Ask HN: Where do I fit as a non-programmer in the tech world? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Where do I fit as a non-programmer in the tech world?

1 pointgeogra42 comments

Currently I'm working as an "Analyst" at a small (~15 person) software company where I'm doing a good portion of the non-programmer tasks. I file bug reports, test software changes, create demos, write scripts for our frontend, do some customer training, write the first cut of documentation for our tech writer, and handle customer support.

There's no real growth for me in this company because of the size so I've started to look elsewhere.

The question I've been struggling with is: How do I market myself? Where do I go from here? What would this job title translate to in another software company?

I do have a bit of scripting acumen but I wouldn't consider myself a programmer at all, nor would I want a programmer position. I've looked at training to become a DBA since I took a DB course in undergrad and enjoyed it, but I'm not sure where to start their either. Oracle University, O'Reilly School of Technology, Community college, Ed2Go? There are a ton of options out there.

I've enjoyed reading hacker news and I find the readership here to be very intelligent and helpful. So that being said, any ideas?

Why tech?

What do you really want to do in your life?

Make stuff? Sell stuff? Turn people on to stuff? See things? Write about things?

What things to you find yourself doing when no one's paying you?

> Why Tech?

I guess I've always enjoyed being around technology. I've been using computers as long as I've been around. As a kid in the mid 90s my brother and I used to install Debian on old powerpcs we had lying around the house for fun. I've built PCs from components for myself. I run Linux on the desktop. In college I took some tech courses (CS 101, Intro to Databases) and I always did enjoy automating repetitive tasks via scripting.

>What do you really want to do in your life?

I want to have a nice life with my fiancee, I guess. I like understanding things. I enjoy knowing something at the level that I can explain it very well as opposed to knowledge of something just at the level where I can use it.

At some level I do like creating things too, but I seem to have a very high inertia a lot of the time. I just end up thinking of ideas as opposed to implementing them. I love working with computers because software can things so easily when you just provide the idea.

>What things to you find yourself doing when no one's paying you?

I daydream. I listen to music. I think of new things to cook. I ride my bike around town. Maybe I'll complete some intro challenges on a site like codecademy for fun. I'll read HN, Slashdot. I've always been intrigued by the future of technological progress. I'm excited by google's self-driving cars.

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