InformationWeek

October 13, 1998

I am 26 and working as a manager of application development in a small IT shop. The business uses SAP for many of its functions and a custom mainframe application for others. I worked as a programmer analyst for three years prior to this management job. Of those three years, I was a consultant with the Big Six for two and a technical architect for one. I am in my third job, but concerned that I'm not expanding my detailed technical skills. I am concerned that I moved too quickly out of the detailed technical work. I am one year into a three-year MBA program, but am struggling with making a decision on my career. I have an offer from a small consulting company to do system-engineer type work for them. I am considering that opportunity because I am concerned about job security in five years when my experience will primarily be management. My long-term goal is to be in executive management (CIO). What would you recommend?

Before you accept this opportunity, ask yourself a couple of questions. The first and most important: Is this the company that I want to spend the next three to five years with? The second is, who will I become in three to five years? The answers to those questions should drive whether you accept this job, and here's why. You have a good complementary background of both Big Six and corporate experience and are pursuing your MBA, which is a terrific track. The problem is you've hopped around, and are showing a lack of consistency in your career. You've developed very good breadth, but not very good depth. Your next move needs to be a three- to five-year run. So take some time to consider whether or not systems engineering work is what you want to do over the next five years. If it is, then go for it. If there are apprehensions, shut it down and do a better job of due diligence in your job search. I would be less concerned about the degree of technical depth than I would be business depth. Your Big Six and corporate experience, coupled with your MBA, indicate a long-term management role. So why do the opposite by going into a core technical role?

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