How to become a Business Continuity Planner
Official title: Business Continuity Planners
Also called: Business Continuity Administrator (Business Continuity Admin), Business Continuity Analyst, Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Consultant, Business Continuity Consultant, Business Continuity Coordinator, Business Continuity Professional, Business Continuity Specialist, Business System Consultant, Disaster Recovery Specialist, Service Continuity Manager
Develop, maintain, or implement business continuity and disaster recovery strategies and solutions, including risk assessments, business impact analyses, strategy selection, and documentation of business continuity and disaster recovery procedures. Plan, conduct, and debrief regular mock-disaster exercises to test the adequacy of existing plans and strategies, updating procedures and plans regularly. Act as a coordinator for continuity efforts after a disruption event.
Main tasks
- Develop emergency management plans for recovery decision making and communications, continuity of critical departmental processes, or temporary shut-down of non-critical departments to ensure continuity of operation and governance.
- Test documented disaster recovery strategies and plans.
- Develop disaster recovery plans for physical locations with critical assets, such as data centers.
- Establish, maintain, or test call trees to ensure appropriate communication during disaster.
- Identify opportunities for strategic improvement or mitigation of business interruption and other risks caused by business, regulatory, or industry-specific change initiatives.
- Maintain and update organization information technology applications and network systems blueprints.
- Review existing disaster recovery, crisis management, or business continuity plans.
- Analyze impact on, and risk to, essential business functions or information systems to identify acceptable recovery time periods and resource requirements.
How to become one
Typical education to start: Bachelor's degree
Ways in
- College: Business & Commerce degrees, Offered by 35 universities in the US
Pay · Outlook · AI and this job
- Median pay: $83,050 a year The middle half earn $62,640 to $114,010.
- About 1,157,600 people work in this job now, and about 1,202,300 are projected by 2035. (+3.9%)
- People already use generative AI for some of this work. Microsoft Research rates its AI applicability as medium.
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Questions people ask
How do I become a Business Continuity Planner?
Ways in include: Business & Commerce degrees.
How much does a Business Continuity Planner earn in the US?
Median full-time pay is $83,050 a year (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). The middle half earn $62,640 to $114,010.
Is a Business Continuity Planner a growing career in the US?
Yes. Employment is projected to grow 4% by 2035, from about 1,157,600 to about 1,202,300 people (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).
Do you need a degree to become a Business Continuity Planner?
Not always. 57% of people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher. Ways in include: Business & Commerce degrees.
Will AI change the work of a Business Continuity Planner?
People already use generative AI for some of this work. Microsoft Research rates its AI applicability as medium.
Sources
- Microsoft Research: Working with AI: AI applicability by occupation (2025-12-22 (built on O*NET 29.0)), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Employment Projections (2025-35 (released 2026-08-27)), Public domain (BLS), retrieved 2026-10-03
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025), Public domain (BLS), retrieved 2026-10-03
Updated 2026-10-03
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.