Best certs to have to become an IT manager?

I know experience trumps all, but I was wondering in your opinion what would be some of the best management certifications out there? Are there any IT Management Certifications?

I know the University near my house Washington University provides BA, PA and Management courses that aren't degree affliated.

Any suggestions?

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Comments

veritas_libertas

I don't see IT Managers needing certifications the way there underlings would. In my mind I see "Management Experience" as the major requirement. Maybe PMP+MBA would help if you have management experience already.

networker050184

veritas_libertas wrote: »

I don't see IT Managers needing certifications the way there underlings would. In my mind I see "Management Experience" as the major requirement. Maybe PMP+MBA would help if you have management experience already.

+1

Maybe some ITIL or something of the like will help as well, but I see you are already on your way with that.

Bl8ckr0uter

I think it depends. My manager at my weekday job simply has her degree. My manager on my weekend NOC job has some BICSI certs and ITIL certs.

shodown

I also agree with PMP/ITIL and a IT/IS degree. Those can get you some looks. Now to become good at being a manager I suggest looking in completely different area. Depending on your IT role you should look into some other types of training.

If you do a lot of customer interaction in your role I would suggest looking into some customer service training. One very succsefull IT company I have worked with sends all of there customer facing managers to the same training that Disney and Hilton hotels use to get there people up to snuff. This has paid off huge. Even in this down market people keep coming back to them not just for the "outsourcing" of there IT departments, but the "experience" they get when they get a contract from this particular customers.

To add onto that you want some experience manageing people and learing to be a good leader and listener. I could go on and on, but I always have this type of advice when I talk to future managers. One of my military jobs was getting JO(junior officers) grommed and trained up to be leaders. By far very rewarding for me and I hope I gave you a few pointers and things to look for.

N2IT

shodown wrote: »

I also agree with PMP/ITIL and a IT/IS degree. Those can get you some looks. Now to become good at being a manager I suggest looking in completely different area. Depending on your IT role you should look into some other types of training.

If you do a lot of customer interaction in your role I would suggest looking into some customer service training. One very succsefull IT company I have worked with sends all of there customer facing managers to the same training that Disney and Hilton hotels use to get there people up to snuff. This has paid off huge. Even in this down market people keep coming back to them not just for the "outsourcing" of there IT departments, but the "experience" they get when they get a contract from this particular customers.

To add onto that you want some experience manageing people and learing to be a good leader and listener. I could go on and on, but I always have this type of advice when I talk to future managers. One of my military jobs was getting JO(junior officers) grommed and trained up to be leaders. By far very rewarding for me and I hope I gave you a few pointers and things to look for.

What's the name of this service training you speak of?

N2IT

veritas_libertas wrote: »

I don't see IT Managers needing certifications the way there underlings would. In my mind I see "Management Experience" as the major requirement. Maybe PMP+MBA would help if you have management experience already.

Thanks for the heads up.

I don't have a whole lot of management experience, I do have team lead experience.

I have a Hospitality Management Degree, not exactly a stellar IT agree lol.

I am working on the frameworks to get more experience in an ITSM enviroment. I also work in a support center, actually I have worked in 3 of them.

shodown

N2IT wrote: »

What's the name of this service training you speak of?

Disney and Hilton have there own internal training programs and somehow this company got there people in the class.

JDMurray

Training doesn't need to result in an IT certifications to be useful. Training and implementing programs around ISO 9001, ISO 27001-5, PCI, SOX, GLB, HIPAA, etc. is also beneficial. But for certs, the CISM and CISSP look good in a management resume too.

N2IT

JDMurray wrote: »

Training doesn't need to result in an IT certifications to be useful. Training and implementing programs around ISO 9001, ISO 27001-5, PCI, SOX, GLB, HIPAA, etc. is also beneficial. But for certs, the CISM and CISSP look good in a management resume too.

Any recommended material on 9001, SOX, or HIPAA? b

I have the ISO 27001 guide, which I haven't started quite yet. Still waiting to sit for the MOF Next week

phantasm

N2IT wrote: »

Any recommended material on 9001, SOX, or HIPAA? b

I have the ISO 27001 guide, which I haven't started quite yet. Still waiting to sit for the MOF Next week

HIPAA is a health industry compliance standard: Health Information Privacy

SOX is short for Sarbanes-Oxley Act: Sarbanes?Oxley Act - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

ISO 9001: ISO 9000 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

If management is your end game then you should get an MBA. They will teach you all about the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. As for HIPAA, work in the health industry and it'll be shoved down your throat.

N2IT

phantasm wrote: »

HIPAA is a health industry compliance standard: Health Information Privacy

SOX is short for Sarbanes-Oxley Act: Sarbanes?Oxley Act - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

ISO 9001: ISO 9000 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

If management is your end game then you should get an MBA. They will teach you all about the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. As for HIPAA, work in the health industry and it'll be shoved down your throat.

