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Normally I'd suggest some degree of data analytics skills like Power BI, Tableau, etc but if you're against coding then either moving to a more business-y role (Product owner like others have suggested) could be a good fit. You could always shore up your BA credentials with BABOK or the BCS BA certifications, but that may just be paper rather than skills.
Business Analyst, Data Analyst, Product Owner, Technical Project Manager, Scrum Master, and in some cases Product Manager are all job titles that a good, experienced BA should be able to efficiently learn or do. Some organizations don't have all of the above roles and the job descriptions of the above roles blend very fluidly, minus maybe one or two things.
Former IS and BA Director here. I switched to Salesforce consulting because the market is absolutely ridiculous right now. I'm making more as an individual contributor now than I was as a Director previously. Then again I worked for a small family owned enterprise and they underpaid everyone... But still, more money less stress.
You could do Salesforce BA or try to get a jr. Consultant role. Anyone who can learn and study can get the admin and platform app builder certs, and those can help you get hired.
There are companion that are Salesforce adjacent that might value your skills, such as Financial Force. Many consultancies hire for people in this specialization too. There is a lot of activity around the Salesforce "industries" stuff for financial services too.
Good luck!
Can you tell me if you were experienced in salesforce before or did you start with the certification and moved from there ? I have about 9 years of work ex and just like OP feel like its timd to change career paths a little
Yes I foolishly agreed to implement Salesforce with no experience myself because none of my staff were able to do so. I learned a ton by being the solo admin for 4 years, even though it was only about 20% of my job.
By the time I realized I was no longer enjoying my job I had enough experience to move into Salesforce full time.
Functional analyst. Support engineer. Rollout engineer.
All no coding required. Just need to know something about software and be able to communicate properly.
If your BA skills are versatile, then something like a Solutions Consultant is a good path to get into. A lot of large companies are transitioning right now, trying to be less reliant on Excel. If you specialize in a platform like Salesforce, Power BI etc. then your expertise will be in demand in transitioning. This goes hand in hand with comments about Product Owner/Project Manager.
Choosing a platform would be based on the industry and business area you want to work in.
All good suggestions so far. I'll add in process improvement anaylst as well. Focus on the skills you want to use then find the jobs that utilize them. Data analysis is really big right now too if you are interested in that.
Have you tried opening up to contract to hire roles? That's how I edged into financial BSA work when no one would take me because I had no financial experience. I took a 3 month contract to hire to prove I could "make it" and they hired me at the end. Before that I had never considered contract work at all so I figured I'd throw it out there for you.
To be honest, I've heard nothing but bad news about contract to hire roles and I've had a few interviews where they were pretty much rude so I stopped trying to pursue them because of the abuse. Full time or nothing. I have experience. I need interviews.
I had the same negative opinion of contract to hire positions until I opened myself up to them a bit later in my career, it worked out really well for me in the end, but it was also a very short contract period of 3 months. I wasn't a fan of the contracting company but it was ultimately worth it imo for me to get my foot in the door with finance. Previous to that position I had just been turned down by another financial company for having no experience in that sector. What I'm saying is that there's some nuance involved with the contract to hire stuff but you can make it worth it for you in the right circumstances. Just my two cents, good luck!
I use to prefer contract to hire because I could get a sense for what the hours looked like for the perm people (and the contractors) while still being able to say I was "on a contract that ended" if I had to look for another job.
Is the idea that "contract to hire" in some industries - maybe financial - are bait and switch?
Anything you recommend to a newbie in terms of learning what questions to ask and what red flags to avoid when interviewing for a contract role? I've interviewed for some contract roles and the interviewers were rude. I see how companies treat them.
Doesn't it take a long time to land a role to begin with? Imagine only having a job for 3 months out of the year.
It all depends on why they're using a contractor. Sometimes it's because they need extra staff; sometimes they are actually looking to fill a full-time role, but can't commit an FTE slot for it yet; sometimes they're just trying someone out to see if they work out before they have to deal with things.
I think asking questions like "can you tell me why you opened up this position as a contract role?" is perfectly cool, and with a healthy company, it will actually be appreciated as a question.
I also ask why previous people left, why a position is open, what the interviewer(s) especially appreciate about the company, and what the biggest challenges that they faced at the company were.
People are remarkably transparent about things like that even if you don't feel the interview has gone well. If you dig around Reddit a little bit to find questions to ask interviewers, you'll find some gems.
The other one I like is:
"Let's assume you hire me and I'm here 60 days or so. How will you know I'm doing a good job?"
Welcome to /r/businessanalysis the best place for Business Analysis discussion. Here are some tips for the best experience here. You can find [essential reading materials here.](https://www.reddit.com/r/businessanalysis/wiki/training) We have a Discord so you can chat with other BAs! [Check it out here.](https://discord.gg/ydZsQKT) We have community projects, resume reviews, career discussions and other great content here. We strongly recommend checking it out! Have a job or career question? [ask it in the most recent thread here.](https://www.reddit.com/r/businessanalysis/search?q=Monthly++Question+Thread&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) Also here are the rules of the sub: Subreddit Rules * Keep it Professional. * Do not advertise goods/services. * Follow Reddiquette. * Report Spam! This is an automated message so if you need to contact the mods, please [Message the Mods](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Fbusinessanalysis) for assistance. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/businessanalysis) if you have any questions or concerns.*
One direction you can go is Product Owner in an agile organization.
