Exploring End Goals of IT Degrees

sensitivestoic

Quick backstory: I have more than 6 years of experience in the field of information technology and a couple of CompTIA certifications. I work as a senior helpdesk manager and technical project lead for a biometrics company. I want to ground my academic background more firmly in the field of IT. My bachelors degree is in psychology and philosophy. I want to pursue a master's degree in information technology, but am at a loss as to how I can best explore or prepare for which positions are right for me. Does anyone have any resources that they recommend for getting a more holistic picture or feel about the merits of various IT roles? For example, I have found my strengths tend to align with leadership, management, or research positions. As a result I am more inclined to aim for a masters degree such as the M.S. Information Technology Management degree from WGU (many in these forums seem to advocate that institution). Any thoughts or recommended paths? Many thanks.

powerfool

You're already in a managerial role... maybe look at an MBA w/ a concentration in Information Systems. You will go the grad school equivalent courses of an undergrad Information Systems degree.

sensitivestoic

powerfool wrote: »

You're already in a managerial role... maybe look at an MBA w/ a concentration in Information Systems. You will go the grad school equivalent courses of an undergrad Information Systems degree.

I'll be frank. I'm surprised I was even able to obtain the position that I'm currently at. Although I believe my elevation within this smaller company was due to personal connections rather than my qualifications. I want to position myself for the future so that my IT credentials cannot be doubted- both from a professional and academic background. To do that I believe a key distinction would be a masters degree to complement my professional ability. I've worked in the medical, academic, educational, and business fields and have to admit that the enterprise/business field is where I am least passionate. For those reasons I am not convinced that an MBA would be my ideal pursuit. But, I don't know how to explore possibilities due to my lack of professional or academic IT connections. My current IT certifications and advancement has been self-driven. Is that making sense?

DatabaseHead

Here are a couple of suggestions.

IMO your best move would be an MIS, I agree the MBA is not needed. It brands you as more of a business manager, you aren't.

If you are light on time and motivation, ITIL seems to have some teeth in the service management world. It's relatively easy but could give you some resume fodder. It's not going to help you beat out a better candidate like the MIS.

You could get a PMP, it's really hit or miss though and it does cost a little and requires quite a bit of study time.