Today the notion that "if you study engineering, you can do coding work" is changing completely. Coupled with the rapid growth of the software industry and the strong presence of start-ups and product companies, non-tech / tech-adjacent career avenues are widely open today for students with a tech background.

The most sought after roles are Business Analyst, Presales, Growth, and Business Strategy. Although coding isn't the main job, these roles are great career paths for engineers whose technical savvy is crucial.

Live interface between the customer and the tech team

All of these roles share a common nature in today's software organizations. It is meant to act as a "live interface" between customers and technicians.

Their main task is to understand the business problems of customers and find ways to turn them into technical solutions. Professionals in these roles are indispensable to an organization, as they can bridge the gap between the business language and the tech language.

Not only for MBA but also for engineers

At one time, these roles were only considered for those with an MBA qualification. Today, the industry is rapidly changing. Data analytics, AI tools, automation platforms, and low-code / no-code systems - all of these combined to create opportunities for tech-savvy engineers to directly enter business, strategy, and presales roles.

An engineer's ability is to quickly assess whether a software solution to a problem is feasible, at what cost, and in how much time.

What do the roles do?

Business Analyst: The main task of the business analyst is to analyse the business processes, collect the requirements of the clients and convert them into documents that can be used by the tech team.

Presales: Presales roles are crucial at the stage of attracting the customer to the product. The main tasks are preparing demos, presenting the solution, and answering customer questions with the tech team. Why should consumers buy it? This is the question.

Growth: The goal of growth roles is to make data-based decisions about whether a product is being used more effectively by existing customers, how to generate more revenue, and how to sell it. "How will the consumer get more value out of this?” This is the central question.

Business Strategy: Business strategy roles are those that help make the decisions necessary for the long-term growth of the organization. This includes market research, competitive analysis, revenue models, and operations improvement. "How will this business grow quickly and sustainably?” That's their question.

What students need to know

Today's business, strategy, and presales roles are general in nature. You will get an opportunity to work directly with the leadership and get to know the sales, technology, operations and growth areas closely.

CRM tools like HubSpot, conducting market research using AI apps like ChatGPT and Cloud, monitoring sales pipeline, preparing reports and dashboards, automating repetitive tasks, all these are crucial skills for today's engineer-professionals.

Who is the most suitable?

The answer is those who like to learn technology tools quickly. 'Why? These roles are best suited for those who have a natural curiosity to ask, who can turn data into insights, who have clear communication skills, who are willing to work with different teams, and who are in their final years and have completed their graduation.

Salary and career growth

Hybrid professionals with a combination of tech knowledge and business sense are in great demand today. Business analyst, presales, growth, and strategy roles in product-based companies get better pay and faster career growth.

A new career path

The non-tech hybrid roles of Business Analyst, Presales, Growth, and Business Strategy provide an opportunity for engineers to develop technical and business savvy skills alike. New career paths are being created by a new generation of engineers who will act as a "live interface" between clients and the company through not only coding, but also problem solving, data analysis, automation, communication, and decision making.

 

(The author is Assistant Professor, Computational Science and Humanities and Placement Officer, Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), Kottayam)