I am currently working as a manual Software Quality Analyst and one of my collegues told me how manual QAs are going to have tough time getting jobs in near future, while BAs have good room for growth and can reach to manager level in fewer years as compared to QA.

Sajha peeps, suggestions please.
Which one is better, BA or QA, in terms of professional and personal growth, salary, level of difficulty, and availability of jobs?

Thank you!

Your colleague is right. This is a no brainer. BAs can grow very quickly. No offense but QAs are basically helpers in IT.

Go for development. More money, more jobs, more brains and more creative.

@NepaliBudho: Where do I start from? What programming language to choose? I have taken C and python while in University but I dont remember any of those now.

You need to take training seriously. It is time consuming to learn Object Oriented Programming.
Sign up for .NET with C# for Web and Windows applications.
If your degree is in Computer Science or Information Science, you are good to go.
Another option is Database to think about.