Career profile · SOC 15-1211

Computer Systems Analysts

Analyze science, engineering, business, and other data processing problems to develop and implement solutions to complex applications problems, system administration issues, or network concerns.

Median salary
$103,790
per year
Growth outlook
Faster Than Average
BLS 10-yr
Education
Bachelor's degree
AI exposure
8.1/10
automation risk

Salary distribution (US)

Real salary data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The p10–p90 spread tells you more than the median alone.

Bottom 10%
$62,900
25th %ile
$79,900
Median
$103,790
75th %ile
$132,400
Top 10%
$163,050

Top skills

Systems Analysis Systems Evaluation Critical Thinking Active Listening Complex Problem Solving Reading Comprehension Judgment and Decision Making Writing Active Learning Speaking

Knowledge you'll build

  • Computers and Electronics
  • English Language
  • Administration and Management
  • Customer and Personal Service
  • Mathematics
  • Engineering and Technology
  • Education and Training
  • Communications and Media

A day in the life

You begin most mornings reviewing system performance dashboards and triaging tickets from business stakeholders who need technology solutions to real operational problems. Much of your day is spent in meetings with both technical teams and non-technical managers, acting as a translator between business needs and system capabilities, diagramming workflows and writing requirements documents. You evaluate existing software platforms, research vendor options, and prototype integration approaches, often working across spreadsheets, flowchart tools, and project-management software. The work is satisfying when you design a solution that genuinely streamlines a messy process, but challenging when stakeholders have conflicting priorities and you have to negotiate scope and timelines.

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