I have a dilemma – I’ve worked as a programmer/application developer for 4 years now, and while I’m competent at it, it’s not something I really enjoy anymore. What I really like is the initial phases of finding out what a company needs a system to accomplish, and how things need to progress in order to realize business goals. In short, I like the business end more than the hardcore tech end.
I’ve heard that a “business analyst” is what I should be looking for career-wise, as a BA focuses more on the business end but still works with the development team. I don’t know where to start in making the transition, though, as so far all of my jobs have had little to no analysis done; basically someone would just tell me to implement “Feature X” and that was it. No spec, no use cases, no nothing, so I really don’t know where to get started in leveraging my development skills to be able to look for a BA position in a company.
Anyone have any ideas/advice on how a programmer can make the switch? I think I would enjoy being a BA a lot more than being a programmer, as while I know how to program the act of down-and-dirty coding bores me after a few months.
