Trying to help my wife's cousin out

He's 24, been a grocery story manager for ~ 6 years (since he was eighteen which I find impressive).

Has accounting skills, operations management experience, resource management, service management (retail), quality management (formal training through ISO provider) and other skills in the management space.

He recently was married and is now graduating with a liberal arts bachelors. He still has ~1 year left and this semester I talked him into taking an intro to information system course. I think it touches on SQL, Excel, Access, some of the ERP's out there.

I had a couple of questions and would like to seek the boards advice.

1. I don't want to overwhelm him, but since he doesn't really know what he "loves" I suggested taking the intermediate info system courses after the beginner. Maybe an intro to software dev if he felt comfortable. It sounds like he is going to go with the intermediate course (info systems).

2. He likes the idea of managing in the IT space but doesn't have any real world experience, I am thinking operations of some sort, maybe a project coordinator or implementation role. Thoughts?

3. It's a cert board so I wanted to toss this out there. I am so close to the situation sometimes your own opinions etc can get warped and jaded so I wanted to step away and get some perspective. He's not really a hardware guy nor is he a software guy but likes the "idea" of IT. I'm thinking something more geared towards business and IT, but who really knows.

***I was thinking maybe he could take a few development courses and get into software testing. That might be a long shot but he seems eager and up for anything.

Anyway he is coming over Wednesday and I might introduce him to this board on Wednesday. We are going to set up a LinkedIn profile and get him adjusted on here.

Thanks for any follow ups.

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Comments

markulous

Try to get him to change his major ASAP unless he wants to be a liberal arts teacher. That would be my first recommendation as that degree is fairly useless.

N2IT

I agree - I am thinking CS minor at the very least.

aftereffector

Since he just has a year left before graduating, there may not be much he could change his major to without incurring an additional year or two of school - and unless he is very fortunate, having different words on the diploma might not be worth another couple of years of student loan debt. I have a liberal arts BA and I'm doing OK, so the degree itself is not necessarily a death knell.

Why not have him take a look at some of your ITIL books and see if it's something he would be interested in?

N2IT

Aftereffect Thanks! That's a nice idea, I could let him read my Service Operation book to get an idea. It has a lot of operational roles in it.

Fulcrum45

Oh God! I have a History degree- tell him to run as far away as he can! It's too late for me but he can still make it!

instant000

Unless he wants to do IT for some reason, he may be better off staying in the field he knows, and moving up there.

Now, grocery store chains do have IT departments, so if he wants to transition to IT, he could do it that way, leveraging his understanding of the business.

It just seems like a step back, unless he specifically wants to do IT, and/or he knows someone. He could try meetups.

JoJoCal19

I agree with instant000. Has he specifically mentioned moving away from grocery store management? I know at the Publix stores in FL, a store manager makes over $100k salary plus bonus. Not sure where he is at salarywise but it could be a big step down from where he is at. But if he is done with it and wants to change careers then I agree something in the IT/Business side would be good. Since you mentioned software maybe a Business Analyst.

The_Expert

I found out the hard way that having the proper degree does make a difference in finding the right job... Neither my BS, or Masters are in a technical field and I am now being impacted by that.

+1 for getting a CS minor or changing the degree asap to something more technical (if possible). I too faced that dilemma and ended up graduating with my original major. I had thought about doing Computer Science, but didn't. Now, I wish I did. Sure, it would have delayed me getting my degree - but I think I would have been better off now because of it.

N2IT

Yeah - I think he is sold on the Liberal Arts / Minor CS degree. IMO that alone would help him out tremendously. He mentioned to me he likes IT so I am trying to help him following his requirements. I did mention some ideas but most have been his ideas.

iBrokeIT

Nothing wrong with wanting a better career and life for a family member but I also think instant000 is right, he needs to find something he passionate about on his own.

I don't see him being successful outside of landing an entry level IT job if he doesn't have the drive outside of work to succeed and keep up with the technology. Many people think you just go to school for IT, show up for the job and that's it...

I would encourage him to try lots of different courses in addition to that IT course like accounting, welding ect...

Cyberscum

N2IT wrote: »

He's 24, been a grocery story manager for ~ 6 years

Screw the undergrad, tell him to get his Lib Art degree and then go MBA/PMP. That is a wonderful combo and commands great salary. If he wants to go IT management MBA/PMP/CISSP. Most high level managers have little "IT" exp.

....I am guessing he is a store manager and not a story manager? If not, then I can offer no help

JoJoCal19

Cyberscum wrote: »

Screw the undergrad, tell him to get his Lib Art degree and then go MBA/PMP. That is a wonderful combo and commands great salary. If he wants to go IT management MBA/PMP/CISSP. Most high level managers have little "IT" exp.

A great point. I can't tell you how many IT managers I've met and/or worked for that get the MBA and come in from another industry. At my last employer, my manager was the Business Information Security Officer (SVP) and had no IT or InfoSec experience. But he had his MBA. And this was from a top Fortune 100 global financial firm too. From my experience there and at a prior Fortune 100 global financial firm, seems to be commonplace.

