What Is a Management Analyst and How Do I Become One?

When companies experience challenges, hiring a management analyst can help. A professional in this role can help an organization become more efficient, save money, boost performance, and increase profits.

To understand if you might enjoy becoming a management analyst, learn more about the role and your potential salary. Discover the steps to pursue this career and explore one convenient way to start. 

Read more: Entry-Level Analyst Jobs, Salaries, and Skills to Get Hired

What do management analysts do?

Management analysts collect data involving an organization's structure and processes. As the name implies, they analyze problems and offer recommendations and strategies for improvement. 

Duties and responsibilities of a management analyst

To find out if you'll enjoy a career as a management analyst, it helps to understand the duties and responsibilities of the position. Common tasks of a management analyst include:

• Collecting, organizing, and analyzing information regarding an organization's challenges

• Communicating recommendations to organization stakeholders in written or verbal form

• Conducting site inspections and personnel interviews to gather necessary information

• Creating solutions for problems as needed

• Developing new policies and procedures as needed

• Overseeing the implementation of agreed-upon changes

• Reviewing changes over time and making adjustments as needed

• Reviewing financial data like income and expenditures

Skills that benefit a management analyst

To ensure success in the role of a management analyst, it helps to have certain skills. These skills include workplace skills (those that help you work with others) and technical skills (those that help you do your specific job).

Workplace skills

Management analysts typically work with many different clients, so they need effective workplace skills. Some workplace skills that are important for management analysts include the following:

• Ability to work with a team

• Good written and verbal communication

• Organizational skills

• Problem-solving abilities

• Time management skills

Technical skills

Management analysts also benefit from certain skills specific to their jobs. Some technical skills you may need include these:

• Analytical skills

• Knowledge of data organization software

• Knowledge of financial modeling software

• Research skills

• Strong understanding of business concepts like human resource modeling, resource allocation, production methods, and strategic planning

Where do management analysts work?

Organizations usually hire management analysts on a contractual basis, so you can work for yourself or a business consulting firm. You'll spend your time between your home or company office and the work sites of the organizations that hire you. These types of companies commonly hire management analysts: 

• Finance companies

• Government agencies

• Health care organizations

• Insurance companies

• Manufacturing companies

• Transportation companies 

• Tech companies

Management analyst salary and career outlook

According to Glassdoor, the estimated total pay for management analyst in the US is $108,660 per year [1]. This figure includes an average base salary of $93,705 and $14,955 in additional pay. Additional pay may represent profit-sharing, commissions, or bonuses.

The career outlook for a management analyst appears positive. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) predicts management analyst jobs should grow by about 10 percent in the decade between 2022 and 2032 [2]. This amounts to roughly 92,900  job openings in this field per year, reflecting faster-than-average growth compared to occupations overall [2]. 

How to become a management analyst

Several steps can help you in your pursuit of a management analyst career. Consider these options:

1. Earn a degree.

Most management analysts earn a bachelor's degree, and some looking for quick career advancement enter the workforce with a master's degree. Good fields to pursue when getting a bachelor's include the following:

• Accounting

• Business administration

• Finance

• Engineering

• Information management

• Management

• Statistics

2. Broaden your skills.

You can gain valuable skills needed for a management analyst job in several ways. First, you can take a course specific to the skill you want to develop. To build workplace skills, consider a course in decision-making, public speaking, or team building. To build technical skills, consider an online course in accounting, computer science, data analytics, finance, research methods, or statistics. 

You can also increase your skills by reading about pertinent topics. To improve your critical-thinking skills, take time to reflect before you form an opinion about anything or before you act in any situation. 

3. Get work experience through an internship.

To gain valuable job experience before you begin applying for management analyst positions, consider getting an internship. Check with your college career center or local job service for information about internship opportunities, or call various consulting firms in your area to see if they have available openings for a management analyst intern. In addition to providing valuable work skills, an internship can help you expand your list of professional contacts for future job possibilities. 

4. Get a certification. 

Getting a certification can also help you gain employment as a management analyst. A certification boosts your appeal to a company because it tells them you are competent to perform the duties of the job. 

Certifications helpful for a position as a management analyst might include these:

• Certified Business Management Analyst (CBMA) offered by the American Institute for Business Management and Communication (AIBMC)

• Accredited Management Consultant (AMC) offered by the Global Academy of Finance and Management (GAFM)

• Strategic Management Professional (SMP) offered by the International Association for Strategy Professionals

5. Career advancement options

 If you pursue a career as a management analyst, think about how you can advance professionally from this position. Consider three examples that go in very different directions:

Management analyst→finance analyst→senior finance analyst→finance director

Management analyst→project manager→general manager→director of operations

Management analyst→program manager→director of information technology (IT) 

Read more: What Is Management? Definition, Types, Skills, and Careers

Getting started on Coursera

All companies face challenges at one time or another, but a management analyst can help by assessing the specific situation and offering practical solutions. If the role of a management analyst interests you, you may want to learn more through an online course.

Consider enrolling in the Business Analytics Specialization offered on Coursera by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The instructors have backgrounds in accountancy, analytics, business administration, engineering, and marketing. 

Throughout this four-course series, you'll have the opportunity to learn about basic data-processing concepts and skills, and you'll explore machine learning and discover how to find patterns in data. You'll also explore:

• How to apply data analytics to real business problems

• How to choose the right analytical tools

• How to use data to make important business decisions

After you complete the Specialization, you'll earn a career certificate that you can share on your professional social media pages and resume.