Help..... Way Forward for an Infrastructure Manager!

tris179

Hi guys...

Need your help...

Just asking your thoughts guys on the way forward career wise....

Little bit of back ground...

I’ve been working in IT for around 8 Years, 30 years old, based in London, England... Started of as 1st Line support worked my way up to 2nd\3rd Line support.. Then switched jobs to a smaller company, around 200 users.. After working my way from System Administrator I am now, the Infrastructure Manager, looking after the entire environment from Start to Finish, vSphere, SCCM, Exchange etc. Currently holding MCSA and VCP3 certs. I am currently in the process of upgrading my VCP3 to 4 and then getting back on with the Microsoft track... I was quite a late comer to certs.

I am just wondering what options to I have to further my career, ie some sort of roadmap forward.. Enterprise Architect a reasonable goal? Specialise? Get a degree?..... I believe I have reached the end of the road pretty much at my current position, and feel like I need to get out there. Not one to sit around with no way forward. Very itchy feet.
Sounds like im unhappy, but that’s not the case, just looking to the future! )

Open to suggestions.....

Cheers.

ipconfig.all

It looks like you have some solid technical IT experience. If you want to get out of the whole technical side of IT then getting a degree would be a good option, also take alook at comptia project + or PMP they are IT management certifications.

Mojo_666

Where do you want to end up?

Do you want to be a IT Manager? IT Director? or stay techncial? you are in the right part of the country to specialise or to be an architect, if you wish to stay technical then those would be your best choices.

ipconfig.all

If you want to go more further in the technical side do a mcse since you have a mcsa

thenjduke

This really depends on what direction you want to go. If you want to be more technical side then get MCITP/EA or CCNA stuff and a degree.

anobomski

With your experience, a degree will definitely open doors for you. However do not go for a bachelors - you can get onto a masters programme in London with the certs and experience you have earned.

Go for it

tris179

Thanks for taking the time out to reply... Sorry for my own late reply, ive been away on holiday... o the joy!

At the moment... I would like to stay Technical. I can't see myself doing anything else. I could see myself overseeing a Technical, as I would still get the chance to get downand dirty so to speak, from time to time.. I was intrigued with what options are for going forward... i.e job roles etc.

I do plan on finishing my Microsoft Cert, but I think im going to hop over to the new Microsoft track now and get my VCP updated.

I guess the degree would come in handy later down the line. What would people recommend coursewise?

So I guess the answer is specialise\or go to bigger environment and head up the chain there....?

Is it worth looking at ITIL or TOGAF?

Thanks

forkvoid

tris179 wrote: »

Is it worth looking at ITIL or TOGAF?

These certs won't do anything for you simply by having them. Your knowledge and ability to do your job isn't going to be increased like obtaining an MCITP would.

Are you intending to implement any of the ITIL processes? If yes, then Foundations and some Intermediate courses could be in your future.

ITIL is not a technical subject... it's a business subject about technical topics. Any techie would do well to have an overview understanding, if they're working in an ITIL environment. Any manager who wants to implement some of the ITIL processes would do well to have more than a Foundations-level understanding. This can take years and a lot of time. As eMeS said to one of my posts concerning how in the world someone is supposed to implement ITIL processes, "They hire a consultant."

As far as what you should do, I would get a degree, personally.