Business analyst salary

bragan

I got called for an interview for a business analyst role. I'm just under a year out of college, and have been doing Java programming since then.

My question - what kind of salary would you be expecting in my situation? Not sure what to say if I get asked, and I don't want to say what I'm currently on, because it's really crap for the profession, and don't want to get stuck with a sh*ty salary, getting taken advantage off again.

I had a look at the salary surveys on Irish jobs and monster, but I get the feeling there referring to people with more experience, as they are quite high.

copacetic

I would have said salarys woul be highish for a role like that 50-60k.

However I also would have said there is no way you have the experience required to work directly with clients. so I dunno really, 30-40k range as they will be training you up?

pwd

There are jobs which are described as business analyst roles which pay between 20k and 40k, and which entail churning out standardised reports in excel using vlookups mainly and pivot tables occasionally, and which are done by people with little to no It skills or background.
Do you know what the job you are applying for will involve

bragan

whohoo...there the kind of figures I'm seeing on the salary surveys too. At the moment I'm only on 23,000. i have a first class honors degree, and nearly a year's programming experience. And i think I do a good job. I'm not one of those people that's all academic and nothing practical. My supervisor is very happy with my work, and said as much in my performance apprasial. The problem is they are a small company, and very stingy.

bragan

pwd wrote:

There are jobs which are described as business analyst roles which pay between 20k and 40k, and which entail churning out standardised reports in excel using vlookups mainly and pivot tables occasionally, and which are done by people with little to no It skills or background.
Do you know what the job you are applying for will involve

Hey pwd.....the spec is like this:
you would serve as a liaison between the system development team and business.

The position would require you to work directly with requestors of new software functionality and Product/Project mangers to identify, assess, and document business requirements.

You would assist in developing system requirements and producing design specifications for new technology applications or changes to existing applications. As you work through requirements/design you would partner with multiple groups, including customers, sales, marketing, project managers and system architects, to recommend appropriate project scope based on business priorities, and advise the business on options and risks.

Another part of the Business Analyst position would be to analyze impact of proposed solutions across the organization and develop use cases that explain/demonstrate business requirements/specifications to the development team. You would work directly with the development team to ensure that they fully understand the specifications and ensure that testing results correspond to the business expectations.

And sometimes be involved in training of end users.

copacetic

bragan wrote:

Hey pwd.....the spec is like this:
you would serve as a liaison between the system development team and business.

The position would require you to work directly with requestors of new software functionality and Product/Project mangers to identify, assess, and document business requirements.

You would assist in developing system requirements and producing design specifications for new technology applications or changes to existing applications. As you work through requirements/design you would partner with multiple groups, including customers, sales, marketing, project managers and system architects, to recommend appropriate project scope based on business priorities, and advise the business on options and risks.

Another part of the Business Analyst position would be to analyze impact of proposed solutions across the organization and develop use cases that explain/demonstrate business requirements/specifications to the development team. You would work directly with the development team to ensure that they fully understand the specifications and ensure that testing results correspond to the business expectations.

And sometimes be involved in training of end users.

I would have thought at least 30k based on that spec. However that spec could outline a job all the way up to 60k or more depending on what experience and skills they need.

You need to find out the salary range before you show your hand at the interview. Is it direct to the company? Do they also have it with agencies? If so get on to the agency about it and find out the salary range..

bragan

Yes, It is direct with the company, but I have seen them on Irish jobs through an agency.
The other thing is it is not based in Dublin. they are in the country. (not saying where because you never know how reads these boards!!) I realize that this would mean a slightly lower salary, but I'm taking that into consideration.

copacetic

bragan wrote:

Yes, It is direct with the company, but I have seen them on Irish jobs through an agency.
The other thing is it is not based in Dublin. they are in the country. (not saying where because you never know how reads these boards!!) I realize that this would mean a slightly lower salary, but I'm taking that into consideration.

get on the the agency and find out the range, you need to know what to pitch yourself at. If you go in and say lower that is probably what you will get..

pwd

if you say lower you often discredit yourself too I think.

bragan

I got on to the agency, and they said they didn't have a salary range. He said that they are good customers, but that they always say that there salary is negotiable. So, no help really.

copacetic

pwd wrote:

if you say lower you often discredit yourself too I think.

true, if you are offering 50k and some guy wants 35k you do wonder what the feck is wrong with him..

cold_filter

i'm in a similar situtation to the op but i do have some PM experience, 30k is a good salary i think for you, once you get a bit of experience you could move on and get a lot more

copacetic

bragan wrote:

I got on to the agency, and they said they didn't have a salary range. He said that they are good customers, but that they always say that there salary is negotiable. So, no help really.

they always say that, keep pressing him, say there is no point sending on your CV if you don't know what the range is. Or suggest a range, he will at least confirm if it is ok, tell him you want 35k min and see what he says..

warrenaldo

i was in a similar boat a couple of years ago. however if you ask the agency what is the expected salary - even ask them what is the best salary that you can get.

when i did it. i was on 24k and i applied for a job. i asked the agency and they told me but prior to asking i was going to tell them i was currently on 27k and was gonna tell them expecting near 30k.

but she told me that the salary would be around 30k anyway so it worked out. i told them i wanted min 30k and they obliged.

copacetic

cold_filter wrote:

i'm in a similar situtation to the op but i do have some PM experience, 30k is a good salary i think for you, once you get a bit of experience you could move on and get a lot more

true, not saying OP has experience to ask for more, but he doesn't even know if 30k is what they are offering.

bragan

I did press him. I said i wasn't going to leave the city if the salary wasn't right etc, but all he said was that because of were they are located, they didn't really have a lot of applicants on the table, and that i would be in a good bargaining position. Which of course is good news(although something I had already assumed), it just don't help me out. He said to expect something along the lines of a 10% decrease in average salary because of location.

