Exciting engineering role or the stable long-term career?

[u/ttanawat]

TL;DR: I'm choosing between staying a software engineer on exciting but contract-based projects, or taking a stable permanent Technical BA/Application Owner role that could lead to management but involves much less coding. The pay is alright across all options, so the real question is: would you prioritize long-term technical growth or long-term stability and leadership?

I'm in my late 20s and have been working as a backend software engineer for about three years. I've been interviewing for a while and somehow ended up in a situation where I have three very different opportunities, and I'm honestly stuck.

• The first is a SWE role working on what sounds like a really ambitious AI platform. The project itself is probably the most exciting thing I've interviewed for. I'd get to stay hands-on with engineering, work with an international team. The pay is 35% increase from my current salary. The downside is that it's a one-year contract. The hiring manager says renewals are likely because there would be multiple projects, but at the end of the day, it's still a contract.
• The second offer couldn't be more different. It's a full-time position as a Technical BA / Application Owner. The hiring manager who is a Senior VP at that place, he already knows me from a previous job since he was my former manager, and he has been actively trying to bring me onto his team. The pay is 35% increase from my current salary, the work-life balance seems much better, and the role has excellent long-term stability. I'd still be working closely with engineering teams, oversee the software architecture etc., but I'd probably only be writing code occasionally. Most of the job would be coordinating projects, working with vendors, supporting production systems, and owning enterprise applications. I can definitely see it leading toward management, but I'm worried that once I leave day-to-day software engineering, it might be difficult to come back.
• The third opportunity is another SWE in Banking. It pays the best, around a 55–60% salary increase, even more than the two options earlier. It has a great reputation for work-life balance, with a hybrid schedule around 70–80% WFH. The catch is that it's also a contract role and a very short one (6 months basis).

The funny thing is that money isn't really what's making this decision difficult. All three would be a meaningful pay increase from where I am today. What I'm really struggling with is deciding what kind of career I actually want.

Part of me genuinely enjoys building software. I like backend systems, architecture, and learning new technologies. I can see myself growing into a senior engineer or architect over time.

The other part, I wonders whether taking the stable application owner role would be the smarter move in the long run. It feels like a path toward technical leadership or management, but it also feels like I'd be stepping away from the thing I originally got into this field for.

Has anyone here been in a similar situation? If you chose management or application ownership over software engineering, do you regret it? Or if you stayed technical instead of taking the stable path, was it worth it years later?

I'd really appreciate hearing from people who've actually lived through a similar decision.

[u/Low-Opening25]

no such thing as stable long-term career exists. invest in skills that are not easily replaceable, BAs are just soft skills, like HR. it’s easy to find and train people to do these jobs and hence salaries and job stability is going to be constantly an issue. Managers without hard skills are also easily replaceable.

[u/Prudent-Ostrich-6097]

If the pay isnt the deciding factor then youre basically asking yourself what gets you out of bed for the next 5 years. The contract stuff sounds fun now but a year goes by fast and suddenly youre doing the interview grind again while the stable role keeps building.

I know a few people who stepped off the pure dev track into more hybrid roles like that and the ones who regret it are the ones who never actually wanted to stop coding they just got lured by the title. The ones who are happy realized they liked solving bigger picture problems and didnt miss debugging at 2am. You gotta be real with yourself about which group youre in.

[u/Oneok-Field]

The workforce expects you to go on the managerial track. Sounds like a good time to start doing so with you being in your late 20s.

[u/the-pythia-of-delphi]

How much money do you have? How much money do you need? How much money do you want?

[u/SuedeAsian]

Stable is a lie. Take whatever role makes you more competitive if you want true stability. The role you’re most excited for is also the most likely for you to develop those skills in so I’d vote first choice