Information Technology is a challenging field to work in. I have been actively working in IT since 1999 and it has been quite a journey. Besides owning my own online business, I also (currently) work as a Senior Manager in Information Technology.
In my ~20+ years of IT experience I have not only managed teams and projects, but I also worked as a Windows Systems Administrator and Systems Engineer. During those times I had a lot of IT Managers, IT Directors, VP of Information Technology, and other leaders I worked under. I have been back-stabbed by a senior level IT Vice President, in other situations I have been promoted or forced a promotion by changing jobs. In general – I have enjoyed working for most of the managers and leads I worked under, but there were certainly others where I hated every single day working for them.
I have managed my IT career in many ways, but not always to the full extend I should have. I was chasing money, not planning for long-term opportunities and success. But then one day I had an epiphany and it dawned on me that there was a better way of doing this. I took charge, charted a plan, and was able to catapult my salary into an income range I never dreamed of being at. But not only did my income increase, but I was also suddenly positioned for significant changes in my career – opening the door for even more exciting opportunities and as a side-effect, more income. And best of all – all that without chasing the money. The money followed me – leaving me with time to further develop my career and position myself for better opportunities. Below is a chart of my salary (incl. annual bonus) from 1998 to 2020.
As I went through this process over time I developed not just the conceptual plan for myself, but I started sharing that knowledge with some friends from work and saw their careers thrive as well.
I sat back and thought about optimizing the process even more and make it repeatable. We do not have infinite years of employment ahead of us (well, that is a good thing … ha ha), so we need to make sure we get the most out of those years ahead of us.
But career planning is one thing, making it a reality is another.
I have seen good leaders and learned from them, I have suffered under weak managers – it has been a crazy ride for sure.
You can already tell that I am using the word manager and leader and they mean something totally different. My job title might be Senior Manager, but I am seeing myself more as a leader and act accordingly. I feel it is an important difference and when you go through my IT Manager Academy training you will know why.
What is the Information Technology Manager Academy?
In this program I really want to share what I learned of being in IT for ~20 years. A significant portion of that time I have lead teams and projects and (hopefully) I was able to change people’s career to the better along the way. I see myself as very forward-thinking and progressive. I always used the latest technology to gain an edge over the competition and help my employers and teams to succeed. I do not like to be stale; in information technology nothing is worse than being outdated and behind – and applies to managing and leading teams as well.
I kind of want to pay it forward and give back what I learned. I will share my knowledge and experience and things that I learned. I will share my mistakes and explain what happened and what I learned from them. I also want to be available as a coach and mentor and help others even more to follow my path and to enjoy a fulfilling career in information technology.