Hi all,

New to the forum here...I've been doing research for the past couple weeks with the goal of choosing a new field to start a career in. I have a BS in Accounting, an MBA and my CPA (certified public accounting) license and have been working in accounting for the past 4 years. Over the course of several different jobs, I gradually came to the conclusion that accounting is not a field that interests me (quite the contrary it bores me to tears!)

Anyways, I'm still fairly young at 28 with my only debt being my mortgage. So I've been considering cutting my losses in accounting and getting into a field within IT or programming. My reasoning is that I've always loved working with computers and finding ways to automate/minimize work by using computers. Every job I've had, I compulsively look for ways to improve the systems and processes from writing excel macros, to working with the IT department to implement more complex solutions. This is the type of work I could get lost in and enjoy thoroughly.

So to get to the point, my ideal job would involve aspects discussed above, along with:
- possibility for telecommute
- possibility to freelance
- ability to work with or lead teams
- environment with little to no micro-managing (I've been told I  have a problem with authority ;) )

Business analysis/intelligence seems like a field that might meet some or most of these ideals. But I wanted to get some input from those of you already living it...Thanks for any feedback!

 Hi Chris,

- In general BAs are usually on site, especially during elicitation activities, although the opportunitites to work remote increase every day.

- I am a freelance BA/PM/Management Consultant, so you can structure your career that way. Opportunities vary by region of the world.

- I have led BA teams and led teams as a PM, although leading BA teams as a freelancer can be tough to find.

- Finding the right environment is company specific, as a BA you could be in a very defined and laborious environment or one that has very little structure. It depends on the company.

Note that Business Analysis and Business Intelligence are very different fields; BI involved a lot less daily interaction with other individuals and requires good data modeling/analysis skills. If you haven't already, purchase a copy of the BABOK to understand what a BA does. Here's a good overview of what a Business Intelligence Analyst does.

Good luck!