データアナリストの平均年収は?年収アップのためにできることも紹介What is the average annual salary of a data analyst? Includes what you can do to increase your income.

In today's world of big data and artificial intelligence, data analysts, who are experts in data analysis, are attracting a great deal of attention. Because data analysts are required to have advanced skills, their annual salaries are often much higher than the national average. For this reason, many people may be considering changing careers to become data analysts in the future.

In this issue, we will explain in detail the average annual salary of data analysts and specific ways to earn a high income. We also introduce actual job openings, so please take a look.

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

Data analysts are professionals who analyze data using statistics, mathematics, and information technology. Their main role is to extract useful information for management decisions from the large amount of data held by companies and organizations, and to support problem solving and decision making.

Data analysts are active in a wide range of fields, including marketing and finance, as well as industries where measuring effectiveness and understanding consumers are important, such as web services and smartphone applications. In addition, data analysis has recently been used in a variety of fields, such as analyzing transaction histories, monitoring production and operating conditions, and analyzing employee behavior, increasing the demand for personnel with statistical analysis skills.

Although IT specialists originally existed to perform database management and basic analysis, the expansion of the Internet economy in the early 2000s led to a clearly defined job title of data analyst.

Differences between Data Analysts and Data Scientists

Data analysts and data scientists are both data analysis specialists, but they are often confused. There is a lot of overlap between their jobs, and sometimes there is no clear distinction between the two. As a general idea, data analysts focus on “analyzing the current situation,” while data scientists focus on “predicting the future.

Specifically, data analysts use large amounts of data to analyze the current situation and extract information that is useful for business. Then, based on this information, they generally make proposals to solve clients' problems.

Data scientists, on the other hand, use advanced technologies such as statistics and machine learning to analyze vast amounts of data to predict the future and create models for creating new value. As a result, they play a role in helping companies make decisions about their business strategies.

Thus, data analysts are more business-oriented, while data scientists are more technical. However, since there is often no clear distinction, some companies recruit data analysts as data scientists.

Please refer to the following article for more information on data scientists.

See also: What is a Data Scientist? Main job description and how to become one are also explained.

Data analysts can be divided into two types, “consulting type” and “engineering type,” depending on their role and the nature of their work. Let's take a closer look at the characteristics and differences between them.

Consulting-type data analyst

The role of a consulting-type data analyst is to provide useful information to help clients make business decisions. They identify corporate and market trends, formulate testable hypotheses, forecast demand through data analysis, and propose specific solutions based on their findings.

Therefore, consulting data analysts are required not only to analyze data, but also to have a deep understanding of the meaning behind the numbers and the ability to formulate hypotheses. Documentation and presentation skills are also important in order to take the most effective approach to client issues and support data-driven decision making.

The most common places to work are IT consulting firms and marketing support companies, but as demand for big data analysis and the use of digital data grows, more and more companies are looking for people with expertise in data analysis. As a result, the field of consulting-type data analysts is expanding every year.

Engineer-type data analyst

The main role of an engineering-type data analyst is to design and build new systems by identifying patterns and needs based on the results of data analysis. They also work to improve existing systems. Through these activities, they aim to improve the quality and functionality of services. If necessary, they may utilize their programming skills and engage in their own development.

While consulting data analysts and engineering data analysts each have their own characteristics, there is no clear distinction between their actual areas of work. Roles often vary by company and project, and in some cases, a single data analyst may be responsible for both consultative and engineering work.

The specific duties of a data analyst include
 

• Understanding and hypothesizing corporate issues
• Data collection, organization, and preprocessing
• Data analysis
• Visualization of analysis results
• Reporting and submitting outputs

To solve the problems faced by clients, data analysts first gain a deep understanding of their business challenges. Then, they identify the data needed and which data will be useful.

Next, we collect, organize, and preprocess the necessary data from a variety of internal and external sources. This preprocessing includes cleaning the data, completing missing values, and removing outliers to make it suitable for analysis. This process is essential to the accuracy and reliability of the analysis.

Once the data is ready, we analyze the data using statistical analysis, data mining, machine learning, and other techniques to find insights and patterns that can help solve problems. Then, based on the results of the analysis, we propose specific, actionable solutions to the problem and support the client's decision-making process.

Finally, we prepare detailed reports with figures and tables to communicate the results of our analysis in an easy-to-understand manner, and submit them to the client.

If you are interested in taking your career as a data analyst to the next level, check out the following pages first. You will find a wealth of job opportunities with high income potential.

Talk to United World about 
career change.

According to a survey conducted by “Job Box,” a job information website operated by Kakaku.com, Inc. as of June 2024, the average annual salary of a data analyst working as a full-time employee is 6,960,000 yen. This is considerably higher than the average annual salary of 5,069,000 yen in Japan, according to the “2023 Basic Survey on Wage Structure” conducted by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.