Now, after all that has been said, I'm more worried. I don't want to say to high a figure to put me out of the running because of my lack of experience, but i also want to get a lot more than what I'm on now.

copacetic

bragan wrote:

I did press him. I said i wasn't going to leave the city if the salary wasn't right etc, but all he said was that because of were they are located, they didn't really have a lot of applicants on the table, and that i would be in a good bargaining position. Which of course is good news(although something I had already assumed), it just don't help me out. He said to expect something along the lines of a 10% decrease in average salary because of location.

Now, after all that has been said, I'm more worried. I don't want to say to high a figure to put me out of the running because of my lack of experience, but i also want to get a lot more than what I'm on now.

is your degree in CS?

bragan

yeah its a degree in computer applications-information systems

copacetic

If it was me I'd pitch myself at 35k+benefits, not too low, but not too high either. If you want to PM me the company I may know if that is reasonable or not..

kerrymaninld

A couple of points:-

- If you have just one years experience
- I can't see anyone taking you on in an analyst role
- Why are you leaving where you are, if I was on the interview panel I'd be concerned that you'd leave me after a year also.

- Role as described sounds like there will be no programming in it, do you want to drop your techie skills this quickly in your career?

Eglinton

I would say you're looking at 25-28K. I don't hire inexperienced grads for more than 25K no matter what their qualification is. Graduates have very high opinions of themselves. The Government has a role in this by telling grads there are loads of good jobs out there. That's simply not true. Everyone goes out thinking "hey I'm worth loads, give me a 40K salary".

It doesn't work that way. A good grad salary for an IT job is 28K. Some people get lucky and get 30K. Only the very few get more than that and anyone else is a liar. Your one years experience in Java programming isn't worth didly squat. Vodafone are laying off people with 10-20 years experience in programming at the mo. There's an abundance of qualified people.

It's a tough life but you have to accept the basic and then try and work your way through the system. Don't leave a job within a year. If you're good enough you'll get to the top. The cream always rises.

And anyway, if you're single, no dependants, mortgage, don't drink too much and don't gamble every hour of the day, then 25k is loads for a very comfortable life. Most people with kids live on less, so count yourself lucky.

bragan

Eglinton wrote:

I would say you're looking at 25-28K. I don't hire inexperienced grads for more than 25K no matter what their qualification is. Graduates have very high opinions of themselves. The Government has a role in this by telling grads there are loads of good jobs out there. That's simply not true. Everyone goes out thinking "hey I'm worth loads, give me a 40K salary".

It doesn't work that way. A good grad salary for an IT job is 28K. Some people get lucky and get 30K. Only the very few get more than that and anyone else is a liar. Your one years experience in Java programming isn't worth didly squat. Vodafone are laying off people with 10-20 years experience in programming at the mo. There's an abundance of qualified people.

It's a tough life but you have to accept the basic and then try and work your way through the system. Don't leave a job within a year. If you're good enough you'll get to the top. The cream always rises.

And anyway, if you're single, no dependants, mortgage, don't drink too much and don't gamble every hour of the day, then 25k is loads for a very comfortable life. Most people with kids live on less, so count yourself lucky.

I'm not looking for a 40k salary. I know I don't have much experience, hence me posting this question. If I had a few years experience, then I know what I should be on. I'm not looking for an easy way out, or a quick route to the top, I'm simply asking my worth in this position so I'll be able to answer the question, if asked. I was also thinking along the lines of 28K but wanted to make sure I wouldn't be shooting to high. I had no intentions of thinking that I was worth 40K.

bragan

kerrymaninld wrote:

A couple of points:-

- If you have just one years experience
- I can't see anyone taking you on in an analyst role
- Why are you leaving where you are, if I was on the interview panel I'd be concerned that you'd leave me after a year also.

- Role as described sounds like there will be no programming in it, do you want to drop your techie skills this quickly in your career?

Yes, I can see where your coming from, believe me.
However, they know my experience level. when I first heard about the job, I emailed them more for advice than to apply for the job. I told them exactly my experience, and I wanted to know how I would go about getting one of these jobs, as I know it can be a difficult area to get into. They replied with some job details, and asked me to send in my CV, which they would review. They did this, and called me for an interview.
So....in short-they are aware of my experience level and length of service and still called me for interview.

And to answer your last question, I don't like programing. I never have....I can do it, but I would much prefer to be working with people. A BA job seems like a good mix between using my techie skills and meeting people. And that is also the reason I am leaving my present job within a year.