Yeah I will have to end up going that route, just right now no where near enough time. I've been picking up management books and reading through them like crazy. Your next move, First break all the rules, and of course these framework certs. After I finish up this current read I am on " Talent is overrated", I'll probably pick up a 9001 framework book and go through it and try to pick up on it at the "foundation" level.

I am going to try to enroll in a hybrid course provide by Washington University. CAIT: The Center for the Application of Information Technology

Let me know what you think if you don't mind.

garydrumm

I would say the following would get you some pretty good feedback:

PMP
ITIL
ISO/IEC 20000
CMMI
Scrum
Six Sigma

Also, check into some of the certifications from University Alliance such as the Master's certification in Project Management, Six Sigma, ROI, Contract Management, and Executive and Organizational Leadership.

You could also look for courses in organizational phsychology and put those on your resume as well.

sidsanders

theoretical reqs: degree, people skills (whatever that really is!!), some exposure to tech concepts.

reality: reaaaaallly open, depends on whos hiring, what they want, who you know.

know of a place that hired a director of it security who has zero it exp... not what i would do for sure.

N2IT

garydrumm wrote: »

I would say the following would get you some pretty good feedback:

PMP
ITIL
ISO/IEC 20000
CMMI
Scrum
Six Sigma

Also, check into some of the certifications from University Alliance such as the Master's certification in Project Management, Six Sigma, ROI, Contract Management, and Executive and Organizational Leadership.

You could also look for courses in organizational phsychology and put those on your resume as well.

Thanks for the information. I am looking into the Green Belt Six Sigma certification. You can get a Sallie Mae loan for that. That's pretty neat. I wondering how long the duration and of the loan and interest rate.

phantasm

N2IT wrote: »

Yeah I will have to end up going that route, just right now no where near enough time. I've been picking up management books and reading through them like crazy. Your next move, First break all the rules, and of course these framework certs. After I finish up this current read I am on " Talent is overrated", I'll probably pick up a 9001 framework book and go through it and try to pick up on it at the "foundation" level.

I am going to try to enroll in a hybrid course provide by Washington University. CAIT: The Center for the Application of Information Technology

Let me know what you think if you don't mind.

I took a look at the school and it is regionally accredited. I had not heard of it before so I just wanted to check. If the have a course you're interested in then why not give it a shot?

I've always maintained that if management is your end goal, then an MBA should be in your 5 to 10 year plan. Sure certs will help depending on what you want to manage, but the business and financial knowledge gained throughout the MBA would benefit you more in the long run.

[Deleted User]

phantasm wrote: »

I took a look at the school and it is regionally accredited. I had not heard of it before so I just wanted to check. If the have a course you're interested in then why not give it a shot?

I've always maintained that if management is your end goal, then an MBA should be in your 5 to 10 year plan. Sure certs will help depending on what you want to manage, but the business and financial knowledge gained throughout the MBA would benefit you more in the long run.

I'm pretty surprised you've never heard of Wash U. I guess being in the STL area you hear about it more. I'm pretty sure they are a high ranking Medical school.. we also aren't in the medical industry so maybe thats why

I think in the future I will be pursuing an MBA like you've said. I don't really want to do management anytime soon but I wouldn't mind falling into the role eventually.

I think many of the suggestions here are along the lines of someone who wants to get into a management role.

brad-

My previous employer hired ppl with no certs as managers. They were non-technical types. Other companies do this as well, and I completely disagree with the philosophy.

I would also say that IT management is one of the few instances where a masters degree is a big plus - whether you have a technical background or not.

thenjduke

phantasm wrote: »

HIPAA is a health industry compliance standard: Health Information Privacy

SOX is short for Sarbanes-Oxley Act: Sarbanes?Oxley Act - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

ISO 9001: ISO 9000 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

If management is your end game then you should get an MBA. They will teach you all about the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. As for HIPAA, work in the health industry and it'll be shoved down your throat.

Hippa shoved down the throat is a under statement. I work for huge medical group and we live by HIPPA.

JDMurray

thenjduke wrote: »

Hippa shoved down the throat is a under statement. I work for huge medical group and we live by HIPPA.

The correct spelling of "HIPAA" certainly hasn't been shoved down your throat.

powerfool

If you are looking to get into an IT Manager gig, I would recommend that you have a top-tier certification in the area of your technical expertise to show that you are dedicated to keeping yourself relevant (if SysAdmin, MCSE or RHCE; if NetAdmin CCNP or CCIE; ERP expert something SAP related), and then PMP. IT managers are typically project managers with some regular people management. Beyond that, an MBA is good to have.

If you are looking at a larger organization, security and information assurance are becoming more important. Look at CISSP for that.