Data analysts are highly specialized, and demand for them is rapidly increasing due to the growing importance of data analysis in companies. As a result, a high annual salary can be expected.

The annual salary range for data analysts is wide, from 3.6 million yen to 11.59 million yen, and varies widely depending on factors such as age, employment status, region, and company size. according to Indeed's survey, the average annual salary for data analysts was 5,939,000 yen as of July 2024. Compared to the data from the job box, there is a difference of approximately 1 million yen.

As you can see, the average annual salary of data analysts varies from one survey organization to another, so the figures presented here should be considered as a rough guide.

Reference: Job Box Salary Navigator
Reference: 2023 Basic Survey on Wage Structure, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare
(See also: Indeed Data Analyst Salaries in Japan)

Average annual salary by age group

The average annual salary of a data analyst varies greatly depending on the age of the employee. Since detailed data by age is not available, we will refer here to the average annual salary of “data engineers,” which is a similar occupation.

First, the average annual salary in the early stages of a career, in one's early 20s, is approximately 3.28 million yen. Because of the training and apprenticeship period immediately after joining a company, starting salaries are often set relatively low. As age increases, annual income gradually increases in one's late 20s, 30s, and 40s. Particularly in the 30s and 40s, as more people move into management positions, annual salaries will be correspondingly higher.

In their 50s, with their wealth of experience and expertise, they are expected to make a significant contribution to the company, and their average annual income reaches a peak of approximately 7.19 million yen.
 

(Reference: 2023 Basic Survey on Wage Structure, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare)

Average annual salary for freelance workers

The income of freelance data analysts varies greatly depending on their individual skills, experience, and areas of expertise. according to Levatech Freelance, a freelance engineering job information site for the IT/Web industry, the average monthly compensation for freelance data analysts is approximately 710,000 yen as of October 2023 as of October 2023.

Continuing to work at this unit price for one year would result in an annual income of approximately 8,520,000 yen. This is more than 1.5 million yen more than the average annual salary of a full-time data analyst. In addition, the unit price of a project may exceed 1 million yen, in which case, the annual income of some may reach 10 million yen or more.

Average Annual Income for Temporary Workers

According to a June 2024 survey by Jobbox, the average hourly wage for a temporary data analyst is approximately 2,144 yen. Based on this, assuming that you work 8 hours a day, 20 days a month, your annual income would be approximately 4,120,000 yen.

On the other hand, according to data from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, the average wage for a dispatched worker in Japan is 15,968 yen per 8-hour day. In this case, annual income would be approximately 3.83 million yen (calculated based on a 20-day work month). Therefore, the annual salary of a data analyst is higher than that of a typical temporary worker.

Reference: Job Box Salary Navi
Reference: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, “Preliminary Report on Worker Dispatching Undertakings in FY2022” (in Japanese)

Let's take a look at the annual salary rates for data analysts from actual full-time jobs posted on the job page of the recruitment agent “United World Inc. A search for “data analyst” turned up the following job listings.

Genetic testing data analyst jobs

Duties: Collection and analysis of clinical data, statistical data analysis, regression/correlation and other data mining and modeling.
Required Requirements: Intermediate to advanced level of Japanese language skills, bioinformatician with experience in data analysis using Python.
Compensation: 4-8 million yen per year

Data Analyst for AI/Data Analytics Utilization

Duties: Building analysis infrastructure, building data pipelines, building dashboards, creating data analysis PDCA mechanisms, data extraction (SQL), data analysis, reporting on data analysis, reporting on analysis results, etc.
Requirements: Experience in digital marketing related work, data extraction/cleansing experience (SQL, Hadoop, Redshift, etc.), analysis experience with R / Python, reporting from analysis results, building dashboards using BI tools, etc.
Annual salary: 4,500,000-5,500,000 yen

Data Analyst (with training) for AI/Data Analytics Application

Job Description: Development of various in-house services using machine learning/AI, data scientist area (data mining, database and marketing strategy planning, data visualization), machine learning engineer area (business improvement: business analysis/automation, coding work)
Essential requirements: experience in creating and proposing proposal materials to client companies, experience in various marketing tasks, data extraction/processing tasks (SQL, Hadoop, Redshift, etc.), experience using R / Python / SPSS Modeler / Tableau / SAS, some programming / machine learning experience, Experience in any of the above
Compensation: 3-4.5 million yen per year

Based on these actual job postings, the annual salary for a data analyst is 4 to 6 million yen. However, it is quite possible to aim for an annual income of 10 million yen or more by honing your skills and building a track record as a data analyst after joining a company.

