How to Become a Product Analyst: Career Path Guide
Although there are multiple paths you can take to become a product analyst, a very effective route for entering this profession is to follow these general steps:
• Determine if this profession is suited to your personality and professional interests
• Pursue a bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, Accounting or a similar field
• Get work/internship experience in the area of product development or marketing research
• Advance into roles of increasing responsibility and pay as you gain experience
Read on below to learn more about what these professionals do for a living, what it takes to get into this field, and other details of this occupation:
What relevant work experience will I need?
Even with a degree, employers typically prefer to hire product analysts that have experience working in marketing research or product development, preferably in the same field as the employer’s operations.
Success Tip: When applying for your first job, look for internship or junior product analyst positions.
What formal education will I need?
There is no specific educational route for becoming a product analyst, although a degree in marketing, general business, economics, accounting or a similar field are considered the most relevant for this work.
What is a product analyst?
Product analysts are important members of a product development team, whose goal and shared responsibility is to support their company’s growth and help them improve their market position by working to develop user-friendly, profitable products.
To do so, they must analyze market data and work with internal and external stakeholders to develop information on the business and market requirements for a product.
Product analysts tend to specialize in one field, studying trends, data, regulations and competition in a given area of industry.
What does a product analyst do?
The typical job duties of a product analyst include:
• Identifying the target market, price point, and inventory levels for soon to be developed or improved product or service
• Providing management with detailed and verifiable product and market assessments
• Collecting and analyzing data regarding potential target markets, such as consumer age range, gender, socio-economic levels and geographic location
• Analyzing market results of product, which may involve interviewing and collecting data from end users
• Constantly monitoring market results and communicating findings to management so they can take action to avoid loss or enhance gains
• Monitoring product through introductory, growth, mature and decline stages in order to anticipate market factors which would create loss of profitability
• Sharing responsibility for company growth and profitability through product development
What is the work environment like?
Working Hours: Product analysts often work normal, weekday business hours, although they may be required to work overtime occasionally, such as when facing deadlines or when meeting with people who are not available during business hours. They may be required to travel to meet with clients or other stakeholders.
Working Conditions: Product analysts typically work in a comfortable office environment, and spend much of their time using specialized software to analyze data or attending meetings with various stakeholders, such as development team members, sales team members, and company management.
Is this career right for me?
Becoming a successful product analyst takes a certain set of personal and professional attributes; if you have the following, you may be well-suited for work in this field:
• You have an interest in a career that involves liaising with the end user and product/service developers
• You have a customer-centric approach to product/service development and delivery
• You have an interest in analyzing and interpreting statistical data
• You take enjoyment from co-ordinating information
• You enjoy planning and administering projects and consulting with others
• You’re interested in a career that involves making decisions and being accountable for results
• You have a keen interest in the analysis of demographics, competitors and regulatory statutes
How much do product analysts earn?
The salary earned by product analysts can vary, typically depending on the following factors:
• Their professional qualifications (level of relevant education, experience, etc.)
• The size and budget of their employer
• The region in which they work
• The scope of their job duties and functions
• The type of remuneration package they are offered (such as if they are entitled to bonuses, financial benefits, etc.)
Product Analyst Salary in Alberta: According to the 2015 Wage and Salary Survey, the Albertans working as part of the Business development officers and marketing researchers and consultants occupational group (in which Product Analysts are categorized), earn an average salary of $102,497 per year.
Salary in the United States: According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median salary level of Americans working in the Market Research Analysts occupational group (in which Product Analysts are categorized) is $62,560 is per year.
Who creates jobs for product analysts?
Product analysts are typically employed with organizations that manufacture, distribute or sell products or services, consulting firms, and other types of organizations.
The types of products or services they are responsible for can range from automobiles to insurance & financial products to electronics and small consumer goods, and everything in between. Common types of employers include:
• Product manufacturers, distributors and retailers
• Service retailers (such as home security services, for example)
• Management consulting firms
• Advertising and marketing agencies
• Insurance firms
• Banks, investment houses and financial services firms
Product analyst jobs
Our job board below has a listing of "Product Analyst" postings in your area of Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom or Australia.
What career advancement opportunities are there?
If you display competence, initiative, drive and passion in your work, you will likely be introduced to several opportunities for career advancement, which would most commonly include advancing to senior product analyst, management, and possibly executive management positions with their company, or with an outside company.
What careers are similar to this one?
Listed below are careers that may be in the same field, or they may involve many of the same skills, competencies and/or responsibilities as “Product Analyst”:
What scholarships are there for aspiring product analysts?
The “Majors in Our Database Relevant for this Career” section below lists fields of study that are relevant to becoming a product analyst . You can search for relevant scholarships by finding those majors on our "Scholarships” page.
Success Tip: Apply for any and all scholarships that you even barely qualify for; there are millions of dollars worth of scholarship money that goes unused every year due to a lack of applicants in Canada and the United States!
Sources for this career guide
The following resources were used to gather information for this career path guide:
• Interview Preparation: “Product Analyst Duties.” J. Ian Linton (n.d.). Houston Chronicle Website. Retrieved August 25, 2017.
• Best Jobs in America: “Product Analyst.” (October 29, 2012). CNN Money. Retrieved August 25, 2017
• Occupations: “Market Research Analyst.” (March 1, 2009). Alberta Learning Information Service. Retrieved August 25’17, 2017.
• Occupational Outlook Handbook: “Market Research Analysts.” (May, 2016). United States Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved August 25’17, 2017.
Please Note: Some of the information used for this career guide was gathered from actual online job postings, which due to their brief period of publication, are not listed here as references.
Majors in our database relevant for this career
We have career guides for over 60 university majors in our database. Below we've outlined those that are most relevant to becoming a product analyst. Click on the links to see what else you can do with these majors!
