Making It in IT: Taking the Slow, Steady Course to Success

If you’re already moving up in your current position, keep climbing there and get more schooling and certification under your belt.

Ed hears from an mid-level IT person who’s advanced from system operator to junior system engineer who is one year shy of a bachelor’s in computer science. He advises him to stay put, and figure out some way to finish his degree and earn some IT certifications before making any job changes. Doors might open for him at his current company, or he’ll have more options in the future if he takes a slow and steady course.

Dear Ed Tittel:

I have just read your article on Key Skills and Jobs for Aspiring IT Professionals. I found it very interesting and just somewhat scary on looking at the jobs on the way out. Below I answer your questions about what paths I should follow, and ask for some guidance to choose good ones.

1. What is your educational background? High school diploma? Associate’s degree? Bachelor’s degree? Graduate degree(s)? Please also briefly describe any incomplete progress toward any of these items (for example “two years of computer science grad courses, 2/3 of MS completed”).

I graduated HS and was working on a BS, Computer Science, before I had to stop for health reasons.  I have about 1year full-time before I could complete the credits to graduate. 

2. What is your prior work experience? How many years of work, and what kind of work have you done? Any volunteer work? Part-time work in school or elsewhere? (You’d be surprised how much value employers give to those who show evidence of being able to hold a job, and how much credit they give to people willing to work as volunteers or part-time in order to get experience in their chosen fields.)

 I was in law-enforcement for 9 years and then left to go back to school, and went part-time until I landed my current job as a system operator.  I moved from there to supervisor and then took a position as a system engineer to expand my knowledge.  I haven't done any volunteer work since I live only minutes from work I am always the one that gets called in or stay on site.

3. Where do you live? What is the job market like there? How much opportunity for entry-level people? Mid-career people? Senior people? Are you flexible about relocation, or do you have to stay in your general geographic area? (Feel free to answer only those questions that relate to your personal situation: if you’re just starting out, please skip the mid- and senior-career stuff.)

 I live in Central Kansas and it is always in flux.  I have another 25 years before I can retire but I am trying to get ahead on knowledge so I can always be employable.  I don't want to stagnate and then become obsolete.

4. Are you interested in working in management, or would you prefer to stay on a technical track? Have you ever done any project management (and again, school, part-time, and volunteer experience all help)?

 I am better at working with employees, but I need to keep a good working knowledge on the technical side.  The only project management I have done is for my own projects and that only involves 2-5 other people.  Nothing large and complex.

5. What kinds of certifications interest you? Please describe any certification held, is it current or has it lapsed, and when earned. How does this fit your overall technical interests? Is there anything outside of certification that particularly catches your imagination, or that you’d really like to work on or around?

Currently I have no certifications, my biggest asset while working here has been as the person holding down the fort.  I know the basics but the in-depth knowledge I lack.  I am currently taking a SAN class and setting up a VTL backup for our systems.

6. Do your long-term career goals include staying in your current position (or in the same field as the next position you’re seeking, if applicable)? 

 My long-term goal is to be better versed in up-coming technologies or positions that are new and upcoming.  I am somewhat better with working with employees; it is more intuitive for me but I know that I have to be flexible.

7. What kind of job are you doing now? What kind of job would you like to be doing? How important is salary to you? How important is job satisfaction? If you could have any job at all, what would that be?

I am a system engineer, junior, on the IBM iSeries.  I want to be doing something that will grow with me and will not stagnate.  Salary is important but not the end all of it.  If I make enough to pay my bills and take the occasional vacation, I am happy.  I want to be satisfied with a job that I did well with what I had.

Any job what would it be?

This may sound stupid but I would like to be able to put common sense back into business.  Some of the things that are done just make no sense. It is interesting watching the news and other publications talk about some of the things that are done and I wonder if anyone just said, "You know that makes no sense and it is actually a waste of money."  In today's business if you ask pointed questions you are not a team player. 

