I recently moved into a Business Analyst role, working on a complex project has given me a lot to learn. The role somewhat aligns to my ulterior passion for innovation and start ups. Being a BA is something I have wanted to do for a long time.

Our department however has no clear direction, a lot of failed projects, nothing extensive in the pipeline, has had a few redundancies etc. So unless senior management comes out with some sort of clear and transparent direction, there is going to be a lot of uncertainty and speculation moving forward. I come to work every week expecting a redundancy notification, but willing to hold onto the role as long as I need to, hoping I can be assigned to a project soon.

My options as I see them:

OPTION 1: Find another BA role else where:
Cons

  • con: might have to take a pay cut as I don't have extensive experience yet
  • con: I'm not keen on taking a pay cut
  • con: risk moving to an organization that is a slave house; current workplace offers good flexibility - important to me

Pros

  • pro: align my self with my passion a little more and continue to do what I've been enjoying this year.
  • pro: continue to work in a field I have enjoyed so far (system development)
  • pro: lead into consultancy which is my longer term goal

OPTION 2: Take on another role within this company*

My previous role (not BA- and one that I got sick of)(same company) has a senior role available - it's not technically a team leader role, but it is a senior role where I'll manage a small team of analysts. This will be a side step for me as I haven't considered a career in management. I've been asked to come take this role up.
Cons

  • Con: I was sick of the analytical work I had to do there, which I'll have to do some of again;
  • Con: The product or service the team works with has limited scope and I won't be gaining much value from that perspective;
  • Con: I have previously always avoided management roles (maybe due to my self growth over the last year or so I'm starting to have a different view);
  • Con/Pro?: this will be a side step to what I was planning my career around (i.e. of being a BA)

Pros

  • Pro: step into management (foot in the door), stable team, opportunity to work with switched on people, network etc,
  • Pro: Very flexible work environment (work from home, flexible start/finish times),
  • Pro: good boss, a focused and switched on senior manager who is creating an empire, although not a good personality
  • Pro: allow ability to network extensively

I'm a big believer in 'if opportunity knocks then grab it'. But I have done that too much in the past and if you were to look at my CV you'd see a 'jack of all trades, master at none'. As in, I've changed jobs too many time instead of honing in and gaining seniority in a certain area.

So my question is what sort of questions should I be asking my self to help me come to a solid decision? Over a course of 7 years, a career path from BA or career path into management?
I'm normally very decisive in what I want to do, but due to the stage of my career, I really want to give this wider consideration? I'm trying to receive some mentor ship from people here that may have been in a similar situation or the high achievers here.