HACKER Q&A
📣 bta12

Switch from Technology Analyst to Software Engineering


I have an undergraduate degree in computer science but I have never had a software engineering job. I worked for a year as a BA and then went ahead and did my master's in information systems. I have now been working as a Technology Analyst at a decent sized firm where I basically do all BA stuff, document requirements, JIRA, Scrum etc.

I'm now realizing that BA/Project Manager work might not be the best fit for me. I do not enjoy my work and it gets pretty mundane.

Is it too late to get back into software engineering? I have had a couple of internships where I wrote some code (not pure development internships) but I have never really worked in a professional software development environment. I also have some personal projects that I can put on my resume.

To upsert my knowledge of computer science, I have started working through this (on the graphs section right now): https://github.com/jwasham/coding-interview-university. I also try to do leetcode problems on the topics I cover. I plan to follow this guide for the most part.

Do you see any gaping holes in my intent/plan to get into software engineering? Do you think it is doable?

If it is doable, do you have any recommendations in terms of the process that I should follow? Really appreciate any advice or feedback.

  👤 kevsim Accepted Answer ✓
In my experience, the easiest way to make these "leaps" is to do so within the company in which you're already working provided that a) you've been successful in your role and b) your company is a flexible place that values its employees personal development. That's much easier than applying to a job "cold" at some other company.

Talk to your manager and let them know about your ambitions. Maybe the next time there's a planning session for your team, you can take some small tasks, bug fixes, etc. or maybe you can pair program with (or just observe) one of your engineering colleagues.

Great that you're working on your skills outside of work as will, and I suspect many on HN will suggest getting involved in open source projects, but that's really playing the long game IMO. Shortest path is to try to get a "new desk" in the place you already work.