Sitting in front of a computer screen for hours, writing code that, most of the time, doesn’t work as intended, and living a monotonous life for six days of the week. Sounds familiar? Maybe you are in a similar situation, working as a software engineer. Or maybe, you hear your fellow software engineers whine about their lives in a resembling manner on an almost daily basis. It’s understandable. After all, being a software engineer is not easy.
Yes, it’s a great paying career. But still, if you feel stuck inside your cubicle, are dragging yourself to work every day, get intimidated by your laptop’s screen, or want more flexibility in work, changing careers might be a great alternative to quitting entirely.
Now you may ask, “but I am a software engineer. What else can I do apart from code?”. Well, we have a good piece of news for you. There are several jobs which you can get using your expertise in software development and coding languages. Most of them might still come under the scope of IT, but trust me, you won’t have to code as much and as often as you did during your stint as a software engineer.
So, let’s check out 7 alternative career paths for software engineers:
1. QA Professional
QA or Quality Assurance professionals are those individuals whose job is to ensure that every software product meets the designated quality standards before being delivered to consumers. Think of its as quality control at a food factory. The role of a QA analyst is to keep an eye on every phase of the software development process. From designing, coding, testing, debugging to delivery, QA analysts conduct rigorous assessments at each stage and make sure that all safety and quality protocols are met. Being a QA analyst demands great responsibility but it’s also a job where you will learn new skills. In short, it is a great career option for software engineers.
2. Technical Blogging
As the world moves towards new technologies, there needs to be someone to explain to the layman what these technologies are. And that’s what technical bloggers (often) do.
Technical blogging, as the name suggests, refers to writing engaging and information-rich technical blogs. The blogs can contain content ranging from something as simple as formatting a hard drive to expounding upon the future of AI. The possibilities are limitless. And being a software engineer, you can use your already tried and tested software engineering skills to write exceptional technical blogs. So if you are looking to share your knowledge with the world while earning some money, technical blogging is the job for you.
3. Teaching/Training
You are burned out after writing lines after lines of code. You have no stamina left in you to type even a single variable more and you are constantly churning out mediocre quality work. You want to quit. But you also don’t want to lose your passion for computers and coding. What do you do? You teach, that’s what you do. Becoming a teacher/trainer is a great second (or third or whatever number it is) option for you to share your wisdom as an experienced software professional with students or freshers.
4. Data Scientist
It’s a no-brainer that today’s world runs on data. Quintillions of bytes of data are being created and shared every day. And every company wants to tap into this data and gather relevant insights to improve their services and understand their consumers better. A data scientist helps companies in doing the same.
Data scientists collect and examine loads of noisy data using complex algorithms and analytical skills, filter the noise and extract valuable information out of it. Companies then use this information for a variety of purposes. Data scientists are in great demand across the world. And the demand curve will only go up in the future.
5. Business Analyst
Being a business analyst requires you to overlook the entire functioning of an organization by conceiving and implementing changes to existing business processes as well as coming up with new methods to improve overall business efficiency. Business analysts scrutinize every aspect of a business ranging from market performance to internal pain points. They do so by analyzing business data and creating plans to strengthen IT processes, the structure of the organization, employee relations, etc.
Similar to a software QA analyst, a job as a business analyst comes with its fair share of responsibilities. Nevertheless, it’s a great job to have if you are bored with developing software and want to put your organizational and communication skills to the test.
6. Product Manager
For a business to increase its footfall and churn more profit, knowing and delivering what consumers exactly want is a must. And the one responsible for understanding consumers’ demands is called a product manager. A product manager’s job is to identify the needs and the pain points of consumers and relay them to the development team. Not only this, but a product manager also keeps in mind the “meta” goals of a business and crafts strategies to meet them. If you have been engineering software for a long time and are looking for a change, a role as a product manager is quite apt for you.
7. Tech Support
Tech support is in charge of helping people deal with any sort of technical issues they are facing with their hardware/software products. A job role as tech support calls for extensive knowledge of a company’s technical product offerings and hence, is an important role. Also, you need great communication skills to get your point across all sorts of people on the “literacy” spectrum. So, if you are up for utilizing your software engineering expertise to solve people’s woes, being a tech support person is what you should be.
Conclusion:
So there you have it, jobs that you can pick instead of developing software all your life. This list is by no means exclusive and there certainly are other options vastly different from the ones mentioned here that you can take up. And while some of these jobs might require some additional qualifications, they’re totally worth it!!
