Software Engineer looking for the next step

Question:
I have been a software engineer for over 10 yrs now.. The field is extremely technical, with very little social skills to it, and peers tend to be intraverted, However, I am not like that ; I am social, artistic, and most of my friends are not software people.

Towards what should I evolve? I have become quite acustommed to my six-figure salary lifestyle, and I would be willing to start over a new career if I knew there are great chances that it would lead to a similar salary..

Or maybe I could switch job within the same company, towards maybe marketing or sales? I just don't seem to be good at sales..

thanks in advance !

Answer:
Having spent a decade or so recruiting Software Engineers, I'd have to agree about their introvert nature.

I'm sure you're aware that the software development lifecycle consists of several parts.

These are:
Requirements
Specification
Architecture
Design
Implementation
Testing
Deployment
Maintenance

Some of these steps in the lifecycle require more customer facing. Some require more people interaction in general.

You may want to consider being a Business Analyst doing the requirements gathering. Customers typically have an abstract idea of what they want as an end result, but not what software should do. Incomplete, ambiguous, or even contradictory requirements are recognized by skilled and experienced software engineers at this point. Frequently demonstrating live code may help reduce the risk that the requirements are incorrect.

The role of Business Analyst has evolved from someone who was a part of the business operation and worked with Information Technology to improve the quality of the products and services being delivered by the IT organization to someone who apart from gathering Business Requirements, also assists in Integration and Acceptance Testing, supports the development of training and implementation material, participates in the implementation, and provides post-implementation support. Business Analysts today are also involved in the development of project plans and often provide project management skills when these skills are not available in other project participants.

There is no defined way to become a business analyst. Often the BA has a technical background, whether having worked as a programmer or engineer, or completing a Computer Science degree. Others may move into a BA role from a business role – their status as a subject matter expert and their analytical skills make them suitable for the role. Business analysts may overlap into roles such as project manager or consultant. When focused on specific systems, the term Business Systems Analyst may be used.

A BA does not always work in IT-related projects, as BA skills are often required in marketing and financial roles as well.

The International Institute of Business Analysis provides a certification program for business analysts (Certified Business Analyst Professional or CBAP), as well as providing a body of knowledge for the field (Business Analysis Body of Knowledge or BABOK).

Depending on your location you should be able to get close to six figures. In my area a BA will make 50k to 75k but this not a huge software development area.

Good luck on getting out from behind that computer.

Zig Ziglar Quote

When we do more than we are paid for, eventually we will be paid more for what we do. Zig Ziglar