What’s next? What do I do after I’m done being a business analyst?

Do you ever wonder “what’s next?” on this path you are on? When it comes to building a career, there are dozens of reasons to find your way into business analysis. You are a good communicator, you seem to get the business and the systems side of things, you make a lot of positive things happen. You become a business analyst. You excel at your work. But then you stop and say “where do I go from here?”.

There are many answers to this question. In fact, there are as many answers to this question as there are people bold enough to ask it. In the latest IIBA webinar on BA career paths, I went officially on record saying that “careers paths are personalized decisions”. What that means to me is that it is up to each and every one of us to define our career path based on our strengths and our passions, independent of our employer’s promotion path (assuming you are lucky enough to have one) and specific career options.

It’s what smart employees do.

It’s what promotable business analysts do.

That said, I’m sure you are looking for answers, not just motivation. So, here’s a preliminary list I’ve worked up of promotion paths beyond business analysis. (Of course, there’s a whole other list of promotion paths within business analysis…we’ll come back to that next week!) What do you think? Do any of these sound good to you?

• Business Analyst lead or manager (being able to lead other BAs takes many new skills)
• Project Manager (We hate to admit it, but it’s true in many organizations the PM is the senior role. However I’ve also started to learn about PMs wanting to be promoted to BA.)
• Business Architect (Read Pat Ferdinandi’s story about being a Business Architect or “Chief Thought Translator”)
• Enterprise Architect (a combination of up-to-date tech savvy and business analyst skills would make you extremely marketable)
• BA Coach / Mentor
• BA Trainer
• Product Manager (product management and business analysis share many competencies)
• Content Developer / Content Strategist (think about the content behind a site like Amazon and what analysis goes into bringing it all together and you’ll see what I mean)
• IT Manager or other IT leadership role
• Blogger / Author (this is one of the paths I’m obviously exploring!)
• Independent Business Owner  / Entrepreneur (start your own business, possibly even one supporting business analysis, like Adam Feldman did)
• Business Operations Manager / Director (leading a business operation takes many BA capabilities)

I think the point to be taken away from this list is that the host of activities involved of business analysis prepares you for a variety of roles across the organization and to take on a host of new responsibilities. I’d also go out on a limb and say that the best of you as a BA is also going to the best of you in another role. The best CEOs and CIOs I’ve worked with would have been very good business analysts earlier in their career. They brought a level of analysis, thoughtfulness, and essence to their work that few leaders I’ve worked with have done.

What’s next for your? Please leave a comment.

What will you do with your BA experience? Where are you headed? What roles did I miss?

Editor’s Note: If you are interested in learning more about BA career paths, check out the details on my forthcoming eBook, The Promotable Business Analyst.

By Laura (Brandau) Brandenburg. Laura Brandenburg is an independent business analyst consultant. She is passionate about the BA profession and is committed to contributing by supporting this blog as a forum for business analysts to build on each other's experiences. View more blog posts by Laura (Brandau) Brandenburg

Related posts:

1. Can I be promoted as a business analyst?
2. Exploring the Complexity of Business Analyst Roles
3. What makes a great business analyst?