Where Can a Systems Analyst Grow?

Hi! My name is Sveta, and I’m a systems analyst at Maxilect.
IT is a path of continuous self-development and self-education and it’s essential to grow within a single specific area. However, sooner or later, you realize that you’ve reached your peak in your current position or project, and you start wondering: where do I go next in this complex web of specializations? What skills should I develop?

In this article, I’ll talk about the possible career paths for a systems analyst.

Who Is a Systems Analyst?

Let’s start with defining the role.

No matter how responsibilities are officially divided, a systems analyst on a project is like a universal soldier, communicating with everyone — from clients to testers. This is the person who manages requirements from their inception to their delivery as features to business-side customers.

At the beginning of their career, an analyst primarily describes requirements from a technical perspective (while the client sets the requirements). I personally started as a consultant. I grew up in a small town and began my career at a fairly large local consulting company. There, the role of a systems analyst didn’t even exist. Consultants handled everything — implementation, technical support, and even a bit of sales.

Consultants spent a lot of time talking to clients, gathering feedback and requests. Additionally, by working in support, they could see firsthand what could be improved in the product. All of this naturally turned into technical specifications for development.

To be honest, I already enjoyed writing up new features and their requirements back then. My manager at the time pointed out that there was a profession called “systems analyst” and suggested I look into it. My next job transition was as a full-fledged analyst.

At this stage, it’s already crucial for an analyst to understand and apply:

• Software development methodologies
• The core principles of object-oriented programming (OOP)
• Use cases and how to work with them
• UML and various diagramming techniques in practice
• The difference between functional and non-functional requirements and how to describe them
• Communication skills and the ability to conduct meetings
• Requirement state management

As an analyst gains experience, they take on more responsibility and face business-related tasks like identifying risks and forecasting the future development of a service. At the same time, they also need to establish intersystem interactions, meaning constant collaboration with colleagues from other teams. These responsibilities lean toward management.

However, technical tasks remain just as important — diving into project architecture, learning how to design and evaluate it, calculating service loads, and planning API development strategies.

In practice, this means that on one hand, you’re drawing a lot of diagrams, and on the other, you’re constantly in meetings, working almost like a manager. Some days, you might have six or seven meetings back-to-back, making it hard to switch contexts quickly — from discussing one issue to immediately jumping into another.

At this point, you start realizing that this mix of technical and managerial responsibilities isn’t entirely comfortable. The workload is huge, the responsibility is high, and you need to keep up with everything. To make it more manageable, you eventually have to choose a direction — either technical or managerial.

And that’s when the big question arises: Where do I go next?

The Management Path

The first logical career path is moving toward management — taking on the role of a Product Owner and fully immersing yourself in the product from a business perspective. In this position, you’ll be responsible for developing the product, presenting it, and possibly even selling it while defining its overall strategy.

Key Skills for Getting Started:

• Change and risk management
• Basic budgeting skills
• Planning and prioritization
• Problem-solving within the team and across departments

This path is ideal for those who enjoy working with stakeholders, making strategic decisions, and driving the business forward.

The Technical Path

The second possible direction is strengthening technical skills — moving toward an architectural role. Not as a system architect who manages developers and dictates coding practices, but as a solution architect who designs the high-level structure of systems. This is a relatively young and in-demand profession, and it’s one that requires natural career growth rather than a simple job switch.

To transition into this role, an analyst needs to outgrow their current responsibilities and start viewing projects from a broader and deeper perspective.

Personally, I find this path more appealing since management often involves a lot of politics.

I got lucky — on a neighboring project, we’re planning an architecture refactor. More specifically, we’ll be relaunching an old business process on an entirely new architecture, giving me a chance to gain hands-on experience in system design. I’ll be working on this project alongside a senior system architect — he’ll oversee the service from the code perspective, while I’ll handle component design, modeling, and system diagrams.

Opportunities to build architecture from scratch are rare. You either need to join a new project in its early development phase or find one undergoing large-scale rework.

Key Skills for Getting Started:

• Deeper understanding of architecture patterns
• Managing requirements and designing architecture at a system-wide scale, not just within isolated parts
• More advanced communication skills to align with developers, stakeholders, and other teams

This path is great for those who enjoy technical challenges, system thinking, and strategic design without getting too involved in people management.

The Leadership Path

The third option is becoming a lead analyst — a great choice if you’ve been on a project for a long time and are comfortable with your role. As new analysts join, they need guidance, and this naturally leads to a mentorship role — essentially becoming a team lead or tech lead for the analytics team.

This path requires strong HR-like skills, as much of the work involves interacting with colleagues, explaining processes, and helping them integrate into the team.

I think I would enjoy this path as well. At my previous job, I already had experience onboarding new analysts. I liked helping, answering questions about the product, and structuring documentation workflows. However, for certain reasons, this isn’t an option for me on my current project.

Key Skills for Getting Started:

• Continuing to develop communication and knowledge-sharing skills
• Building mentorship capabilities
• Improving analytics processes and workflows
• Learning how to motivate team members
• Strengthening delegation and responsibility distribution skills

This path is ideal for those who enjoy teaching, mentoring, and organizing work processes, while still staying close to the analytical domain.

What Else?

I believe there are certain skills that should always be developed — skills that will help regardless of which career path you choose.

1️⃣ Structuring Your Work

Organize everything clearly — break down processes, document your findings, and create diagrams. This doesn’t just help you; it makes things easier for colleagues who may need to understand your work later.

2️⃣ Excelling in Your Current Role

Strive to do your job well. The best way to earn trust and be considered for bigger projects is to consistently deliver quality work.

3️⃣ Mastering Communication

A systems analyst’s job is inherently communication-heavy, but it’s important to improve all aspects of it — both within the team and with leadership. For example, I’ve discussed my career growth aspirations with my manager, which has helped me work toward my goals.

And most importantly — there’s always something to improve in your work!

Author: Sveta, Maxilect