What a market research analyst really does
You find out what customers really think and want, then tell the company the truth even when it is not what they hoped to hear.
FieldBusiness
Preparation (O*NET Job Zone)Considerable preparation needed
What the work involves
What fills a typical week for market research analysts, built from O*NET occupation data.
- Design surveys and questionnaires that ask fair, clear questions
- Clean and analyze survey and sales data on who buys, what they want and why
- Track competitors' prices, products and marketing
- Turn findings into charts and short written reports
- Measure customer satisfaction and how well campaigns worked
- Read industry reports and trade news to spot trends
- Present findings and recommendations to marketing and product managers
What the days are like
What people in the job know
- Much of the work is solo, focused desk time rather than constant meetings. Physical Proximity: 35% don't work near other people; Spend Time Sitting: 75% continually or almost continually (O*NET Work Context)
- Hours are more regular than many business jobs. Duration of Typical Work Week: 58% 40 hours, 32% more than 40; Work Schedules: 79% regular (O*NET Work Context)
- There are weekly deadlines, but rarely daily fire drills. Time Pressure: 60% once a week or more, 30% once a month or more (O*NET Work Context)
- Precision is expected in every number you report. Importance of Being Exact or Accurate: 45% extremely important, 55% very important (O*NET Work Context)
- Writing and charting findings is the most important part of the job, not running numbers. Task rank 1, importance 77, Core: prepare reports of findings, illustrating data graphically and translating complex findings into written text
How people get into it
O*NET places this job in Job Zone 4, which usually means a bachelor's degree, often in marketing, statistics, economics, psychology or business; some roles prefer a master's. Skill with survey design, spreadsheets and tools like SPSS or Tableau matters. Many start as research assistants or junior analysts at a research agency or in a company's insights team.
The Firstday trial, easy to hard
Three simulated tasks at Northmeadow Insights, a fictional company, with AI coworkers who message you, react to your work and coach with questions. Nobody scores you.
What the trial can't show: The trial cannot show running a full study over weeks, managing a survey vendor or field team, or using real statistics software like SPSS. Data sets are small and prepared for you. It also cannot show how slowly findings sometimes turn into business action.
Reading about it is one thing.
Find out how the work feels to you before you spend on a degree, course or job change. Your first trial is free.
Other careers you can try
Job details on this page are built from O*NET OnLine, 13-1161.00. This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.