Market Research Analyst

Career Overview

Market research analysts collect and analyze information about consumers, competitors, and market conditions. They use data, surveys, interviews, and other research methods to help organizations understand what people want and make informed decisions about products, services, and marketing.

Education

A bachelor’s degree is typically required, often in marketing, business, economics, statistics, mathematics, social science, or a related field. Strong skills in data analysis, research, communication, and critical thinking are important.

Future Outlook

Demand for market research analysts is expected to remain strong as organizations increasingly rely on data to understand customers, evaluate markets, and make business decisions. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 7% employment growth from 2024 to 2034.

Work Environment

Market research analysts generally work in offices and spend much of their time using computers to research information, analyze data, prepare reports, and present findings. They may work with teams in marketing, business, sales, or product development.

Recommended High School Courses

Psychology
Business
Communication
Economics
Marketing
Computer Applications
Sociology
Statistics

Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Complex Problem Solving - Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Learning Strategies - Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
Mathematics - Using mathematics to solve problems.
Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Persuasion - Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Systems Analysis - Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
Systems Evaluation - Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
Time Management - Managing one's own time and the time of others.
Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Clerical - Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.
Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures and their history and origins.

Category Flexibility - The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
Flexibility of Closure - The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
Fluency of Ideas - The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
Mathematical Reasoning - The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.
Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
Number Facility - The ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide quickly and correctly.
Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Originality - The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

Prepare research reports.
Analyze consumer trends.
Conduct surveys in organizations.
Establish business management methods.
Measure effectiveness of business strategies or practices.
Analyze market conditions or trends.
Gather organizational performance information.
Analyze industry trends.
Monitor business indicators.
Discuss business strategies, practices, or policies with managers.
Supervise employees.
Develop business or market strategies.

Schools

American Intercontinental...

American International Co...

Auburn University

Babson College

Baker College Online

Baruch College (cuny)

Baylor University

Bemidji State University

Bentley University

Bethany College- Lindsbor...

Bethel University (indian...

Biola University

Boston College

Bowling Green State Unive...

Brenau University

Brigham Young University-...

Brooklyn College

Bryan College

Bryant University

Cal Poly- San Luis Obispo...

California Coast Universi...

California Institute Of A...

California State Universi...

Capitol Technology Univer...

Carroll College

Central Christian College...

Central New Mexico Commun...

Champlain College

Clark University

Cleveland State Universit...

Colorado Christian Univer...

Concordia University-wisc...

Culver-stockton College

Dakota State University

Delaware Technical And Co...

Depaul University

Fairfield University

Fordham University

Fresno Pacific University...

Full Sail University

Gateway Community College...

Grand Canyon University

Grantham University

Hamline University

Herzing University- Akron...

Hofstra University

Hope International Univer...

Illinois Wesleyan Univers...

Indiana Institute Of Tech...

Jacksonville University

John Brown University

Liberty University

Linfield College

Loyola Marymount Universi...

Michigan State University

North Carolina State Univ...

Northwood University- Mic...

Pennsylvania State Univer...

Purdue University-main Ca...

San Diego Christian Colle...

Seton Hall University

Siena College

Sullivan University- Cent...

Sullivan University- Fort...

Sullivan University- Lexi...

Sullivan University- Loui...

Suny Plattsburgh

Temple University- Main C...

University Of California-...

University Of Connecticut

University Of Georgia

University Of Mount Union

University Of Nebraska- L...

University Of New Haven

University Of Scranton

University Of Texas- Arli...

University Of West Georgi...

University Of Wisconsin-...

Bow Valley College- Do...

Cdi College- Red Deer...

Ics Canada

Lakehead University- O...

Lakeland College- Lloy...

Langara College

Mohawk College- Fennel...

Sheridan College Insti...

Trinity Western Univer...

Crandall University

York University- Glendon...

USA

Canada

Potential Scholarships

5 Strong Scholarship

Agnes M. Lindsay Scholars...

- Traditional Fulbright P...

Approx Salary Expectation

Low End:

$42,000.00 /yr

Avg/Med:

$77,000.00 /yr

High End:

$145,000.00 /yr

Related Careers

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Public Relations Manager

Retail Sales Workers

References

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, https://www.bls.gov/ooh/.
Trend Analysis - Explorer the Market, Labour Market Information, Government of Canada https://www.jobbank.gc.ca/trend-analysis.
O*NET OnLine, National Center for O*NET Development, https://www.onetonline.org/.