Computer and Mathematical · Holland code CIE

Business Intelligence Analysts

Produce financial and market intelligence by querying data repositories and generating periodic reports. Devise methods for identifying data patterns and trends in available information sources.

Also called: Business Intelligence Analyst (BI Analyst), Competitive Intelligence Analyst, Intelligence Analyst, Market Intelligence Consultant, Business Analyst, Business Intelligence Consultant (BI Consultant), Business Intelligence Coordinator (BI Coordinator), Business Intelligence Specialist (BI Specialist).

O*NET 15-2051.01

At a glance

US median annual pay: $120,230; Middle half earn $85,660 to $158,880. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: Bachelor's Degree; 68% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 4 of 5; Considerable preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.
US employment outlook, 2024 to 2034: +34% · Much faster than average; 245,900 jobs in 2024, projected 328,300. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, which groups this with similar roles as "Data scientists".

What the work involves

The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.

Generate standard or custom reports summarizing business, financial, or economic data for review by executives, managers, clients, and other stakeholders.
Maintain or update business intelligence tools, databases, dashboards, systems, or methods.
Manage timely flow of business intelligence information to users.
Provide technical support for existing reports, dashboards, or other tools.
Identify and analyze industry or geographic trends with business strategy implications.
Document specifications for business intelligence or information technology reports, dashboards, or other outputs.
Create business intelligence tools or systems, including design of related databases, spreadsheets, or outputs.
Collect business intelligence data from available industry reports, public information, field reports, or purchased sources.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Reading Comprehension4.0 / 5
Active Listening3.9 / 5
Speaking3.9 / 5
Critical Thinking3.9 / 5
Active Learning3.9 / 5
Writing3.8 / 5

Knowledge areas

Computers and Electronics4.3 / 5
Mathematics3.8 / 5
English Language3.8 / 5
Administration and Management3.1 / 5
Customer and Personal Service3.1 / 5
Economics and Accounting3.0 / 5

Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.

Who tends to enjoy it

How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.

Realistic4
Investigative74
Artistic16
Social14
Enterprising57
Conventional80

The same work abroad

Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.

European occupation titles (ESCO)

business analyst · DE Unternehmensanalyst/Unternehmensanalystin · FR analyste de gestion
business intelligence manager · DE Business-Intelligence-Manager/Business-Intelligence-Managerin · FR veilleur stratégique/veilleuse stratégique
market research analyst · DE Marktforschungsanalyst/Marktforschungsanalystin · FR chargé d’études de marché/chargée d’études de marché
data analyst · DE Datenanalytiker/Datenanalytikerin · FR analyste de données

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Management consultants and business analysts (2431)245,700 employed
Advertising and marketing associate professionals (3554)211,800 employed
Advertising accounts managers and creative directors (2494)55,700 employed

Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.

Pay across Europe, for the whole group

Median annual earnings of all employees in “Professionals”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.

Median annual earnings, Professionals, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€61,714
Germany	€59,529
Ireland	€56,877
Austria	€55,374
Netherlands	€53,595
Sweden	€43,567
France	€41,515
Spain	€35,735
Italy	€33,649
Portugal	€26,072
Poland	€14,380

Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.

Is it a fit for you?

Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.

Take the career interests test