[stkni]

>> And then there's the competition - I early discovered that I could never outperform my competition.

100% this. I'm a bit competitive, but only a bit :). After 20 years of being a dev I realised I didn't want to compete anymore and shortly after that I quit as a dev.

I've now switched more into an analyst role and because I've been a dev i think I know what makes a good analyst because I know what I would have to know to write the code - if it were me. But here's the best part, the mark of a good developer is their attention to detail. And attention to detail is also the mark of a good analyst, but as an analyst you don't have to sacrifice yourself to the detail of tool-chains, stacks and frameworks.

Working on large scale problems as a dev, and doing it right, is slow (with a small number of devs) and chaotic with a large number. But as an analyst I can work at the speed of thought, work on many projects simultaneously, and see the fruits of my ideas take shape as the devs start to deliver them and I shepherd them into existence.

So for now I'm pretty happy, I write code in my spare time for fun and like the OP - I'm back where I need to be.

[mewpmewp2]

What does an analyst do exactly?

[15457345234]

Figure out what the customer actually wants to do

Figure out the existing workflow and document it

Figure out the actual requirements, not what the customer says the requirements are

Figure out what their existing solution does and how it's used in real life

[dragonwriter]

Typically interface with customers/users/stakeholders, identify and document requirements, and...well, beyond that it varies a lot in different orgs, if its not actually coding, and its involved with the process of developing/maintaining software, there's some organization where someone titled as an "analyst" (usually with a prefix like "business", "system", or something) does it,

[badpun]

In most industries, software analysts are a thing of the past. Scrum has largely replaced them, and project managers, with product owners - the people who have to do both of these jobs for a price of one.

[Obscurity4340]

Ya like walk us through a day?