Here are six ways to earn a high income as a data analyst
 

• Obtain high unit price projects
• Enhance the skills required of data analysts
• Obtain certification
• Deepen your knowledge of the industry
• Advance your career
• Move to a higher-paying company

Obtain high unit price projects

One of the ways for data analysts to earn high income is to become independent and take on high unit-price projects. By starting a company that receives data analysis requests from companies, or by working as a freelancer and continuously receiving high unit-price projects, you may be able to earn higher compensation than when you were a company employee.

If you belong to a company, your income depends on the company's salary structure and personnel evaluation, which may be difficult to increase significantly. However, if you become independent, you will have more freedom in the way you work and will be able to increase your income more efficiently, for example, by being able to select and take only high unit price projects.

This system of increasing income according to the quantity and quality of work is a great motivator.

Enhancing the Skills Required of Data Analysts

To earn a high income as a data analyst, it is important to improve your technical skills. While data analysis is the main work of data analysts, there are also types of data analysts who are involved in designing and building systems themselves, such as “engineer-type data analysts.

Thus, in order to broaden the scope of their work, it is important to learn programming languages such as Python and R and to be able to utilize cloud platforms such as GCP and AWS. The more opportunities you have to expand your activities, the more likely you are to earn a higher income.

In addition to these skills, it is also useful to acquire rare and valuable skills such as big data processing and machine learning. Personnel with these skills can handle a wide variety of tasks, making them in high demand in the job market, which is a major advantage. With a high skill level and a wealth of work experience, it is quite possible to earn an annual salary of 10 million yen or more.

Obtain qualifications

To prove your skills, it is also recommended to acquire data analyst-related certifications. Although there are no required qualifications to become a data analyst, the following qualifications will not only improve your skills, but will also give you an advantage when applying for jobs.

Qualifications recommended for data analysts
 

• Information Technology Engineer Examination
• Statistics Certification Examination
• ORACLE MASTER
• OSS-DB Engineer Certification Examination

If you are aiming for an increase in annual salary at your current workplace, you can also expect an increase in your salary by acquiring related certifications to improve your internal evaluation. According to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare's “Summary of the 2020 Comprehensive Survey of Working Conditions,” more than 50% of companies have a qualification allowance system in place, with an average monthly allowance of 18,800 yen per person. This amount can be converted to 225,600 yen per year, making it well worth the challenge of acquiring a qualification.

Reference: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, “Summary of the 2020 Comprehensive Survey of Working Conditions” (Japanese only)

Deepen your knowledge of the industry

In order to earn a high income as a data analyst, it is also important to have a deep knowledge of the industry. Data analysis is more than just collecting and analyzing data; the key is how the data can be used for business.

This requires a deep understanding of the industry being analyzed. Industry knowledge will enable you to more accurately interpret the results of your analysis and make recommendations that are beneficial to the business. In addition, by understanding the latest industry trends and issues, you will be able to identify new analytical themes and uncover potential needs.

Career Advancement.

Career advancement from data analyst to data scientist is one way to earn a higher salary. Data analysts use existing data to analyze current conditions and use the results to propose solutions to client problems. Data scientists, by contrast, consider how the results of their analysis can be used to expand or develop their business.

Thus, data scientists typically earn higher annual salaries than data analysts because they are required to have not only data analysis skills but also business consulting skills.

For example, in the job posting for United World Corporation, the highest annual salary for a data analyst is 8 million yen, while the highest annual salary for a data scientist is 30 million yen. In addition, looking at the overall annual salary market, data scientist jobs often offer more than 10 million yen.

Example of job offer (1)

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Changing Jobs to a Company that Offers High Income

Changing jobs is one of the most promising options for earning a high income. In particular, the annual income of data analysts has been rising in recent years due to the rapidly increasing demand for data analysis. However, it is also true that annual incomes vary widely by company and industry.

Even if you have the same skills, salary and benefits often differ depending on the company and industry you work in. Therefore, when considering a career change, it is important to first research job openings and get an idea of the salary range.

IT-related positions, such as data analyst, may be available on favorable terms because demand exceeds supply. If you take advantage of this seller's market, you can aim for better benefits and higher income.

This article describes the average annual salary of data analysts and specific ways to increase their income.

With the rapid advancement of business use of big data, the demand for data analysts is increasing every year. Although a certain level of skill and experience is required to become a high-income earner, it is highly recommended as a career change for engineers considering the future potential.

United World Inc. supports career change activities of those who aim to become data analysts. After carefully listening to your detailed requirements and career plans, we will introduce you to the best job opportunities that suit you best, so if you are considering changing jobs, please click the button below to contact us.

Talk to United World about 
career change.