Project manager route or business analyst?

[Fairly New graduate]

Really quick thread, if you could pick would you go down the project manager route or business analyst? Would love to know what some of the experienced people on here think.

[Ivor Bigun]

Originally Posted by Fairly New graduate

Really quick thread, if you could pick would you go down the project manager route or business analyst? Would love to know what some of the experienced people on here think.

New Grad -> Business Analyst first (if you're lucky to escape being a coder).

If you have to ask, you ain't got it to be a PM at the mo.
Reckon you'll have to settle for aiming to be a BA first.

I've only seen one guy make it from the off as a project manager in computers. At 24, he successfully pulled off a 5 million project and at 28, he was made a director of the consulting company that employed him.
He was seriously different from the norm - Think succesful Alan Sugar "apprentice" but without an attitude.
Enormously capable in all aspects and well repected/liked by all who met him.
He did it without having to go technical or functional first - Not seen another like him since.

[shoes]

Take it from me as the director and owner of a succesful consultancy since 2 years after graduation, the move from technical to PM or BA is not an evolution in any sense.

HTH

For further reading I suggest anything by Scott Adams

[jmo21]

Originally Posted by shoes

Take it from me as the director and owner of a succesful consultancy since 2 years after graduation, the move from technical to PM or BA is not an evolution in any sense.

HTH

For further reading I suggest anything by Scott Adams

totally agree

i'd say the say between dev and test and vice versa - hate the consulting companies that do that

in my first job, a really smart dev i worked for got asked to do an asset counting job (ie. check all the PC's have asset tag etc), huge site, couple of months, all IT equipment etc

muppets - i hated that place

[aussielong]

Originally Posted by Fairly New graduate

Really quick thread, if you could pick would you go down the project manager route or business analyst? Would love to know what some of the experienced people on here think.

Business Analyst is a joke role if you ask me. Programmers do Analysis work - at least, competent ones do.

As a PM, how can you be taken seriously by developers of 10+ years experience, when you don't know what they are talking about and can't relate to the work they are doing?

...become a great developer instead!

[ace00]

Originally Posted by aussielong

Business Analyst is a joke role if you ask me. Programmers do Analysis work - at least, competent ones do.

As a PM, how can you be taken seriously by developers of 10+ years experience, when you don't know what they are talking about and can't relate to the work they are doing?

...become a great developer instead!

I've never met a business analyst who does much of anything except get paid and drink coffee (and attend cosy back-slapping meetings).

[Xenophon]

Pm...

[alreadypacked]

As a PM you will be asked to do everything from estimate to save different parts of a project, you can ask people for their input, but you really should have some idea yourself. The only way you can do that is by experence. You may be ready to work as a PM in about 8-10 years. Learn as much as you can in different places before then. Good Luck!

[alreadypacked]

Originally Posted by Xenophon

Pm...

That's what you are supposed to be doing when you are not on here.

You are always on here

[Xenophon]

Originally Posted by alreadypacked

That's what you are supposed to be doing when you are not on here.

I'm on top of things.