There are two things I want to say at this point;
Firstly, be sure you want to be a business analyst before you jump ship. Large companies, where most BAs work, have very different cultures to small ones for example, and the bureaucracy often becomes very hard for small business and entrepreneurial types to handle. Frankly it even gets us corporate professionals down from time to time.
Secondly the BA role is more than just managing requirements for software projects and you have a great opportunity to exercise some of these other skills right now, which will lead to more strategic BA roles later (and better pay.)
Examples;
· Business strategy
· Enterprise architecture
· Project portfolio management
· Continuos improvement projects
· Opening new channels and markets
· Launching new products
Each of these things has a blend of technical and non technical work. Each requires in depth analysis prior to action, and each requires the execution of the BA skills at a high degree of competency – eg stakeholder management (trying to convince your parents to change!!), financial cost/benefit forecasting of good ideas, defining requirements, validation them with customers, etc.
Even if your business is in good shape there are a couple of things it could do with. For example
· An online sales channel where people can order and track their jobs through to delivery. If it’s a goo idea it’s an opportunity to work with their part vendors (eg a tech savvy courier firm.)
· Off-shoring low value admin work
· Improve your sales leads tools,
· Improve your customer database and implement a retention project or cross selling project
· Etc
Just a few ideas. The great thing about where you work is you can strongly influenfce the degree to which you play a role, and what that role is.