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1/1/2002 -- Last month I looked at a few tactical activities I plan on doing in 2002 to keep myself current. Building a plan like this (and then acting on it!) is something that many of us can benefit from. However, it is also important to take a longer-term view of our careers in our planning process. In my case, I'm planning ahead for around five years in the future. I think this is about as far as anyone can foresee -- let's face it, the IT environment will probably change drastically in that time, and also, I'll probably be a different person with different hopes and dreams then. However, it's still important to have a plan. Sure, you can rely on good luck alone, but for ambitious types such as myself, this is crucial for guiding career progression.
The first step is visualizing exactly what type of role you want for yourself in five years. This is actually easier than you think – start thinking about your dream job, the job you would do for free, or the job you would still do when you win $100M in the lottery. In my case, I would like to move to a CTO role in a mid-sized firm. Sure, I realize that there are very few of these roles available in IT, so my plan B would instead move to a consulting role providing strategic advice to the CTO-level executives.
From there, what factors do I need to consider for my career development?
- Choice of future IT roles. At the moment I have been a manager for 18 months, and have been in IT now for more than 13 years. My current role has been a great exposure to working with people and planning their skills development. I handle resource allocation and utilization, but usually don't get involved in the technical details of the projects the team delivers. I am planning for my next move to move to an IT operations manager role, which I would expect to stay in for up to two years. Then I will probably leave management temporarily and move to an architectural role for another two years. (I think in most roles, it takes up to a year to learn it properly, and then in the second year to really excel in it.)
- Formal education. Sure you can get by without it, but in the more senior roles this is expected more and more. I am currently completing an MBA, which I hope to finish in 2002. My plan then is to complete a master's degree in IT after then (my original degree was in civil engineering). The MBA is useful in learning a myriad of useful analytic tools for management decision-making, plus it gives you the vocabulary of management -- you can't expect to influence decision-makers if you can't communicate effectively in their language. Similarly, with the masters in IT I would hope it will broaden my theoretical knowledge in IT and keep me up-to-date with the leading- edge technologies. Another reason for my study is my paranoid fear of long-term unemployment once I pass 40 (only a couple of years away for me). I would hope that in completing recent formal education this demonstrates that I'm not a technological dinosaur and am willing to keep current.
- Soft skills. Probably the biggest area of improvement I need for these desired types of roles is to improve my public speaking. I intend to rejoin Toastmasters in 2002 to build my skills in this area. In the past I've found Toastmasters to be a safe and non-threatening environment to continually practice speaking. And it's the constant practice with an eye to improve on specific areas that will make a difference here.
- Vendor certification. This will probably still be relevant to my career even though it is unlikely I will see myself in a significant hands-on role in the future (unless it is a pilot or proof of concept). As I mentioned last month, my immediate plans are to get Citrix certified and later update my CLP certification. Over time, I will be prepared to update my MCSE as required, but aside from that, I plan to let the great many of my current certifications expire.
I also very much enjoy writing these types of career pieces as well as the more technical articles. Although I do have a strong background in a number of areas in IT, I find that having to write or perform a technical edit about a given subject area really forces me to ensure I really do understand it in great depth. I have done a couple of book projects to date, and would like to do some more in the future, but I have found that I don't have the time or inclination to complete a book by myself again. For those of you who are established in your IT career, I would encourage you to think about doing some technical writing. It isn't particularly lucrative (unless you are Mark Minasi), but it is a lot of fun and can be very rewarding. Editors are often looking for good technical people who can write to a deadline. Often the hardest part is thinking of something you can write about that hasn't been covered before. If you intend to market yourself as a specialist in a given area, having published some articles about your chosen specialty can be a great career boost. So you may want to give this some thought...I also believe that my written communication has improved since I have been writing professionally, which again is a critical skill for a CTO or senior consultant.
Well, for better or worse, this is my long-term plan. I hope it gives you cause to think ahead about your own long term career plans. Of course, things may change drastically over the next few years, but these plans should hold me in good stead for whatever options I later choose. At one time I wanted to leave IT in the future (and earn an "honest" buck, I used to joke with my buddies!), but it has taken me this long to realize that really I love IT and would sorely miss it if I was change into another field. So what is your dream job, and how will you get there? Let me know by posting your comments below.
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