Abstract
The systems analyst has played a pivotal role in designing and implementing information systems. This study attempts to understand the most up-to-date skill requirements for systems analysts by analyzing job ads posted on the corporate websites of Fortune 500 organizations. From 230 different organizations, 902 job ads for systems analysts were collected between 2001 and 2003. The results indicate that the Fortune 500 expect their systems analysts to become all-round athletes who play every corner of the field.