Although there are a number of CIO blogs out there, these
are generally aimed at those already in CIO or IT management positions covering
topics regarding leadership or playing buzzword bingo with the latest
technology trends. Although this site
will cover some of those topics that are relevant to IT Management, it also
aims to provide information on how to move from a technical position to the
upper levels of IT management as I document my journey from a network engineer
to a CIO.
There currently appears to be a lack of good information
regarding a defined career path for IT staff into IT management. Perhaps this is because the concept of the
CIO role itself is a relatively new idea where previously the management of the
IT department would fall under finance.
Whereas someone with a business degree may go on to get an MBA and
become COO or CEO, or someone with a finance degree may go on to become a CPA
and move into a CFO role, the path for an IT professional is much less
clear. This blog aims to fill that gap.
About me
I am a network engineer who has spent the last 12 years or
so working for ISPs, systems integrators/consultants and in the enterprise
space. I have a great job as a senior
network engineer at an end user organisation, with plenty of flexibility
regarding work hours and working remotely, which is especially important with
having three kids under the age of 4. I
have a bachelor’s degree in engineering (telecommunications) and numerous IT industry
certifications. I’m currently balancing
work and family commitments with a master’s degree in management (information
technology).
So if I’m happy with my current job and they provide the
flexibility that I need, it begs the question as to why I would choose to
undertake this journey. Is it for
money? While the money could always be
better, the answer is no. The reason is
that after 12 years I’ve come to the realisation that I don’t want to do IT
support for the remainder of my working life.
I don’t want to be approaching age 65 and still be doing on-call after
hours support, or working for a systems integrator and worrying about booking billable
hours. So for me the obvious answer is
management.
Will I ever reveal my real name? Unlikely.
Since the whole point of this blog is about changing roles I do not
intend to jeopardise my chances of getting a new position or damage the
relationship with my current employer by publicly advertising when I apply for
new roles. Do I have a timetable in
which to achieve this goal? No, in fact
it is likely that I will never get there.
Now this may seem counterintuitive when the whole premise of this blog
is based on becoming a CIO, however my main priority in life is my family and not
a personal quest to become a CIO. I will
certainly do what I can to get there, however I will not sacrifice everything to
do so.
I hope that as this blog grows that my thoughts and commentary
will provide useful information to those interested in moving from a technology
based role to an IT management role, and in turn will encourage others to share
their knowledge and insights with me.
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