How to become a ICT (IT, CIO) Manager

StussyNz

Hi All,

I was just wondering, some of you may be or may know what are some of the key things in which you need to become a IT (ICT,CIO) Manager for a large IT organisation.

I have recently graduated with an Information Sciences degree and am trying to plan my career plan so that one day I can achieve the goal of becomming a IT manager.

I am currently sitting my Cisco Certs (CCENT, CCNA) in my free time and will look at going on to sitting more certifications in my free time. I however would like to know what are some of the business related certifications which I can look at to add to my CV to help me with the jounrey to becomming a manager.

I am current in a Sevice Desk position (Helpdesk position) after graduating however would really like to now branch to the next level. What would you guys reccomend branching out to if I was to look to go down the managerial role? I have a strong passion for networking and good skills in this area, I was looking at moving on to an System/Network Engineering/Associate role however would you reccomend this if my overall carrer goal was to become a CIO or Manager as I see this role as a more technical sort of area.

Cheers!

RouteMyPacket

StussyNz wrote: »

Hi All,

I was just wondering, some of you may be or may know what are some of the key things in which you need to become a IT (ICT,CIO) Manager for a large IT organisation.

I have recently graduated with an Information Sciences degree and am trying to plan my career plan so that one day I can achieve the goal of becomming a IT manager.

I am currently sitting my Cisco Certs (CCENT, CCNA) in my free time and will look at going on to sitting more certifications in my free time. I however would like to know what are some of the business related certifications which I can look at to add to my CV to help me with the jounrey to becomming a manager.

I am current in a Sevice Desk position (Helpdesk position) after graduating however would really like to now branch to the next level. What would you guys reccomend branching out to if I was to look to go down the managerial role? I have a strong passion for networking and good skills in this area, I was looking at moving on to an System/Network Engineering/Associate role however would you reccomend this if my overall carrer goal was to become a CIO or Manager as I see this role as a more technical sort of area.

Cheers!

Ok, first things first. Very rarely will you find a CIO/CTO who is actually technical, these are generally business men with MBA's. I sat in an Operations meeting today with the Sr Director and he has absolutely no technical skills whatsoever and admits as such, that's not his role.

Your degree would come in handy later if you turn to the business side of IT. I became an Operations Mgr over and IT organization. It came about through years of working with a company and building rapport with Executives etc. It was simply offered to me one day and of course I accepted.

Your best bet is to gain experience and work your way up, takes years so don't expect this over night and it depends on how hard you work. It's really a loaded question and hard to answer. IT Mgr is reachable but CIO/CTO like I said is generally reserved for the non technical suits.

StussyNz

RouteMyPacket wrote: »

Ok, first things first. Very rarely will you find a CIO/CTO who is actually technical, these are generally business men with MBA's. I sat in an Operations meeting today with the Sr Director and he has absolutely no technical skills whatsoever and admits as such, that's not his role.

Your degree would come in handy later if you turn to the business side of IT. I became an Operations Mgr over and IT organization. It came about through years of working with a company and building rapport with Executives etc. It was simply offered to me one day and of course I accepted.

Your best bet is to gain experience and work your way up, takes years so don't expect this over night and it depends on how hard you work. It's really a loaded question and hard to answer. IT Mgr is reachable but CIO/CTO like I said is generally reserved for the non technical suits.

Thanks for your reply; I guess if I ever get the urge I can always go back to University and Study an MBA and with my techincal/current degree, both would completement each other down the track to becoming a CIO/CTO.

However I do realise the importance of work/experience and am really just wondering what would be the best next step for myself to progress to given my Career plan/goal.

powerfool

It's not impossible to move into a CIO/CTO role as being technical, but you will gradually need to move out of a technical focus. There are too many middle managers on up without a technical background and unless they are outstanding leaders, they do not get respect. There is a big trend in CEOs rising from the ranks of Engineers (emphasis on the capital E). Getting a respected MBA will be a good move, as well, to put you in a transitional position.

paul78

I also would imagine that industry and location would play a role in the background of VP and C-level roles. In my own experience, every CIO and VP in the technology organizations that I have been associated come from a technical background - most commonly from a software development background. And more than one CEO had an IT background.

The key ingredient was leadership qualities, lots of hard work, and a bit of luck.

gabypr

I have been working on my current company for around 6 years. I remember when I started as a computer technician, then after a few months i was moved to helpdesk and stayed like that for around 4 years. In november of last year i got promoted to IT department supervisor and then as manager. Although i work with budgets, evaluating my employees, attend vendors, work with proposals and analyze them, etc my certifications and studies have helped me a ton. As a manager im also part of the staff in the company where we conduct meetings to present reports, talk about important topics and situations, among other confidential subjects.

Although im not performing any "technical" work right now that hasn't stopped me from continue learning technical and non-technical stuff. Im now considering after finishing my masters get the MCSE in Server 2012 because i would like to implement s server 2012 infrastructure next year and be able to at least administer and made changes as requested.

You have to keep in mind it takes time. Absorb everything you can and show them that you are able to learn, apply your new knowledge and be an ethical person. Good luck!!!

StussyNz

gabypr wrote: »

I have been working on my current company for around 6 years. I remember when I started as a computer technician, then after a few months i was moved to helpdesk and stayed like that for around 4 years. In november of last year i got promoted to IT department supervisor and then as manager. Although i work with budgets, evaluating my employees, attend vendors, work with proposals and analyze them, etc my certifications and studies have helped me a ton. As a manager im also part of the staff in the company where we conduct meetings to present reports, talk about important topics and situations, among other confidential subjects.

Although im not performing any "technical" work right now that hasn't stopped me from continue learning technical and non-technical stuff. Im now considering after finishing my masters get the MCSE in Server 2012 because i would like to implement s server 2012 infrastructure next year and be able to at least administer and made changes as requested.

You have to keep in mind it takes time. Absorb everything you can and show them that you are able to learn, apply your new knowledge and be an ethical person. Good luck!!!

Thanks. This was very helpful. I wish you all the best for your future studies also!