Enter statements into analysis software
Type each year's financial statements into the analysis software so cash-flow shifts between years stand out.
Career profile
Credit Analyst
Credit analysts read borrowers' financial records to judge repayment and explain the risk to lenders.
Sales can climb while a company's cash on hand shrinks. Your job is working out whether that gap threatens a loan getting paid back.
A day in the life
Measure cash flow against debt
Put cash flow next to debt payments, since a thin margin is a specific risk you can explain.
Confirm what does not add up
Contact the customer when a record raises a question, and confirm the transaction before you rely on it.
Recommend whether to lend
Turn your numbers into a loan write-up on strengths, weaknesses and repayment risks, with a recommendation.
Catch a broken loan term
Once a loan is out, check newer figures against the agreement's financial terms and flag any missed requirement.
Quick facts
Bachelor’s degree typical
United States · 2025
$83,510 a year
United States · 2025
4.3% decline projected
United States · 2025–2035
Quick orientation
Preparation, pay & outlook
Preparation
Bachelor’s degree typicalEmployers set their own subject, coursework, and experience requirements.
Pay
$83,510 a yearNational median for credit analysts in 2025; equivalent to $40.15 an hour.
Outlook
4.3% decline projectedEmployment is projected to shrink during 2025–2035, with about 3,100 openings annually on average.
Fit, tradeoffs & changing tools
You might like this if…
- You like finding the explanation behind a surprising number.
- You can check details without losing the larger question.
- You enjoy explaining your reasoning in writing.
Things to weigh
- Much of the work means sitting at a computer and repeating careful checks.
- Deadlines can compress your review time, and some jobs extend beyond a 40-hour week.
Where AI may help
Spreadsheets and credit software calculate ratios and organize financial records, reducing manual arithmetic.
What people still lead
You still investigate questionable inputs and explain why the evidence supports a recommendation.
What we can’t predict yet
How much review artificial intelligence takes over will depend partly on whether its results are accurate and explainable. Some lenders may automate more of the assessment; others may keep substantial manual review.
Pay in context
Earnings
The national median is a useful reference point, but it is not an entry-level offer.
The national middle and spread
In 2025, the median was $83,510 annually, or $40.15 hourly. The 10th percentile was $56,250 and the 90th was $169,230. Those percentiles describe the wage distribution, not beginner and senior salaries.
Pay in two workplace settings
Banking: $47,000–$63,000 annual base pay at Busey in Illinois/Missouri. Distribution: $29–$31 an hour at Uline in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin. These advertised ranges cover specific credit analyst roles, not industry averages.
Offers and openings
Responsibilities, relevant experience, and local markets can affect offers. Nationally, about 3,100 openings a year are projected for 2025–2035 despite a 4.3% employment decline. Openings also arise when workers leave the occupation.
Getting started
Study finance or accounting, then apply
- What the route involves
- Complete a relevant bachelor’s degree and build spreadsheet skills.
- What it can lead to
- Apply for analyst jobs; check each employer’s coursework and experience requirements.
Join a graduate credit-training program
Paid
- What the route involves
- Enter a paid bank program combining coached financial analysis, classroom learning, and rotations through commercial lending.
- What it can lead to
- Build experience assessing actual borrowers and translating financial information into credit recommendations.
- What to check
- These are graduate-entry jobs. Liberty Bank’s two-year program requires a relevant bachelor’s degree; openings depend on its hiring cycle.
In bank lending, your analysis can go to authorized officers or a loan committee for approval. The analyst title alone does not grant final lending authority.
After entry
Career paths
This starts where the entry routes leave off: early work, growing capability, and advancement or specialization.
Get established
Learn the bank’s financial tools and practice explaining your analysis with feedback from experienced colleagues.
Follow borrowers over time
Build from individual loan write-ups to renewals and portfolio reviews, tracking how a borrower’s finances change.
Move into senior analysis
A senior analyst may examine trends across the loan portfolio and mentor junior analysts.
Where you can work
Community-bank lending teams
You work closely with lenders, preparing borrower files for loan committee review. The mix can include customer calls and continuing reviews of existing loans.
- Office
- Indoors
Suppliers that let businesses pay later
Credit work can move at the pace of customer orders. You review payment histories and credit limits, with frequent phone and email contact about customer accounts.
- Office
- Indoors
Try it
See whether the job clicks before you commit to the path.
Try a fictional repayment review: a business collects $20,000 monthly, pays $15,000 in operating costs, and owes $3,000 in loan payments. Calculate the cash left, then reduce collections by 15%. Write two sentences explaining the repayment risk and one question you would ask before recommending a loan. Notice whether you enjoy explaining the numbers as much as calculating them.
Stay safe: Use invented figures; this simplified exercise is not a real credit decision.
Sources
- O*NET OnLine. 13-2041.00 — Credit Analysts. Accessed 2026-10-04.
- O*NET OnLine / U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. National Wages: Credit Analysts — 2025. Accessed 2026-10-04.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational projections and worker characteristics, 2025–2035. Accessed 2026-10-04.
- Busey Bank. Credit Analyst — JR100782. Accessed 2026-10-04.
- Liberty Bank. Early Career Opportunities — Credit Analyst Professional Development Program. Accessed 2026-10-04.
- First Resource Bank. Senior Credit Analyst. Accessed 2026-10-04.
- Uline. Credit Analyst — R267448, Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin. Accessed 2026-10-04.
- U.S. Government Accountability Office. Artificial Intelligence: Use and Oversight in Financial Services. Accessed 2026-10-04.