Where to Start?

kkevin5595

I was talking with a career counselor as I was getting out of the Army and they gave me the idea to get into IT management since I want to work outside the US. I have enrolled into a Master’s program in IT management from WGU but I was wondering what other certifications I should try to work for in order to better my chances for a job in the future. I know most people will say MCSA and things like that but what are some more basic courses I could take in order to work up to those or are those certifications doable without other more basic course. Thanks for the help!

xenodamus

Do you have any IT background/experience?

kkevin5595

A bit, I was in charge of the IT section of my unit so I have a little experience but mainly I acted as a supervisor.

wes allen

If IT management is your goal, then maybe look to the ITIL stuff rather then technical certs. Or project management? CISM would also be worth looking into, though I don't know what the requirements for that are.

dontstop

No, no no! Please let kkevin5595 follow his current path. kkevin5595 I would commend you, You must be the first I.T. Manager in the History of I.T. managers to want to learn the Technology. Most don't care and are just glorified people managers and human-interfaces to approvals in SAP. If I was you, I would work my way up through the field for 5 years and get as far as you can. Learn the struggles of I.T staff, then focus on Management. Too many Managers come in fresh from Managers 101 School and don't understand I.T and it's relationship to the business.

You don't have to become Bill Gates, Just spend some time in the trenches to see the kind of problems a manager never does, Then make your goal to become a good manager and technical leader. Most Technical people can quickly see those who have risen to managers via. methods based not on I.T. skill. Without their trust and respect, you will struggle to change/shape and control your staff.

I.T. managers in essence are a layer between the Business i.e:

Business (CEO, CFO, CxO's) <-> You <-> Your Staff (Network, System Admins, Comms, Application Programmers etc)

Your Job is to work on both sides of the fence, You listen to your Customer (Business) and manage their expectations of what "Your Staff" can do. You also need to understand enough about the Technology or have good enough rapport with your staff to block incoming knee jerks from upper management. Before they bomb down on "Your Staff" (i.e. Impossible deadlines, unfeasible systems). The best managers are those who have a "good" Technical background and are also good with people/management.

kkevin5595

Thank you both for the advice. It was extremely helpful.