What am I doing?

When I accepted a position as a "Consultant", it became clear that no one really knew what a consultant really does. On projects, I served as the "Technical Lead", which came to be known as the pinch hitter for all things project oriented. When the Project Manager took vacation, I covered for her. Same goes for the Business Analyst and Test Analyst. Strategically, my manager avoided labeling me as a BA or TA, since our company had a tendency of pooling those resources, thereby losing my special competencies for that particular department. As time passed, projects were brought in with fewer and fewer PMs, BAs, or TAs, and I found myself covering all of those roles. My experience in the print field lended well to the work for this department and if I were to be sucked into the vortex of "pooled" talent, that department might not ever see me again. I became a mashup of talents and tagging me with a job family challenged my manager. But, I loved it. When I was laid off, I had plenty of options. As I spent days in deep self reflection, I realized I enjoyed the BA role much more, and in fact, in my final years there, that was primarily the scope of my work.With one problem... I was in denial at the time. I didn't name documents using the BA terminology. Instead, I performed gap analysis, problem statements, system assessments, etc. The Project Management Methodology at that company didn't really comply with industry standards for Business Analysis.  Thankfully, I'm wholeheartedly embracing the role now, learning all the time, observing, and taking notes. There is no question now, I'm a Business Analyst, and happy to be one.