Although working as a programmer analyst can be a lucrative career path and one that affords job stability and flexibility, it does come with some challenges. Working as a programmer analyst may expose you to a greater amount of work-related stress as you deal with deadlines, work through highly complex problems on the go, and keep up with this constantly changing industry. To remain employed and to advance in this role, you'll have to continuously learn new things and build new skills, such as new programming languages or development tools. You must be able to sit and focus for long periods of time while staring at a screen.