Has the ship sailed for me?
Hey all. Trying to undergo a career transition and I've found that Business Analysis is something I truly want to do as a career.
TLDR: Got my bachelor's 4 years ago in Business Administration, got experience in a very niche industry, found that most BA's fell into the role through luck or circumstances. Is there no hope for me to become a BA?
A little background: I'm (27M) based in Southern California. I've graduated with a bachelor's in Business Administration 4 years ago. A year before graduation I had no idea what I wanted to do, but I knew I loved the idea of collaborating with others with different backgrounds for a single goal. Someone mentioned I should become a project manager. After some research, I figured it is something I would love to pursue. I had no idea that Business Analysis existed at this time.
My brother got me a job in a very niche industry involving concrete surface prep and water restoration work. It wasn't a project manager job, but I was basically tasked to oversee the service department that mainly tasks mechanics to repair equipment for customers within that industry. Think of the person you speak to at a car dealership that schedules the mechanics to work on your car. The job is very operations-heavy. Analyzed financial forecasts to help guide growth, translated what clients wanted from their repairs/projects to non-client facing technicians, ensuring the department is efficient overall, revenue growth goals, etc. There are small projects here and there, and I told myself I should gain the experience for at least a year or two to prepare me for when I oversee projects as a PM where there are bigger teams involved.
Life happens, 4 years pass by in an instant. Company gets shutdown, gets acquired by a competitor and an organizational restructure happens. Got laid off in March and after extensive research, I found that BA work was something that aligns much more with what I truly wanted to do. I was VERY lucky to get an interview at a IT Consulting company for a Jr. Business Analyst position within the first week of unemployment. I went through 3 rounds of interviews. They made me complete a case study involving user stories and acceptance criteria which gave me an opportunity to dip my toes in BA work. Unfortunately did not get it, however I remained optimistic. I learned a ton from the whole interview process.
Now I'm at a standstill. 4 months have passed involving job searching and no interview since. The typical "I need this entry level job to gain experience but to gain experience I need an entry level job". I want to become a BA but it seems out of reach for a job that is seen as "entry level" or a "stepping stone" to other roles. Here's what I've learned:
BA's roles can be obtained from internships I've graduated 4 years ago and companies seek new grads within the one year mark of graduation.
Get experience/I can learn it in my job/I can move laterally to the position; my job mostly focused on blue-collar work. The closest experience I got in BA work is utilizing Salesforce, testing NetSuite functions to replace Salesforce, and acting as the liaison between technicians and clients.
I was looking into the ECBA to increase visibility on my resume. Certificates are not seen as necessary, and the CBAP is the only one that matters, in which it doesn't mean anything without experience.
It's best to network. True, but also involves a ton of luck. People have no obligation to reply to emails/LinkedIn, especially a quick glance at my profile and there's no relevant industry experience to discuss.
Has anyone else been in this position before? If I had all the information and insight I do now 4 years ago, no doubt I would be in a much better position, but I know not to dwell on the past too much. I'm trying to stay resilient but in this current job market, I'm competing with thousands of applicants as soon as the role is posted. What can you suggest that can help me navigate my eventual foot in the door?