BUSINESS SKILLS

Been reading some things about the future of IT. They talk about the next generation of IT professionals needing to have certain "business skills". Outside of getting a M.B.A. any ideas on how to get these skill sets

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Darthn3ss

BS in BA?

Slowhand

The only real way to get these types of skills, (what used to be called "soft skills",) is to work. Future certifications, the MCA in particular, are going to start looking at how you do your job, how you interact with your coworkers and customers, and how you contribute to the business you're in, on top of simply testing technical ability. You could go to business school and get an MBA, but that will really only get you a degree in business theory. The only sure way to get the "business skills" that vendors will be looking for is to work in the IT industry.

JDMurray

The latest issue of Certification Magazine has a few articles on how IT people with business skills will be increasingly sought. The need for purely technical IT people is expected to drop by 40% over the next five years in the USA, with IT people that have business analysis and project management skill being more desirable. One article suggests that for the typical IT worker, getting an MBA is not as necessary as having practical work experience leading teams and managing projects. The CompTIA Project+ certification was also recommended because it was specifically created for managing IT projects and people.

seraphus

Working is a way to obtain them. That doesn't mean just because
you work you're going to gain "business skills." Business and interpersonal
skills take time to develop. Dealing with different work and people
experiences help. Experience running a project end-to-end could also
help. You don't need an MBA to learn these things. One
class that deals with interpersonal communication might work with
dealing with people. Another class that teaches Business 100 concepts
might help as well. Hell, a self help book might help, but then again that
may not be enough. Also, these sites might be a start.

http://www.microsoft.com/learning/mcp/msbc/default.mspx
http://www.pmi.org/info/default.asp
http://www.b2ttraining.com/

Certainly, there are many avenues to take....

RATTLERMAN

Thanks for the replies.

I agree that experience is the best teacher. So if one wants to maximize their potential they need to identify specific skills sets then go about obtaining them.

In the past I was able to take a intro to project management course and have been lucky to see project managers totally screw up a project. So I have a basic understanding of what project managers do.

As fars as interpersonal skills i am going back to toastmasters to polish up my interpersonal skill
set

So now I basically need to find a industry that i like and try to go vertical

royal

Consulting is really good to get business skills. I do a lot of training with methodologies such as ITIL related material as well as the Microsoft Solutions Framework. In addition to this, I work with all different types of business structures. Studying the ITIL and MSF methodologies and then experiencing them being used with different business structures have been a great experience. I completely agree with Slowhand that experience is key. Even if you don't plan to do the ITIL or MSF exam(s), I would still at least pick up a book on then and read up on it.

RATTLERMAN

Thats good info to have royal. I have been avoiding the contract/consultant route. The more I read into things a lot op people are contracting getting the various experience for their resume then later in their career are settling down at one place.

RussS

Darthn3ss wrote:

BS in BA?

Nah- thats a BA in BS

larkspur

It has been my experince that the more I understand the companies business,processes, and goals the better I am able to help architect solutions that enable growth. This starts from the ground up.

Paul Boz

Experience is the most important thing. Drop the "team" word on your resume a few times for good measure, as well. "business skills" are a double edged sword though. A buddy of mine took a job as a tech support supervisor, managing a department of twenty tech support technicians for an ISP. He took the job with the sole intent of gaining "business skills" and has been stuck in his position ever since. He's so wrapped up in his work that he doesn't have the spare time available to continue his marketable networking skills, so he's been sucked into a corporate black hole.

You can get an MBA but that doesn't mean you know a damn thing about business or human relations, just like you can get a cert and be clueless about what your cert represents. Experience is important, and making it known that you know how to work as a team player is too.