WGU grad, about to do Masters, help?

armageddon85

Just graduated from WGU with a business management bachelors degree. I am going straight into a MBA with IT management. I have about 8 years experience in the IT field.

I am also about to get A+ essentials and practical out of the way. I will be working on more certs as I go but I have a couple of questions for the seasoned vets out there.

1. What jobs should I be looking into with an MBA - IT management. It's not exactly focused on the logistics of IT (System admins etc.).

2. Are there certifications focused on the management side of IT? IE business solutions for capacity planning etc.

erpadmin

armageddon85 wrote: »

Just graduated from WGU with a business management bachelors degree. I am going straight into a MBA with IT management. I have about 8 years experience in the IT field.

I am also about to get A+ essentials and practical out of the way. I will be working on more certs as I go but I have a couple of questions for the seasoned vets out there.

1. What jobs should I be looking into with an MBA - IT management. It's not exactly focused on the logistics of IT (System admins etc.).

2. Are there certifications focused on the management side of IT? IE business solutions for capacity planning etc.

1. You're gunning for an MBA...typically, job roles that an MBA holder will seek will be one that focuses on management and aligning corporate strategy to IT. You wouldn't be looking for a systems admin role, but rather systems analysis. But the focus would be management.

2. I'm sure N2IT will respond to this, but the only certifications I've seen that relate to the management side of IT would be ITIL. CAPM/PMP is also a good one...it's not an IT cert, per se, but you will see a lot of PM methedology from PMI used in a lot of shops when it comes to implementing major Information Systems (such as ERP and to a certain extent BI.) A good cert to prep one from CAPM/PMP would be CompTIA Project+, as it introduces one to Project Management (as opposed to helping one to be a Project Manager.)

N2IT

erpadmin wrote: »

1. You're gunning for an MBA...typically, job roles that an MBA holder will seek will be one that focuses on management and aligning corporate strategy to IT. You wouldn't be looking for a systems admin role, but rather systems analysis. But the focus would be management.

2. I'm sure N2IT will respond to this, but the only certifications I've seen that relate to the management side of IT would be ITIL. CAPM/PMP is also a good one...it's not an IT cert, per se, but you will see a lot of PM methedology from PMI used in a lot of shops when it comes to implementing major Information Systems (such as ERP and to a certain extent BI.) A good cert to prep one from CAPM/PMP would be CompTIA Project+, as it introduces one to Project Management (as opposed to helping one to be a Project Manager.)

ERP not much more to add, you did a fine job.

I would try to get in a leadership role first and foremost. Getting leadership and management experience is key. First shoot for a supervisor or team lead role. Some other roles you could probably transition into would be project coordinator or business analyst positions.

Make sure you know Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and Outlook extremely well. This can be the difference in some of these positions. Like ERP mentioned ITIL is a great framework to get down. This can help you with high level decision making. A lot of what ITIL talks about will snap into your business curriculum.

Welcome to the MBA program I just started this month.

armageddon85

Wow!

I copy/pasted your posts into some of my personal documents to keep for reference. Outstanding replys!

I've taken a look into a couple of these certs just now. They look right up my alley.

Should I be looking into a supervisor position after I get my masters or aim higher?

Thanks for the welcome! The masters idea is all new to me. I didn't think about doing it until I found out my company was going to pay for it. It will open up more opportunities so I am day dreaming a little bit here.

N2IT

@Arm

I think if you are already in a company you can shoot a little highter. Maybe low level manager or mid level. Becareful though, you don't want to progress faster than your experience and skillsets will allow. There will always be a element of learning for any position, just make sure it's not so outside your range you can't adapt within 3 months. That's a rule of thumb I use.

I had a great mentor at my last job and he taught me that one of the worse things that can happen to an employee is to get promoted before they are ready. What usually happens is the employee doesn't deliver and ends up getting fired or reassigned to another position in a reorganization. It can really be damaging to the employees confidence and reputation around the company.