As a supervisor when I saw things that were "not right", I would try to figure out why they were not right and/or what they were trying to accomplish with their process and then find a better way to do it.  It is easy to point at the faults but to make it better is harder.  But at times after all of the looking and analyzing in the end you realize that it is the better process after all.  And if you are wrong then you have learned something.

Thank you for your time and any information you can provide.

Sincerely,

Chris T.

Topeka, KS

Dear Chris:

Thanks for your email. I’m always glad when readers take the time and expend the effort to answer my questionnaire when they email me in search of input and advice. Let’s hope I can put your answers to good use in responding to your questions and concerns!

1. About your education:

Although I understand you may not be able to finish your degree right away, I would recommend that you plan to do so on some kind of schedule that you and your family can live with. The degree is an important milestone, and can also be an important checklist item in helping you to qualify for the kinds of jobs you will probably find most interesting.

2. About your experience:

It’s great that you’ve been able to move up the operations ladder in IT, but without your degree you may not be able to climb too much higher. Since you’ve already held a “real job” the volunteer stuff is basically irrelevant (it’s intended to help me understand what folks in school with no real work experience might know and have done to help them find a better job fit and a better working situation overall).

3. About your location and job market:

If you’re committed to staying put, you will have to be more patient about making changes, and more willing to accept a slower rate of progress. If you can live with that, I certainly can, too. But if you are willing to relocate, perhaps we can follow up with some more Q&A about options that might be open to you and your family.

4. Management vs. team lead vs. individual contributor:

You’re absolutely right to observe that as long as you want to stay technical, you have to keep your sleeves rolled up and your hands into and on the systems for which you’re responsible. It sounds like chasing the PMP (Project Management Professional) might be helpful for you, though, given the nature and responsibilities of your current job. Longer term, if this kind of process stuff interests you, you might want to look into the ITIL certifications as well.

5. Certification and training:

Go back and finish your degree first, then you can start chasing certifications. Sounds like you would be well-served by continuing down the network storage avenue and learning as much as you can about the systems, OSes, and tools in use in your environment. If you want to tell me more about them, I can tell you about related certifications that might interest you (if any).

6.  Career goals and 7. Job:

You will definitely want to look into the various IBM certifications available (there are over 300 of them, at last count). You have lots of options here, especially for iSeries operation, configuration, storage, and so forth.

I like your notions about wanting to inject more common sense into business, but you’re also right to observe that you can’t be too pointed in your criticism of what’s going on in your IT operations. Best way to deal with that kind of stuff is to go one-on-one with a boss you can trust, and ask them candidly “What’s really going on here?” and “How much should I be concerned about X?” A lot of discussion is more lip service to what upper managers are perceived to want, but the real work has to get done anyway. Be careful around such subjects, though: in your situation you don’t want to rock the boat enough to cause trouble, especially not for yourself.

All in all, I think you’ve got good idea, and are on a good track. If you can find a way to finish the degree, do it. If not, dig into the IBM cert curriculum and make the best of your current situation, while keeping your ear to the ground for other opportunities as they may present themselves to you. In your current position, you might try asking your supervisor “What do I need to do to advance to a more senior system engineer position?” That should tell you something about your prospects, as well as about what kinds of courses or outside learning you might need to do to climb the ladder at your current employer.

If you have more questions or concerns, please feel free to share them with me. I’m always happy to help my readers develop their careers, and figure out how to advance in IT.

Best wishes,

Ed

Ed Tittel is a 30-year-plus veteran of the computing industry, who’s worked as a programmer, a technical manager, a classroom instructor, a network consultant and a technical evangelist for companies that include Burroughs, Schlumberger, Novell, IBM/Tivoli and NetQoS. He has written and blogged for numerous publications, including Tom's Hardware, and is the author of over 140 computing books with a special emphasis on information security, Web markup languages and development tools, and Windows operating systems.

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