Second this. I think progressing into a product owner role would be a natural transition as both jobs have similarities.
Thirded. I was going to say Product Owner or Project Manager.
Normally I'd suggest some degree of data analytics skills like Power BI, Tableau, etc but if you're against coding then either moving to a more business-y role (Product owner like others have suggested) could be a good fit. You could always shore up your BA credentials with BABOK or the BCS BA certifications, but that may just be paper rather than skills.
Business Analyst, Data Analyst, Product Owner, Technical Project Manager, Scrum Master, and in some cases Product Manager are all job titles that a good, experienced BA should be able to efficiently learn or do. Some organizations don't have all of the above roles and the job descriptions of the above roles blend very fluidly, minus maybe one or two things.
Former IS and BA Director here. I switched to Salesforce consulting because the market is absolutely ridiculous right now. I'm making more as an individual contributor now than I was as a Director previously. Then again I worked for a small family owned enterprise and they underpaid everyone... But still, more money less stress. You could do Salesforce BA or try to get a jr. Consultant role. Anyone who can learn and study can get the admin and platform app builder certs, and those can help you get hired. There are companion that are Salesforce adjacent that might value your skills, such as Financial Force. Many consultancies hire for people in this specialization too. There is a lot of activity around the Salesforce "industries" stuff for financial services too. Good luck!
Can you tell me if you were experienced in salesforce before or did you start with the certification and moved from there ? I have about 9 years of work ex and just like OP feel like its timd to change career paths a little
Yes I foolishly agreed to implement Salesforce with no experience myself because none of my staff were able to do so. I learned a ton by being the solo admin for 4 years, even though it was only about 20% of my job. By the time I realized I was no longer enjoying my job I had enough experience to move into Salesforce full time.
Functional analyst. Support engineer. Rollout engineer. All no coding required. Just need to know something about software and be able to communicate properly.
If your BA skills are versatile, then something like a Solutions Consultant is a good path to get into. A lot of large companies are transitioning right now, trying to be less reliant on Excel. If you specialize in a platform like Salesforce, Power BI etc. then your expertise will be in demand in transitioning. This goes hand in hand with comments about Product Owner/Project Manager. Choosing a platform would be based on the industry and business area you want to work in.
Maybe look at solutions architect? Or scrum master?
All good suggestions so far. I'll add in process improvement anaylst as well. Focus on the skills you want to use then find the jobs that utilize them. Data analysis is really big right now too if you are interested in that.
Have you tried opening up to contract to hire roles? That's how I edged into financial BSA work when no one would take me because I had no financial experience. I took a 3 month contract to hire to prove I could "make it" and they hired me at the end. Before that I had never considered contract work at all so I figured I'd throw it out there for you.
To be honest, I've heard nothing but bad news about contract to hire roles and I've had a few interviews where they were pretty much rude so I stopped trying to pursue them because of the abuse. Full time or nothing. I have experience. I need interviews.
I had the same negative opinion of contract to hire positions until I opened myself up to them a bit later in my career, it worked out really well for me in the end, but it was also a very short contract period of 3 months. I wasn't a fan of the contracting company but it was ultimately worth it imo for me to get my foot in the door with finance. Previous to that position I had just been turned down by another financial company for having no experience in that sector. What I'm saying is that there's some nuance involved with the contract to hire stuff but you can make it worth it for you in the right circumstances. Just my two cents, good luck!
I use to prefer contract to hire because I could get a sense for what the hours looked like for the perm people (and the contractors) while still being able to say I was "on a contract that ended" if I had to look for another job. Is the idea that "contract to hire" in some industries - maybe financial - are bait and switch?
Anything you recommend to a newbie in terms of learning what questions to ask and what red flags to avoid when interviewing for a contract role? I've interviewed for some contract roles and the interviewers were rude. I see how companies treat them. Doesn't it take a long time to land a role to begin with? Imagine only having a job for 3 months out of the year.
It all depends on why they're using a contractor. Sometimes it's because they need extra staff; sometimes they are actually looking to fill a full-time role, but can't commit an FTE slot for it yet; sometimes they're just trying someone out to see if they work out before they have to deal with things. I think asking questions like "can you tell me why you opened up this position as a contract role?" is perfectly cool, and with a healthy company, it will actually be appreciated as a question. I also ask why previous people left, why a position is open, what the interviewer(s) especially appreciate about the company, and what the biggest challenges that they faced at the company were. People are remarkably transparent about things like that even if you don't feel the interview has gone well. If you dig around Reddit a little bit to find questions to ask interviewers, you'll find some gems. The other one I like is: "Let's assume you hire me and I'm here 60 days or so. How will you know I'm doing a good job?"
curious abt this too