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- Specialist vs. Analyst: What's the Difference?
Specialist vs. Analyst: What's the Difference?
March 15, 2021
Specialists in fields like technology and marketing are experts in their field and can work within many industries. Analysts, conversely, focus primarily on data analysis and applications and may work within industries that rely heavily on data, information and statistics, like technology, science and business.
If you're interested in pursuing a career in either of these professions, there are several differences between the two to consider. In this article, we explore the jobs of a specialist versus an analyst and the key differences between these roles so you can determine what the best career path is for you.
What is a specialist?
Specialists are professionals who are experts in their field. The term specialist is a broad term that describes a professional who is responsible for specific tasks within their specialty or department. For instance, a sales specialist works in the sales department of an organization to network and find businesses and customers to purchase their organization's products.
A sales specialist, therefore, is an expert in their field with in-depth knowledge about their company's products or services and how to sell them. Specialists work across many job industries, including technology, business, marketing and health care. Several job titles specialists can have include:
Human resources specialist
Public relations specialist
IT specialist
Business management specialist
Marketing specialist
Medical specialist
Customer service specialist
Finance specialist
SEO specialist
Content specialist
Related: Job Specialization: Definition, Pros and Cons
What is an analyst?
Analysts primarily initiate, coordinate and work with data across a range of industries. Data analysts, for example, use statistical measurement techniques to evaluate and interpret data from process improvement and development activities. Analysts are usually responsible for developing processes for sorting and organizing databases and systems. Several job titles that analysts have include:
Data analyst
Business analyst
Human resources analyst
Financial analyst
Research analyst
Marketing analyst
Systems analyst
Related: Learn About Being an Analyst
Specialist vs. analyst
Besides the focus on analyzing and interpreting data, analysts differ from specialists in several more important ways, including:
Education and training
While both specialists and analysts commonly have four-year degrees, there are some differences between the two educational paths. For instance, an analyst [such as a business information analyst] typically has a Bachelor's Degree in Data Analytics or Data Science, though some analysts may pursue a Bachelor's Degree degree in Business Management or Information Technology. In addition to their four-year degrees, many analysts choose to obtain a graduate degree in their field of data analytics. For example, an IT business analyst may have a Bachelor's Degree in Information Technology and their Master's in Business Analytics.
Although specialists also have four-year degrees, their educational paths can vary between fields. For instance, a marketing specialist typically has a four-year degree in marketing and communications, while a technology specialist may have a Bachelor's Degree in Information Technology or Computer Science.
Job responsibilities
Another key difference between specialists and analysts is the job duties both roles perform in their careers. Specialists can have job duties that vary between the industries they work in, unlike analysts whose responsibilities mainly focus on analyzing and working with data.
Although specialists' tasks and projects can differ across career fields, there are several key job duties that they commonly perform, no matter their industry:
Using in-depth knowledge and understanding based on experience, research or education about their field of expertise
Counseling and advising colleagues and clients on their specialty to improve outcomes and achieve goals
Evaluating processes to develop strategies that help improve processes and operations
Consulting with partners, leaders and other professionals about specific operations and how to optimize them
Analysts perform important tasks that can differ from the job duties of a specialist. Several responsibilities analysts take on in their roles often include:
Gathering and interpreting complex data for the development of strategies to improve business processes
Assessing client and business needs to better create strategies that achieve positive results
Using data information to determine trends, changes and areas where companies can improve operations
Earning potential
Another key difference between specialists and analysts is income. An analyst can have a higher income potential than a specialist, depending on the specific job title. For instance, a data analyst for a large corporation may have a higher earning potential than a marketing specialist just entering their career. Other factors that can affect the salary between these two career fields include where you live, where you work, your level of experience and your credentials.
Career advancements
Since specialists can work across many industries, there are plenty of career advancement opportunities. Specialists can also advance into analyst roles, making the role of a specialist an excellent starting point for becoming an analyst. For instance, a marketing specialist can advance into coordination, management and director roles, or they can transition into a marketing analyst role.
Analysts can also enjoy career advancement opportunities. For instance, a data analyst for a technology firm can gain experience and advance to the role of IT manager, systems administrator or data scientist. Unlike specialists, though, analysts can rely on a wider range of skills that allow them to advance across different industries. Specialists tend to have in-depth expertise within only one industry.
Related: How To Become a Business Analyst in 3 Steps: Business Analyst Career Guide
Which career is right for you?
Deciding your career path can be challenging, especially when considering two fields you're equally interested in. The following information can provide additional insight into what it's like working as a specialist versus an analyst so you can choose the best career path for you:
Working as a specialist
Since specialists are experts in a specific field, like business or sales, the education and training you receive must focus on the field you want to become an expert in. This means gaining in-depth knowledge about the field you want to work in. If you're passionate about delving deep into a subject and advising and helping organizations within that field, a career as a specialist may be an excellent option. Additionally, consider these several career paths as a specialist across various industries to help you decide if specializing is right for you:
Business: Business information specialist, networking specialist, operations specialist, product specialists and management specialists
Human resources: Training and development specialists, labor relations specialist, staffing specialist and safety specialist
Sales: Customer relations specialist, product specialist, client services specialist, support specialist and strategy specialists
Marketing: Public relations specialist, marketing communication specialist, social media specialist, SEO specialist and advertising specialist
Technology: IT specialist, software specialist, database specialist, network specialist, cybersecurity specialist and information systems specialists
Health care: Health care is unique in that most physicians are generally specialists in their specific fields of medicine, such as a cardiologist or oncologist
Working as an analyst
Analysts can also work across different industries, however, their job focus usually stays within data analysis and application. If you're interested in working as an analyst, you can actually begin your career in a specialist field and advance into the role of an analyst. This depends on your career field, where you can find analyst roles within:
Business: Business and business information analysts are two of the most common job roles within the business sector. Data analysts in business work for companies to help improve operations based on their data analyses and evaluations.
Technology: IT analysts generally focus on interpreting and using data to help companies improve user experience, program functionality and system performance.
Sales and marketing: Marketing analysts work with marketing data to help businesses build better strategies for attracting customers. Sales analysts help increase revenue through performing competitive analyses and making forecasts.
Government and nonprofit sectors: Analysts in government and nonprofit roles can take on a variety of tasks that focus on aspects of data collection, analysis and application, such as interpreting census surveys and helping nonprofits determine where and how to distribute funds.