InformationWeek

May 26, 1998

I am 29 years young, with a university business degree, majoring in MIS. Since I graduated more than five years ago, I have held mostly technical jobs in the networking field, from network administrator at small companies to a network specialist for Digital. I earned my CNE and am on the way to my MCSE. I just accepted a job and am employed now as a project leader with IBM Global Services; a job requiring little, if any, technical knowlege, but a world of business savvy. Don't get me wrong, I adore the job. It's just that I read and hear so much about the IT shortage, which is supposed to last at least another decade. Does this shortage include IT project management and not-so-technical staff, or is it limited to techies, programmers, network gurus, and other tech specialists? Did I take a step forward with this new position, or am I destined for the life of a Maytag repair man, with nothing to do in the not-too-distant future? What will my career developments (or at least potential) be in terms of job security, remuneration, and anything else?

Based on the description of your background and the company that you're working for, I'm pretty confident that you won't be that short chubby bald guy waiting for the phone to ring. The shortage you hear about is all across the board, from low and mid-level tehcnocrats to senior business systems leaders. At some juncture, to continue to grow into broader management roles in IT you're destined to walk away from the guts of core technology. This is a logical transition, but one that has a lot of IT professionals freaked out. I really am not concerned with the transition because your foundation of technology is so strong. You should conti nue to grow financially and professionally, and job security shouldn't be an issue.

More Questions:
Will IS Departments be around in the future?

What should I do to improve my marketability?

Career Counsel Home

Send A Question To Career Counsel

Career Counsel Archives

Send Us Your Feedback

Top of the Page