So, you want to get into IT management, or move up that ladder more quickly?

There's definitely demand for management skills--about 44% (119,000) more IT pros are doing management work compared with 2001, according to a third-quarter 2006 analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics numbers. To get into this growth market, though, it's worth hearing from those who've made the transition and recruiters hiring people into these jobs.

One key role today is a "link" between groups: Companies want IT individuals with business liaison, business analysis, and project management skills to provide this connection. Many people in these jobs don't have employees reporting to them, but they're managing between the tech team and a business unit or overseeing a key vendor relationship, such as outsourcers.

	Poinsette makes sure Aflac's IT team knows what drives the insurance business Photo by Stan Kaady

Key to moving into and up the management ranks is maintaining technology proficiency while building business know-how and sharpening people skills. The skills needed include the ability to effectively and successfully lead projects, close the books on a budget, and motivate others, even if they don't work for you.

And you won't get far if you can't talk the language of the business your company is in. At insurance company Aflac, tech workers can do job rotations in different areas of the business and are encouraged to take classroom or e-learning courses to learn about the industry and help their career advancement. "My staff all know about loss ratio," says Ken Poinsette, Aflac's VP of IT support services, citing a key metric in insurance.

Building a diverse experience base has been important in his own career as well, says Poinsette, who joined Aflac three years ago after spending several years at General Electric. There, he moved up the IT management hierarchy within a couple of business units, his last position as program manager for storage systems at GE Power Systems. Poinsette took advantage of training and educational programs at GE, including earning Green Belt certification in Six Sigma and getting an MBA.

There are four main areas--experience, education, mentoring, and networking--that IT professionals need to focus on in advancing their careers, says Peter Polachi, co-founder and partner of Polachi & Co., an executive recruitment firm specializing in IT. They're the same whether a person's ambition is to progress from staff level to management or to move up the IT management ranks into the CIO seat.

The safe way won't necessarily work. It takes putting yourself out there by volunteering for projects or assignments that expose you to different parts of the company--and the risk of failure. "You need stretch assignments that allow you to proceed in your career," Polachi says.

Polachi advises individuals to enhance their education beyond the undergrad level through tech certification courses, project management seminars, or business classes that may lead to a degree. "No one wants to go to school on a Tuesday night in Boston in the middle of the winter, but it's important to take the initiative," Polachi says.