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Requirements & process

Business Analyst

Translating what the business wants into what can actually be built.

Typical pay

$65k-$115k

How you get in

Bachelor's plus process and requirements experience

Outlook

Steady; strong when paired with data skills

Business analysts sit between stakeholders and technical teams, defining requirements and improving processes. The title means very different things at different companies, which is worth clarifying before you accept a role.

A day in the life

  1. 9:00aStakeholder interview about a broken process
  2. 10:30aMap the current state and where it fails
  3. 12:00pLunch
  4. 1:00pWrite requirements and acceptance criteria
  5. 3:00pRefinement session with the development team
  6. 4:30pUser acceptance testing on a new release

How to get in

Degree into an analyst role

Duration

4 years

Cost

$40,000-$150,000

Credential

Bachelor's in business, IS or a related field

  1. Complete a business, information systems or economics degree
  2. Learn SQL and process mapping — both are practical hiring filters
  3. Intern in operations or IT
  4. Enter as a junior business or systems analyst

Operations into analysis

Duration

1-3 years

Cost

$0-$3,000

Credential

None — internal track record

  1. Work in operations, support or finance and learn a process deeply
  2. Document and improve something that was previously undocumented
  3. Partner with IT on a system change
  4. Move into the BA role with domain knowledge external hires lack

Certification-led

Duration

6-12 months

Cost

$1,000-$4,000

Credential

CBAP, ECBA or a scrum-related certification

  1. Take an IIBA certification appropriate to your experience level
  2. Pair it with real process or requirements work at your current job
  3. Add SQL and a BI tool to broaden your options
  4. Certification helps clear HR filters but does not replace experience

What people love

  • · No specific degree or technical background required
  • · Broad exposure to how a business actually works
  • · Bridges into product, project management or data
  • · Remote-friendly

What wears people down

  • · Responsible for clarity without authority over anyone
  • · Meeting-heavy days
  • · Stakeholders change requirements after sign-off
  • · The title is inconsistent across companies

From people doing it

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