IT Management masters

Is it worthwhile to get your Masters? Me personally I would say yes. Will it get you into management? There's no guarantee, experience is the key.

I'm an IT manager and I don't have my MSc/MA/MBA, in fact most of the IT managers that I know don't have their Masters. However I'm looking into it for higher level IT management positions.

To be honest, I would recommend building your way up. You've stated that you've worked in Desktop Support for two years now. Why not start moving up to Server/Network support or look at team leading? Have you thought about doing the NVQ's in Team leading then Management? It's cheaper, and hopefully your company will pay for most/all of it.

Like UKD already said look into ITIL, also look into Prince2/Project Management as these are skills that are looked for. HDI/SDI certs if you want to go into Helpdesk/Servicedesk management.

-Ken

 

I agree with Ken and DarkStar. I did the ILM Team Leader Certificate myself but that was after I was made a Team Leader so didn't help me get there.

90% of our IT Managers have degree's so your already in a good position. What determines someone going higher in our place is leadership qualities of individuals. If you take charge of a problem and influence others on your team to get it resolved. Thats how I got to TL. TL is only a step up from a worker but in my opinion you get the best experience for management at this level, organising the team and still maintaining a hands on approach. A few times I could have gone higher but I like getting my hands dirty and want an even more nerdy techie role before I consider moving into management.

ITIL offers good routes into management, a few of my mates did the ITIL Change Practitioners qualifications and have good management roles now. Check out this website for the roles available down the ITIL route. Very popular with the big hitters, IBM, Unisys, Barclays etc etc http://wiki.en.it-processmaps.com/index.php/Roles_within_ITIL_V3

Sorry to finish off an MSc certainly won't do you any harm but to be honest, I've met board members (clients) who only hold BSc's and they've been on silly money with great job satisfaction so what I'm trying to say is, do it if YOU want to do it, but don't expect it to get you any further as your BSc is all you need IMHO.

Cheers

Jim

 

Time to throw in a horrible curve ball

I'm a First Line team leader (we do second line really, it's just job titles).

When I got this job, I had basic IT experience (looked over the shoulder of the tech at my old place), and the CompTIA A+ with the fact that I was studying the N+ on my CV. I don't have a degree, but I did study up to A-Level.

I applied for a junior helpdesk role, but my customer service attitude (which is important on a helpdesk) as well as other elements meant they interviewed me for the available Helpdesk Team Leader role.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that, as has already been said, whilst a Masters would clearly be a nice addition to your CV, do it only if you want to do it. It isn't a necessary 'evil' for you to get where you want to go, should you just apply yourself in the right way.

Two and a half years in, I'm still enjoying it like heck, though it has been (and still is) a nice steep learning curve as we move with the times. But that's IT, isn't it