Masters Degree, Certifications, and Beyond

Greetings everyone and Happy New Year. As I look towards 2017 I would greatly appreciate insight and advice from this community as to how I can best professionally advance myself in the field of IT.

Two primary questions:

What are the best pathways if I am aiming for IT Project Management, Sys Admin, or becoming an IT professor?
What are suggestions for campus-based Master’s Programs that are focused on technical management, entrepreneurship, or system administration?

Currently I hold a bachelor’s degree in psychology and philosophy; CompTIA A+ and CompTIA Network+ certifications, 6 years in the field of IT, and am employed as a Senior IT Manager for a biometrics company making roughly $50K annually.
What I am not looking for: Computer Science or programs focused on programming and mathematics. Ideally I prefer positions that are not enterprise related and would rather seek to use technology to help or teach others- either in an academic or non-for profit capacity.

For example here are some Masters degrees I was considering:
IT Management and Entrepreneurship
IT Systems Administration

Otherwise I was looking at MCSE Server focus and PMP for certifications to pursue.
Thoughts on higher education vs. certs and how best to pursue these goals and trajectories?

Many thanks and all the best in the new year!

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Comments

kiki162

I would work on the sysadmin path first. Because you are aiming for a PM/Mgmt track here, it's really good to have a foundation in system administration. Personally, as an SA, I can appreciate managers who have a broad range of experience, and have a basic understanding of each area within IT. Even if you don't get a lot of experience on setting up a Windows domain, GPO's, security policies, and so on, it's good to at least have the knowledge.

Another area you could take a look at for the Masters is policy compliance/auditing, as GWU (http://onlinecybersecurity.seas.gwu.edu) has a online Masters program in Cybersecurity Policy and Compliance. Gaining experience with compliance-based frameworks such as PCI DSS, NIST SP 800-53, and ISO/IEC 27001 are all highly sought after.

Other certs you could look at such as GIAC GSEC, CompTIA Sec+, ISC2 SSCP, and the MCSE 2016 track. Also look into ISACA's CISA and/or CISM. For your masters degree, you'll be able to teach at some point, but the key is to be able to teach something that's relevant.

Danielm7

You have three very different paths there. Project management, sysadmin and being a teacher all would be different directions, which do you want to focus on?

sensitivestoic

kiki162 wrote: »

I would work on the sysadmin path first. Because you are aiming for a PM/Mgmt track here, it's really good to have a foundation in system administration. Personally, as an SA, I can appreciate managers who have a broad range of experience, and have a basic understanding of each area within IT. Even if you don't get a lot of experience on setting up a Windows domain, GPO's, security policies, and so on, it's good to at least have the knowledge.

Another area you could take a look at for the Masters is policy compliance/auditing, as GWU (http://onlinecybersecurity.seas.gwu.edu) has a online Masters program in Cybersecurity Policy and Compliance. Gaining experience with compliance-based frameworks such as PCI DSS, NIST SP 800-53, and ISO/IEC 27001 are all highly sought after.

Other certs you could look at such as GIAC GSEC, CompTIA Sec+, ISC2 SSCP, and the MCSE 2016 track. Also look into ISACA's CISA and/or CISM. For your masters degree, you'll be able to teach at some point, but the key is to be able to teach something that's relevant.

That's fair enough. I guess the main thing I'm trying to determine is whether to focus on higher education to build a more IT-centric background or experience and certifications. I only graduated from college two years ago with a background that is not dedicated to IT. As a result I have a pretty diversified professional experience that lacks clear-cut focus. How would you distinguish the role of technical manager from Sys Admin? The current company I work for is fairly small and while it has suited my needs well I fear it hasn't allowed me to understand the larger distinctions within IT.

I was aiming to pursue MCSE 2012 or 2016 Server track and CompTIA Security+ as my next goals. I guess I'm trying to get a feel for how I can best use these goals to maneuver myself towards a master's degree. When I'm applying I don't want to be caught flat-footed and have to do a lot of prep work to be accepted. Furthermore, my professional resume could use a more IT-centric focus which is why I'm actively pursuing certification to demonstrate my aptitude in the field. I have two CompTIA certifications so I figured a background in Microsoft certifications may be ideal.

Danielm7 wrote: »

You have three very different paths there. Project management, sysadmin and being a teacher all would be different directions, which do you want to focus on?

Perhaps I should say that I appreciate connecting with the people that I am serving. For example when being a lead technician at my college I was able to connect with fellow students, professors, and learn a lot in the process. I was able to teach them about technology and they were able to teach me. My current position is a bit more blurred where I'm asked to deal with many sales or finance related inquiries. I recognize that sys admin or project management is usually enterprise related but I want to pursue said knowledge to improve myself as an individual and to bring those different disciplines back to a form of IT that connects and learns from its end-users (my experiences in the medical, academic, not-for-profit, and consultation fields).

I know this is a bit broad and at times different disciplines. That's why I'm here to ask questions and see how I can best focus myself as an IT professional.

Path:
1) Sys Admin to establish a foundational IT skill-set.
2) Project Management to inform my skills as a Sys Admin and facilitate technical management in addition to project consultation.
3) Teaching career to learn more and give back through the world of academia.

Your comments are all appreciated.