Activities	Program Analysts are responsible for planning, analyzing and evaluating the effectiveness of the operating programs. These positions utilize a high degree of qualitative and quantitative analytical skills in analyzing, evaluating, and improving the effectiveness of the operations. The major duties of this position include employing advanced qualitative and quantitative techniques to analyze and measure the effectiveness, efficiency, and productivity of organizational programs, establishing study methods and techniques and analyzing and evaluating the effectiveness of complex program operations.
Outlook	Faster-than-average-job growth
Median Income	$78,160 in May 2010
Work Context & Conditions	Program and Management analysts often work with minimal supervision, so they need to be self-motivated and disciplined. Analytical skills, the ability to get along with a wide range of people, strong oral and written communication skills, good judgment, time-management skills, and creativity are other desirable qualities. The ability to work in teams also is an important attribute as consulting teams become more common.
Minimum Education Requirements	Bachelor's Degree
Skills	Monitoring, Critical Thinking, Operation and Control, Active Listening, Information Organization, Time Management, Complex Problem Solving, Judgment and Decision Making, Operations Analysis, Identifying Downstream Consequences, Information Gathering
Abilities	Oral Expression, Speech Recognition, Deductive Reasoning, Problem Sensitivity, Written Comprehension, Speech Clarity, Information Ordering, Inductive Reasoning, Written Expression, Oral Comprehension
Interviews	Dennis Askwith

Job Category		Management
Job Description		Program Analysts are responsible for planning, analyzing and evaluating the effectiveness of the operating programs. These positions utilize a high degree of qualitative and quantitative analytical skills in analyzing, evaluating, and improving the effectiveness of the operations. The major duties of this position include employing advanced qualitative and quantitative techniques to analyze and measure the effectiveness, efficiency, and productivity of organizational programs, establishing study methods and techniques and analyzing and evaluating the effectiveness of complex program operations. [Source: NIH Job Descriptions, http://www.jobs.nih.gov/positions/admin/managementanalyst.htm]
Working Conditions		Much of a Program Analyst’s time is spent indoors in clean, well-lit offices. Management Analysts generally work at least 40 hours a week. Uncompensated overtime is common, especially when project deadlines are approaching. Analysts may experience a great deal of stress when trying to meet demands, often on a tight schedule.
Salary Range		Salaries for Program and Management Analysts vary widely by years of experience and education, geographic location, specific expertise, and size of employer. Generally, program and management analysts employed in large firms or in metropolitan areas have the highest salaries. The median annual wage of management analysts was $78,160 in May 2010. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $43,900, and the top 10 percent earned more than $138,790.

Education Required		For some entry-level positions, a bachelor’s degree is sufficient. For others, a master’s degree, specialized expertise, or both is required. Educational requirements for entry-level jobs in this field vary between private industry and government. Many employers in private industry generally seek individuals with a master’s degree in business administration or a related discipline. Some employers also require additional years of experience in the field or industry in which the worker plans to consult. Other firms hire workers with a bachelor’s degree as research analysts or associates and promote them to consultants after several years. Some government agencies require experience, graduate education, or both, but many also hire people with a bachelor’s degree and little work experience for entry-level positions. Common fields of study include business, management, accounting, marketing, economics, statistics, computer and information science, or engineering. Most analysts also have years of experience in management, human resources, information technology, or other specialties. Analysts also routinely attend conferences to keep abreast of current developments in their field.
Recommended High School Courses		Computers and Electronics, Mathematics, Communications
Postsecondary Instructional Programs		Information unavailable at this time
Certification and Licensing

Interest Area		Enterprising Involves starting up and carrying out projects, leading people, making many decisions, and dealing with businesses, and it sometimes requires risk taking. Conventional Involves following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. There's usually a clear line of authority to follow. Investigative Involves working with ideas and requires an extensive amount of thinking.
Work Values		Achievement Get a feeling of accomplishment. Independence Work alone.
Skills		Monitoring Assess how well someone is doing when learning or doing something. Critical Thinking Use logic and analysis to identify the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches. Operation and Control Control operations of equipment or systems. Active Listening Listen to what other people are saying and ask questions as appropriate. Information Organization Find ways to structure or classify multiple pieces of information. Time Management Manage one's own time and the time of others. Complex Problem Solving Solving novel, ill-defined problems in complex, real-world settings. Judgment and Decision Making Be able to weigh the relative costs and benefits of a potential action. Operations Analysis Analyze needs and product requirements to create a design. Identifying Downstream Consequences Determine the long-term outcomes of a change in operations Information Gathering Know how to find information and to figure out what information is essential.
Abilities		Oral Expression Able to convey information and ideas through speech in ways that others will understand. Speech Recognition Identify and understand the speech of another person Deductive Reasoning Able to apply general rules to specific problems to come up with logical answers, including deciding whether an answer makes sense. Problem Sensitivity Able to tell when something is wrong or likely to go wrong. This doesn't involve solving the problem, just recognizing that there is a problem. Written Comprehension Able to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing. Speech Clarity Able to speak clearly so listeners understand. Information Ordering Able to correctly follow rules for arranging things or actions in a certain order, including numbers, words, pictures, procedures, and logical operations. Inductive Reasoning Able to combine separate pieces of information, or specific answers to problems, to form general rules or conclusions. This includes coming up with a logical explanation for why seemingly unrelated events occur together. Written Expression Able to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand. Oral Comprehension Able to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

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Job Outlook		Employment of program and management analysts is expected to grow much faster than average. Despite projected rapid employment growth, keen competition is expected for jobs as management analysts because of the independent and challenging nature of the work and the high earnings potential that make this occupation attractive to many. Despite rapid employment growth, keen competition is expected. The pool of applicants from which employers can draw is quite large since analysts can have very diverse educational backgrounds and work experience. Furthermore, the independent and challenging nature of the work, combined with high earnings potential, makes this occupation attractive to many. Job opportunities are expected to be best for those with a graduate degree, specialized expertise, and a talent for salesmanship and public relations. Program and Management analysts held about 718,800 jobs in 2010. About 26 percent of these workers, over three times the average for all occupations, were self-employed. Management analysts are found throughout the country, but employment is concentrated in large metropolitan areas. Management analysts work in a range of industries, including management, scientific, and technical consulting firms; computer systems design and related services firms; and Federal, State, and local governments.
More Information
References		Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2012-13 Edition, Management Analysts, on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/ooh/business-and-financial/management-analysts.htm. National Institutes of Health (NIH, http://www.jobs.nih.gov/) ONET OnLine , on the Internet at http://online.onetcenter.org/link/summary/13-1111.00