And that’s before you consider perks and benefits such as bonuses and stock options, which can make total compensation climb still higher.

Education also impacts business analyst salary; those with a Bachelor’s degree or Master’s degree have a median salary of $80,000, significantly above an Associate degree holder’s median salary of $65,000. Possessing industry-specific certifications and skills can boost your value still higher on the open market.

What is a business analyst average salary?  

According to Emsi Burning Glass, the median business analyst salary stands at $79,498 per year. Meanwhile, Dice’s latest Tech Salary Report places the annual business analyst salary at $101,497—up four percent between 2020 and 2021.

For those keeping score at home, that’s just slightly beneath the Tech Salary Report’s average technologist salary of $104,566, and that’s before you consider how experience, education, and company could impact it.

How do you negotiate salary?  

With tech unemployment notably low at the moment, technologists have more leverage for negotiation than before—especially if they have highly specialized skills. For business analysts, showing that you’ve mastered the principles of business analysis, project management, and business processes can only help you when sitting down to talk money. It’s always useful to come to the table with examples (and narratives) of how you’ve used those skills to contribute mightily to positive business outcomes.

When writing a business analyst resume, make sure that you use your experience section to describe how you used your analysis skills to help boost profits and complete projects. Examine the original job posting, paying particular attention to any listed skills you’ve mastered; make sure to list those skills on your resume.

Are business analysts in demand?  

According to Emsi Burning Glass, employers have posted 318,672 open business analyst positions over the past 12 months, and the average time-to-fill has been 40 days—indicating a strong level of demand for these professionals.

Is business analyst a dying career?  

Emsi Burning Glass also predicts that business analyst positions will grow 5.9 percent over the next 10 years, which just underscores that, no, business analyst isn’t a dying career. As more organizations nationwide seek to analyze their data for crucial, market-beating insights, these analysts will become more important than ever.