InformationWeek

August 2, 1999

I am a 29-year-old IS and technology manager for a midsize company with roughly 100 users operating over a four-site WAN. My formal education includes a bachelor's degree in economics and master's degrees in regional planning and geography. I have built the organization from a 25-user LAN with a mainframe running all major apps to a 100+ user WAN running over eight servers with multiple apps. I am now hiring both a network/systems administrator and a database administrator. I am also trying to restructure the organization to include an IT department; IT sits under the planning and development department, with no direct contact with the CEO. I will continue as the IT manager with two new employees, but I'm also looking to better market myself for other opportunities as an IT director in a larger company. I don't have any certifications, just hands-on experience. What kind of education, if any, would improve my resumé and overall, what qualifications best make up an IT director's postion in a midsize agency? Also, what are the best resources for IT restructuring in organizations?

You have plenty of educational pedigree, albeit not in direct diciplines to technology. Any more education is probably overkill since you have rich hands-on experience. What you really need is experience in a larger organization where standardization and process drive the business. Larger companies also have deeper pockets to spend on strategic implementations and productivity improvements. Those are the experiences required for director-level positions in other organizations.

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