Management Analysts
Also called Business Analyst, Business Consultant, Management Analyst, or Management Consultant
Updated · Source: O*NET 31.0
What Management Analysts do
Companies hire you to figure out why something inside the organization is slow, costly, or confusing, and to show them a better way.
Management analysts, often called business analysts or consultants, study how an organization actually works and recommend changes. You might look at how paperwork moves between departments, how a warehouse tracks its inventory (the stock of goods on hand), or how much a process costs. You gather the facts, talk to the people doing the work, analyze the data, and write up what you found.
The job mixes two modes. Part of it is quiet and independent: reading, digging through numbers, drafting reports. The other part is social: interviewing staff, watching work happen on site, presenting recommendations to managers, and training people on new procedures. You are usually part of a project team, and deadlines are real.
A day in the life
You start at a desk, indoors and climate controlled, clearing email and reviewing notes from yesterday's interviews. Mid-morning you sit with three staff members and ask how a request moves through their department, then watch them do it. You notice two steps that repeat the same work. Back at your laptop, you pull the numbers and test whether that hunch holds up. After lunch, your project team meets to compare findings and argue about what to recommend. Late afternoon you write: a clear summary a busy manager can read in five minutes, plus the detail behind it. A report is due Thursday, so you stay a bit longer to finish the draft. Much of the day you are sitting.
This could fit you if you…
- ✓Enjoy digging into why something is not working
- ✓Can explain a complicated finding in clear, simple writing
- ✓Like talking with people at every level of an organization
- ✓Stay organized when several projects overlap
- ✓Are comfortable with numbers and cost figures
You might not like it if you…
- –Want to be on your feet or outdoors most of the day
- –Dislike deadline pressure and shifting priorities
- –Would rather avoid telling people their current process needs to change
- –Prefer work where the answer is clear instead of open-ended
How people get in
- 1Finish a bachelor's degree, which is the typical entry-level education. Business administration, business analytics, management science, and organizational leadership are common paths.
- 2Build writing and presentation skills on purpose. Reading comprehension, writing, and speaking sit at the top of this job's skill list.
- 3Take courses that involve data, math, and how organizations are managed, and practice turning messy information into a short recommendation.
- 4Get work experience first. Most people come in with less than five years of related experience, often from an internship or an entry-level business, operations, or analyst role.
- 5Apply for junior analyst or associate consultant openings, at a consulting firm or inside a company's own operations or planning group.
- 6Keep learning on the job by shadowing experienced analysts and volunteering for process reviews and improvement projects.
Who tends to enjoy it
Organizing
People who like keeping things accurate, orderly, and running on schedule.
Curious
People who like figuring things out, research, science, and solving problems.
Leading
People who like persuading, selling, starting things, and taking charge.
Official task list
Management Analysts conduct organizational studies and evaluations, design systems and procedures, conduct work simplification and measurement studies, and prepare operations and procedures manuals to assist management in operating more efficiently and effectively. Includes program analysts and management consultants. (O*NET)
- Gather and organize information on problems or procedures.
- Confer with personnel concerned to ensure successful functioning of newly implemented systems or procedures.
- Analyze data gathered and develop solutions or alternative methods of proceeding.
- Document findings of study and prepare recommendations for implementation of new systems, procedures, or organizational changes.
- Plan study of work problems and procedures, such as organizational change, communications, information flow, integrated production methods, inventory control, or cost analysis.
- Interview personnel and conduct on-site observation to ascertain unit functions, work performed, and methods, equipment, and personnel used.
- Prepare manuals and train workers in use of new forms, reports, procedures or equipment, according to organizational policy.
- Review forms and reports and confer with management and users about format, distribution, and purpose, identifying problems and improvements.
A typical day involves
Skills that matter most
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Listening
- Critical Thinking
- Writing
- Speaking
- Complex Problem Solving
What you'll need to know
- English Language
- Administration and Management
- Customer and Personal Service
- Mathematics
- Education and Training
How much Management Analysts make
The median pay for Management Analysts in the U.S. is $101,860 a year ($48.97 an hour). Most earn between $60,640 and $171,640. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025)
Pay depends a lot on where you live: the median is highest in Massachusetts ($134,720) and lowest in Mississippi ($69,390).
Pay by state and territory
| State | Median pay | Jobs |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $108,040 | 4,900 |
| Alaska | $100,190 | 460 |
| Arizona | $93,310 | 17,190 |
| Arkansas | $72,950 | 6,250 |
| California | $101,460 | 137,280 |
| Colorado | $104,750 | 14,360 |
| Connecticut | $104,960 | 8,000 |
| Delaware | $99,480 | 4,120 |
| District of Columbia | $126,140 | 19,000 |
| Florida | $88,610 | 71,060 |
| Georgia | $99,600 | 38,390 |
| Guam | $78,030 | 220 |
| Hawaii | $101,750 | 2,920 |
| Idaho | $88,710 | 3,700 |
| Illinois | $104,270 | 45,820 |
| Indiana | $95,560 | 11,770 |
| Iowa | $85,530 | 4,150 |
| Kansas | $81,210 | 5,280 |
| Kentucky | $95,630 | 4,550 |
| Louisiana | $95,540 | 4,760 |
| Maine | $75,530 | 2,910 |
| Maryland | $121,680 | 19,170 |
| Massachusetts | $134,720 | 30,060 |
| Michigan | $93,640 | 13,010 |
| Minnesota | $100,790 | 20,700 |
| Mississippi | $69,390 | 3,160 |
| Missouri | $97,270 | 10,030 |
| Montana | $97,470 | 1,590 |
| Nebraska | $75,360 | 2,740 |
| Nevada | $81,600 | 4,550 |
| New Hampshire | $104,270 | 2,670 |
| New Jersey | $105,820 | 22,080 |
| New Mexico | $93,180 | 3,910 |
| New York | $112,250 | 69,150 |
| North Carolina | $98,560 | 22,200 |
| North Dakota | $90,220 | — |
| Ohio | $94,270 | 25,120 |
| Oklahoma | $99,420 | 5,760 |
| Oregon | $101,840 | 10,840 |
| Pennsylvania | $93,830 | 34,420 |
| Rhode Island | $99,640 | 4,100 |
| South Carolina | $100,660 | 12,340 |
| South Dakota | $83,620 | 2,980 |
| Tennessee | $99,260 | 13,700 |
| Texas | $101,400 | 50,990 |
| U.S. Virgin Islands | $78,850 | 50 |
| Utah | $83,530 | 5,670 |
| Vermont | $107,520 | 730 |
| Virginia | $117,580 | 59,620 |
| Washington | $109,170 | 24,760 |
| West Virginia | $97,470 | 1,740 |
| Wisconsin | $98,780 | 11,670 |
| Wyoming | $98,540 | 390 |
Where to study for this
College programs that commonly lead to this career, and how many US colleges offer each.
- Business Administration and Management 2,431 colleges
- Business / Commerce 948 colleges
- Management Science 407 colleges
- Organizational Leadership 627 colleges
- Business Analytics 212 colleges
- Business / Managerial Economics 253 colleges
- Industrial and Organizational Psychology 150 colleges
- Data Analytics 153 colleges
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Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA), occupation 13-1111.00, used under CC BY 4.0 and modified by Whittle. Pay: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025), SOC 13-1111. Outlook and entry education: BLS Employment Projections 2025–35. Program links: NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. How we build these pages.