Management Career Route

Mishra

For quick background, I am currently a network administrator in a new state job. I was previously at system administrator for a cable company. I know/want to know Windows/Linux/Cisco.

I naturally think in a mangement style and think I would be best positions as a manager somewhere. Unfortuntely I am 22 and a LOT of people judge based on age. I missed out on a 36 dollar an hour job because they judged my age.

What technologies do you think eventually have a better chance to lead into management? Do you think you should only know Windows, know 2 technologies (anything specific?), or be very versatile like I am right now?

JDMurray

Do you want to management computer systems and networks or groups of people? Two entirely different skill-sets needed for the two.

Mishra

JDMurray wrote:

Do you want to management computer systems and networks or groups of people? Two entirely different skill-sets needed for the two.

Like your normal System Administration Manager, I want to manage projects/data centers/people. Mostly I want to be basically hands off from the systems when I become a manager. I still may do some things to help out the people underneath me but for the most part I let my crew complete all the work. I'm just there to guide them, approve changes, and solve company wide issues.

JDMurray

The reasons for promoting people into management vary greatly and depends on the culture of the organization. Do some research within your company and find out how other people were promoted to management positions, such as:

* Were they recognized for their organizational or project management skills?
* Do they have a good knowledge of business operations?
* Do they have very people-oriented personalities?
* Are they most highly prized for their technical knowledge?
* Did they have any prior management training or skills?
* Were they just automatically promoted because of their tenure or age?
* Are managers mostly hired from outside the company?

Once you have a baseline for the type of people in management where you work, you'll see what it takes to get a management position.

Slowhand

Keep plugging away at the certs, learn more as you go. If you're looking to balance out your training between Microsoft, Cisco, and Linux/Unix, I'd say get yourself entry-to-mid-level certs in each area, so you'll have a good foundation before you specialize. Going the path of completing your MCSA is a good idea, as is going for CCNA, then going on to things like Linux+ and LPIC-1 or LPIC-2. After you've got your foundations, then you can start looking at more advanced things. The new Microsoft certs are looming on the horizon, so you can look at maybe taking MCITP on Longhorn, once it launches, or maybe even finishing up the MCSE. The pro-level Cisco certs, like CCNP, CCIP, etc., are usually a pretty good way to get a foot in the door with being something like a Sr. Network Engineer or a network manager, so that's definitely a way to go.

Education is always in high demand, and you'll find that management positions are usually pretty picky on having a Bachelor's degree (or higher), or lots and lots of experience. Your A.S. degree will help you, that's for sure, but you'll have to have more certs and experience to back it up. Be ready for 7 - 10 years of field experience required for a chance at getting into an IT management position, especially if you want to be a hands-off kind of manager that really only delegates and takes care of the business end of things.

Mishra

Slowhand wrote:

Keep plugging away at the certs, learn more as you go. If you're looking to balance out your training between Microsoft, Cisco, and Linux/Unix, I'd say get yourself entry-to-mid-level certs in each area, so you'll have a good foundation before you specialize. Going the path of completing your MCSA is a good idea, as is going for CCNA, then going on to things like Linux+ and LPIC-1 or LPIC-2. After you've got your foundations, then you can start looking at more advanced things. The new Microsoft certs are looming on the horizon, so you can look at maybe taking MCITP on Longhorn, once it launches, or maybe even finishing up the MCSE. The pro-level Cisco certs, like CCNP, CCIP, etc., are usually a pretty good way to get a foot in the door with being something like a Sr. Network Engineer or a network manager, so that's definitely a way to go.

Education is always in high demand, and you'll find that management positions are usually pretty picky on having a Bachelor's degree (or higher), or lots and lots of experience. Your A.S. degree will help you, that's for sure, but you'll have to have more certs and experience to back it up. Be ready for 7 - 10 years of field experience required for a chance at getting into an IT management position, especially if you want to be a hands-off kind of manager that really only delegates and takes care of the business end of things.

So you do agree that you should try to be more versatile in what you know and have the education to back it up?

Do you think, on a statistical point of view, that a company would rather hire/promote the 10 years of experience mcsa/ccna/linux+ rather than the 10 years of experience MCSE(Nt,2000,2003)+Security?

Slowhand

It really depends on what you want to do. If you want to be a Microsoft-only or a Cisco-only admin, then focus on one area. Chances are, you'll be asked for experience in everything, with a speciality in one. I'd say, go for your beginning-to-mid-range, foundational stuff: CCNA (and possibly CCDA), MCSA, LPIC-1/LPIC-2. Once you've got a good, solid foundation in each area, pick what you want to focus on. Like I said, if you're looking to be versatile, then you'll have to push very far in each area, so you'd be looking at a combination of MCSE, CCNP, RHCE or LPIC-2/LPIC-3, if you wanted to really stand out enough to be considered for a senior or management position. So, the choice between specializing in one area, or branching out and pushing yourself in several areas is really up to you. When searching on job-boards, you'll see a lot of requirements in just about everything. If you want to be a high-level admin, you'll have to meet and exceed those expectations.