Operations Analysts

• Operations analysts can be found in nearly all business and industrial sectors. They employ statistics and mathematical methods to interpret information and inform business leaders' decisions. Because they work in a broad range of settings, salaries of operations analysts vary widely. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in 2008 that operations analysts received a median annual salary of $69,000.
  
  

Salary Variations

• Operations analysts employed by consulting firms and government agencies earned higher salaries than the median $69,000. The Bureau of Labor Statistics indicated that salaries for business analysts in consulting firms averaged more than $80,000 a year. Meanwhile, operations analysts in federal agencies averaged more than $107,000 a year in 2009, according to the bureau.
  
  

Potential

• The Bureau of Labor Statistics projected growth in jobs for business operations analysts, noting that the greatest job opportunities and salaries exist in consulting firms for analysts with master's and doctoral degrees.
  
  

Management Analysts

• Management analysts and consultants study business operations, developing and proposing ways to improve a company's operations, organization and profits. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, management analysts received an average salary of $73,570 a year in 2008. Analysts in consulting and computer systems firms received higher salaries, averaging $81,670 and $82,090 a year, respectively, the bureau added.
  
  

Market Research Analysts

• A third class of business analyst, known as market researchers or market analysts, help firms develop sales and marketing strategies. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in 2008 that market research specialists' salaries averaged more than $61,000 a year. Like management and operations analysts, a market researcher's salary varies by the type of employer. The bureau indicated that market analysts employed by computer design firms earned more than $77,000 a year, higher than the average.