InformationWeek

June 16, 1998

I have a bachelor's degree in business administration and have been working in the entertainment industry for the past five years. I am currently a manager of financial planning and budgeting with four years of corporate accounting experience. I am in my last year of Business School at USC and am trying to determine if my emphasis should be in information technology. I have limited systems experience (end user only), but believe the growth opportunities in IT are enormous. Two questions: Is it feasible that a finance professional can move into a successful IT (financial/business system consulting) career without taking a huge pay cut? Also, will five IT graduate courses, an MBA, and my professional background give me the qualifications required to get an IT job?

If your real concern is the future, indicating that you take a long-term outlook, then my answer is no, there's nothing short of a bachelor of science's degree that you could do to substantially better yourself. There are some short term fixes like specialized certifications, but punch your ticket now; it'll pay-off tenfold. In the future, it'll be one less monkey that you need to throw off your back.

More Questions:
How can I obtain my goal of becoming a CIO?

How can I keep my skills marketable?

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