Lost in the I.T. Jungle

April 12, 2007 7:55 AM

Where should I focus in my I.T. Career? I feel like my skills are a mile-wide and an inch thick and I am quickly becoming unmarketable. I am not sure if being a generalist is a good thing or not.

I graduated back in 1998 with a degree in Management Information Systems. After graduating, I was hired as a consultant doing Lotus Notes development and administration for Fortune 1000 firms. While consulting I took on roles as web-developer, project manager, business analyst, trainer, and technical sales support. I have never focused on any one area. Four years ago, a client hired me to be a Senior IT Analyst, which ostensibly means I do everything. I deal with vendors, I write HTML/CSS/Javascript, I draft requirements documents, I craft one-off solutions for small business units, I manage the helpdesk, and I project manage stuff like website redesigns and VMWare installations.

Eventually I would like to move on from this company, but I feel like I wouldn't know how to position myself in the market. Am I a developer, analyst, IT manager, or a lackey? For example, I have a good knowledge of project management best practices and have a bit of experience, but I don't think I would be comfortable applying for a pure project management position.

How can I make myself more marketable and more valuable to potential employers? Should I go get an MBA? Learn ASP.Net? Get the PMP? Get certified in ITIL? I love I.T. and don't want to switch careers, and would like to position myself for 2010 and beyond.....

posted by kaizen to computers & internet (9 comments total)

When you say you don't think you'd "be comfortable applying for a pure project management position" is that becuase you don't fancy that kind of work or becuase you feel underqualified to apply?
posted by oh pollo! at 8:20 AM on April 12, 2007

I think I would feel underqualified.
posted by kaizen at 8:32 AM on April 12, 2007

Well, at least in my experience, project manager certification seems to be hot right now. I don't know whether those courses are really useful, but it might help you feel more qualified for a managerial position, and really I think the confidence is the key there, because a lot of the skill is in managing and dealing with people. If you don't think you can do it -- you can't.

Project management is (IMO) the way up and out of technical specialties where you'll always be trying to stay one step ahead of what the market wants and what the PhD-mills in India are grinding out.

Others may feel free to disagree here, but personally I feel that unless you're really interested/passionate about something, purely technical education that's not part of a degree program, on your own dime, is foolish in most circumstances. (If you're really interested in getting in-depth in a skill, though, by all means don't let me stop you -- but if you're not 'into' it, don't gamble your money on the buzzword of the week hoping that you can turn it into a job offer.)

You have an MIS degree and lots of experience, you know the project management best practices; a PM certification would be a decent resume line and might get you mentally prepared for applying for a PM job, where I think you'd definitely do fine.
posted by Kadin2048 at 9:02 AM on April 12, 2007

Why underqualified for project management? Take this with a grain of salt, because I'm only barely experienced with it, but this is my assesment of what you need:

* a basic knowledge of good practices
* an informed technical perspective relevant to the project
* modest skills at boiling down technical issues for management
* modest interpersonal skills
* possibly most importantly, the temperament that enables you to keep track of information, organize it, and get it to the right people at the right time.

It sounds like you've got the first two, and I'd guess you have the third as well.

Personal skills... that's hard to assess, but if I were you, I'd look at how your workload is broken down and see if you honestly feel like you're good at delegating, getting people to help you, and not taking on more than you can do (if the answers to those questions are yes or even a qualified yes and everybody doesn't hate you, you probably have at least modest personal skills).

That last item is hard to assess, too, but ask yourself if you prefer immersive work that lets you concentrate on a single problem, or if you really do like looking at the big picture, attending briefly to lots of different pieces of the puzzle, and regularly revisiting how they're coming together.

Project Management seems more breadth than depth to me, and if you find yourself moving that direction and think that it fits with your temperament, then it's one logical step to try out.
posted by weston at 9:06 AM on April 12, 2007

Your skill set makes you sound like a dream project manager.
posted by melvix at 9:21 AM on April 12, 2007

Being a generalist is a good thing. When you start applying for other jobs, tailor each resume to the specific company/job you are interested in. You sound like have broad enough experience that you can choose only the relevant items to fit in a 2-page resume. Choose carefully, and be brutal about not including too much. If you do it right, each company will think you're a perfect fit for their position, and you still get to put the emphasis on the aspects of the job you'll enjoy the most.

A few official designations will never hurt, of course.
posted by mediaddict at 9:30 AM on April 12, 2007

Am I a developer, analyst, IT manager, or a lackey?

My career-thread broken record: What do you want to do? What do you enjoy doing?

If you like managing projects and don't like managing people, then aim for project management, not general IT management.If you can't imagine not writing code, then you probably don't want either of those and you should aim for development. If you prefer to have a bunch of small projects that complete and then you begin the next, then aim for analyst-type positions. You get the idea -- all the qualifications in the world don't matter if it's not what you want to do.
posted by mendel at 9:33 AM on April 12, 2007

My suggestion might not help you out necessarily, but might help out someone in a similar situation.

If you have a couple years of experience but aren't necessarily a hardcore expert in a specific technology. Have a broad spectrum of skills and enjoy technology, you may want to look into a software architect position. They work closely with the PM to help the technical team understand business requirements, lead the design effort, keep tabs on the technology and help translate the technical jargon into timelines and resource requirements for the PM.

They're not necessarily pounding out code (although they may if they're good developers) but they can do the research and turn that into a proof of concept for both the PM and the technical team.
posted by kookywon at 2:00 PM on April 12, 2007

I'm going to go against the traditional wisdom and ask what's wrong with being a "generalist"? I generally position myself as such, because it's what I'm good at. I can interact with every group in our IT organization and do so intelligently. I can approach them with needs and potential solutions without having to make them craft their own. I can also understand when there are roadblocks and participate in discussions of how best to blow them up.

And, frankly, as time goes on I find I'm more qualified than a lot of the specialists because, simply, they know their "thing" and that's it. They have no idea how it interacts with everything else. For example, our Storage team knows their SAN stuff, but can't spell "Windows". They think it's some esoteric OS fad that'll go away soon. Um, guys, check the lists, we're movin' that Unix crap out the door every day... :)

You have the unique ability to tailor your resume to fit more needs than most people can. With such a wide range of skill sets, I'm sure you pick up new ones quite quickly, and can adapt to changes faster than your peers. Don't undersell being a generalist, embrace it. Instead of trying to thicken one area of those skills, why not try to thicken 'em all? Heinlein said it best: "A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects." Too often people try to concentrate on strengthening areas they're weak in instead of going with their strengths. Your greatest strength, and it's a rare one, is the ability to accumulate and acclimate to new skills quickly. That's HUGE!

That being said, if you want to move from the humdrum daily break-fix, project management is really not that difficult a step up for you. Join the PMI which will give you access to their library for $149/year and learn yourself up some good new stuff. Get a basic cert and get out there. Also, revamp your resume to highlight project management you've done. Lead a team that built an environment of some kind or another? Nope, you managed the project to build said environment. Sure, it's a little dishonest, but frankly the main difference most times between an honest-to-goodness PM and a good project leads is the ability to use MS Project. :) You know what it takes to manage a project if you've ever been on one, once you learn the methodology (which ain't hard), you'll do just fine.
posted by Spoonman at 9:41 AM on April 13, 2007