N2IT

He's probably eligible for the PMP right now. He is always spear heading projects at the store with the district manager. I think the PMP is a really good idea. I still think he needs to finish with a strong minor in case he doesn't "get around to getting his masters".

It took me 10 years after my bachelor to get my MBA.

anhtran35

Degree doesn't matter. I know a lot of people that had liberal arts degree plus IT certifications. They were still able to obtain job opportunities within IT. I myself have an Administration of Justice Degree from GMU.

NetworkingStudent

Here's my take

He should watch this video first:

How to Become an IT Professional
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yT26Vpptl-8
If he i still interested then move forward.

I think he should understand computer hardware and software, before managing it
For computer repair, here are some links:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlgrBv7zqfLRBdFLCHk_og4m8iuUJevXU
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlgrBv7zqfLSv30OimQg92SjGuMapQSBl

N2IT

Thanks everyone for your input this is really great to see this community be so helpful.

We formalized a plan, he is taking IT Information Systems, business slanted IT class. Excel, Access, SQL towards the end. He is also taking a project management course. His graduation is put off for one more semester but he will graduate with a general studies degree with a minor in communication and general business. Instead of just communication, which I think is big.

We discussed some of the different types of jobs / career paths that he could go for. He ended up deciding to go for a project coordinator role, he was risk adverse to jumping into project management and then failing, he felt more comfortable mentoring under someone for a few years before having full ownership. Keep in mind he is 22 (not 24 like I mentioned earlier) Geeeeesh kid has his head on his shoulders and is a pleasure to work with.

I gave him my PMP study guide to review so he could pick up some terminology. Another pro for him, he has directed projects at work and really liked that component of his job.

I did verify he is a store manager with a ~200 reports, obviously not all direct but still at age 22 is crazy. (at least to me)

We ended up rewriting his resume and capturing his accounting knowledge and sales experience along with customer service, operations management, project management and several other good core skills.

He drove the whole time, but I did guide when required. So he is applying for junior PM roles and coordinator positions. He only makes 21 an hour so he could easily meet those requirements and being just married is tired of having to work Christmas, (basically all the holidays). Makes sense to me so I just wanted to share this win. I am going to follow up once I get additional news.

stryder144

When he takes the project management course, make sure to tell him to log his contact hours. Once he finishes the class, and has at least 23 contact hours, he is eligible to sit for the CAPM. It will be a nice feather in his cap to have that soon after (or even right before) graduating from college.

N2IT

The course aligns itself with the PMP, which I think is a huge plus. We shall see!

anhtran35

Tell him to get an ITILv3 and Security+. His ultimate goal should be to obtain a PMP and some Black Belt Sigma stuff.

the_Grinch

Operations and ERP will definitely be the route he should take. I'd suggest finishing the Liberal Arts degree (with a minor in CS or IT if he can) then apply for an MS in IS (for career changers) or an MBA. I worked with a company who was switching their ERP system and the consulting firm sent along an operations guy who understood logistics. He wasn't hugely technical, but his knowledge of how picking worked and the general flow from order to shipping (with everything in between) netted him a great salary along with him being a tremendous help.

Cyberscum

N2IT wrote: »

Thanks everyone for your input this is really great to see this community be so helpful.

We formalized a plan, he is taking IT Information Systems, business slanted IT class. Excel, Access, SQL towards the end. He is also taking a project management course. His graduation is put off for one more semester but he will graduate with a general studies degree with a minor in communication and general business. Instead of just communication, which I think is big.

We discussed some of the different types of jobs / career paths that he could go for. He ended up deciding to go for a project coordinator role, he was risk adverse to jumping into project management and then failing, he felt more comfortable mentoring under someone for a few years before having full ownership. Keep in mind he is 22 (not 24 like I mentioned earlier) Geeeeesh kid has his head on his shoulders and is a pleasure to work with.

I gave him my PMP study guide to review so he could pick up some terminology. Another pro for him, he has directed projects at work and really liked that component of his job.

I did verify he is a store manager with a ~200 reports, obviously not all direct but still at age 22 is crazy. (at least to me)

We ended up rewriting his resume and capturing his accounting knowledge and sales experience along with customer service, operations management, project management and several other good core skills.

He drove the whole time, but I did guide when required. So he is applying for junior PM roles and coordinator positions. He only makes 21 an hour so he could easily meet those requirements and being just married is tired of having to work Christmas, (basically all the holidays). Makes sense to me so I just wanted to share this win. I am going to follow up once I get additional news.

The reason I mentioned PMP is because some people say “I want to do IT” and really have no idea what people in IT really do. He has exp in management and leadership and with his exp, PMP and MBA he could be well above 21 dollars an hour. Prob more along the lines of triple that figure.

N2IT

Cyberscum wrote: »

The reason I mentioned PMP is because some people say “I want to do IT” and really have no idea what people in IT really do. He has exp in management and leadership and with his exp, PMP and MBA he could be well above 21 dollars an hour. Prob more along the lines of triple that figure.

Hiliarous he just text me and said he has an interview with Coca Cola as a Product Manager, (not IT). Let's see what happens.