Roadmap · Career
Tech roles beyond coding (Business analyst)
Opens with creditsFor students and early-career people who like technology but want a role where code is not the main output: product management, business analysis, technical writing or developer relations. By the end you understand the landscape, have the technical literacy these roles need, can do the core work of your chosen role, and have public work samples and a realistic plan to get your first role.
Curated by Tauseef Fayyaz7 stages, 54 topics~8 months at a few hours a weekBy the end, you will be able to
- Explain what product managers, business analysts, technical writers and developer advocates do day to day, and how they differ from project managers, solutions engineers and customer success
- Read an API response, a pull request, a JSON payload and a simple SQL query well enough to ask engineers precise questions
- Do the core work of your chosen role: a tested spec and prioritised plan, a requirements package with process models, a structured and reviewed docs set, or a tutorial, sample app and feedback report
- Publish three strong work samples and run a focused search through internal moves, bridge roles and targeted applications, while spotting scams
The path
7 stages, in the order to learn them. Open one to start.
1The landscape of non-coding tech rolesWhat business analysts actually do, where they work, and how the role compares with product management, project management and the other roles in this roadmap. Test your fit by mapping one real process and writing a few requirements before you commit.9 topics · ~2 weeks
- 1What "beyond coding" really meansA non-coding tech role sits inside a software team, but its main output is not production code.
- 2Product manager: deciding what gets built and whyA product manager, or PM, makes sure a team builds the right things.
- 3Technical writer: making products usable through docsTechnical writers create the documentation people use to succeed with a product.
- 4Developer relations: helping outside developers succeedDeveloper relations, or DevRel, helps developers outside the company succeed with a product.
- 5Business analyst: turning needs into clear requirementsA business analyst, or BA, works out what a change must achieve and describes it clearly enough that a team can build and test it.
- 6Adjacent roles: project manager, business analyst, solutions engineer, customer successSeveral other roles also sit close to engineering without being mainly about code.
- 7Who does well in each roleEach role rewards a different temperament.
- 8The job market, honestlyThere are fewer entry-level openings in non-coding tech roles than in junior engineering.
- 9Testing your fit with small real tasksThe cheapest way to choose is to try a small piece of each role's real work.
9 in this stageOpen this stage2Technical literacyHow software is built, how the web and APIs work, and enough Git, JSON and SQL to read what engineers produce. You will not become an engineer, but you will stop being lost in technical conversations.10 topics · ~4 weeks
- 1How software is built: the lifecycleSoftware is built in a repeating cycle, often called the software development lifecycle, or SDLC.
- 2Agile, sprints, tickets and boardsMost software teams work in short cycles.
- 3Clients, servers and how the web worksWhen you open an app, a client sends a request over the internet to a server.
- 4HTTP, APIs and status codesAn API is an agreed way for one piece of software to ask another for data or actions.
- 5Reading JSON and API responsesJSON is the text format that most APIs, configuration files and event logs use.
- 6Git, GitHub and pull requestsGit records every change to a set of files over time, so you can see who changed what and undo mistakes.
- 7Reading code without writing muchYou do not need to write production code, but you do need to follow it.
- 8Data basics and simple SQLProducts store their data in databases, and most analytics questions come down to a query, a precise question asked of the data.
- 9Spreadsheets for analysisMuch business data reaches an analyst as a spreadsheet or an export from another system.
- 10Environments, releases, feature flags and incidentsCode usually moves through several environments, which are separate copies of the product.
10 in this stageOpen this stage- Elicitation, requirements and process modelsHow business analysts find out what a change must achieve, who it affects and how work flows today, then write requirements, user stories, acceptance criteria and process models a team can build and test from. You practise on one small real organisation you can reach.7 topics · ~2 monthsOpens with credits
- Data, traceability and solution evaluationHow business analysts analyse data and root causes, make the case for a change, prioritise and trace requirements, manage change, prepare acceptance testing and check after launch whether the change delivered value.7 topics · ~7 weeksOpens with credits
- Your portfolioBuild a business analysis portfolio: a requirements package for a real small organisation, a process improvement sample and a data analysis sample, each showing your evidence and reasoning.6 topics · ~2 monthsOpens with credits
- Breaking inHonest routes into a first role: internal moves, bridge roles, targeted applications, the exercises employers set, and the scams to avoid. Expect a longer search than for junior engineering roles, and plan for it.8 topics · ~4 weeksOpens with credits
- Growing in the roleYour first months and beyond: building trust, leading without authority, making your impact visible, staying technical and choosing a longer-term path.7 topics · ~2 weeksOpens with credits
5 more stages, 35 more topics, free with an account.
You have seen the open stages of the Tech roles beyond coding roadmap. Every topic it covers is listed above, and an account opens the rest: what each topic means, a question to check yourself, the courses, the practice and Tauseef's advice for every stage. Early access is open: sign up and your account is active shortly after.
Everything here is free to learn from. A few things, like adding a roadmap, keeping a cheat sheet or asking Tauseef a question, use credits. You get 15 when you join, your first roadmap is free, and if you are learning seriously and run out, you can ask for more. Credits only make sure the platform goes to people who are actually learning.
Build a project
A finished project proves more than a certificate.
- Start with this oneintermediate2 semesters · 3 studentsApproval Workflow Engine with Escalations for Small Offices
Map real approval processes, write the rules, stories and acceptance criteria, and see them built: the full BA loop in one project
- TypeScript with Node.js
- PostgreSQL
- React with a form builder
- Job queue (BullMQ or pg-boss)
- Email and webhook integrations
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Career questions
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- Is a UK master's still worth it in 2026?It can be, but the maths has changed. Graduate tech jobs in the UK are harder to find, the Graduate visa drops from two years to 18 months for applications from 1 January 2027, and sponsored jobs have salary floors many junior roles miss. A UK master's is worth it if you want the degree itself, have a realistic plan for sponsorship, and can afford it without crushing debt.
- GCC, service company or product company: which is best for a fresher in India?None is best for everyone. Service companies hire the most freshers and train them at scale. Global capability centres (GCCs) are growing and hire more freshers than before, with a higher bar and more AI and data skills expected. Product companies offer ownership but hire fewer freshers. Choose on the team, the learning and the work, and know you can move after two years.
Cheat sheets
See allWork with me
Stuck on something specific?
Writing only gets you so far. If you want an answer to your situation rather than the general case, book a session and we will work through it together. Sessions are free for approved Sefism members, and a few slots open each week.
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