7 ways an MBA will advance your IT career
Is an MBA the key to IT success and MBA will advance your IT career or an expensive time-waster? Here’s the information you must be aware of.
CIOs/CTOs/CDOs and other IT executives need to be able to bridge the two worlds of business and technology. Virtually all of these IT managers have a vast background in areas like MIS, CIS and project management.
Most IT executives are at least a bachelor’s degree in a technology field. Others make it to the top only with a high school diploma or a couple of certificates.
Reporting directly to the CEO or another C-level executive.
IT leaders are typically responsible for managing an experienced staff as well as supervising crucial projects and assets.
However, the days where IT managers could not focus on the business concerns
and focus on improving IT technologies and services, are fast disappearing.
IT leaders who don’t understand or agree with the goals of their company often find themselves seeking a new job.
The increasing number of IT leaders and potential IT leaders are seeking mba colleges in pune to enhance their understanding of technology as well as business, increase their employment resumes, and boost their earnings.
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But is getting an advanced degree in business while holding down a highly demanding job is a good or bad idea?
Scott Scheible, associate professor at Carnegie Mellon’s Tepper School of Management’s Career Opportunities Center, believes that IT top executives require more than technical expertise.
This is vital to their future career success.
He states that “they require a strong business acumen” and be able to see the “big overall picture.” “They must comprehend the financial and business implications and the overall plan of their business.
They also need the ability to communicate and have interpersonal capabilities to build and lead teams that span multiple functions. He believes that IT executives could benefit from having an MBA.
Here’s a look at the advantages of getting an MBA from dy patil school of management to help you advance your IT career.
Pro 1: With an MBA You can place the initials MBA behind the name of your choice.
Earning an MBA will make your reputation as a business professional and an IT master. In addition, you’ll be able to share your knowledge and experience with another top C-level executive.
Fiona Adler is the CTO of Actioned.com. “An MBA gives you the ability to communicate effectively with other departments within the organization,” she says.
Adler believes that IT leaders who hold an MBA can better comprehend the different areas of business. Adler has a Melbourne Business School MBA. She claims,
“This allows someone who is a specialist in IT particular focus to come up with solutions that improve their business.”
Pro 2: MBAs teach essential business and analytical abilities
The lessons you’ll acquire when trying to get an MBA will inevitably transfer into your daily job which will make you a more effective team player.
“An MBA provides valuable knowledge of accounting, finance, strategy and so forth that will help you get ready for a job change,” observes Ashish Shah, Sr., product management director at Avi Networks,
which specializes in providing software to facilitate the delivery of enterprise applications through cloud computing and data centres.
Shah has a Master’s degree in electrical engineering from Stanford and an MBA from Berkeley.
Meg Ramsey, Vice President of cloud services at Sungard Availability Services and a present MBA
Candidate at MIT She says that the digital revolution is requiring IT managers to better focus on business partners.
She says IT professionals gain an overall understanding of their organization by getting an MBA.
They are taught about business driving factors, levers and strategies that can be used to expand the business and accelerate the growth of the company.
The most successful IT personnel are change-makers and we are the leaders in the way in embracing technology and making their lives better as a result,
according to MBA Holder Greg Scott, a former IT consultant now the senior technical account manager for Red Hat.
“We need soft skills as well as the ability to manage the business to make that happen.”
Pro 3: An MBA is a vital career management tool
An MBA might not be necessary to allow IT professionals to advance their careers, but it does help the course of an IT professional’s career.
“When seeking to fill senior-level positions in IT, many organizations are seeking candidates with prior experience in leadership and/or advanced business knowledge,” Scheible observes.
An MBA will not only enhance an individual’s technical expertise but also open doors for jobs that require, or demand the highest level of education.
You can obtain CIO and/or CTO roles with no MBA in startups or smaller companies if you have a lot of experience. NenadCuk who is cofounder and CIO at CroatiaTech (a technology services firm located in Split and Salt Lake City),
claims it’s possible to get these positions without having an MBA. If you are looking for CIO or CTO jobs in established businesses the requirements are higher.
“These days, I’ve met CTOs with a PhD, so an MBA in midsize-to-enterprise level companies is just one thing that’s needed to even get a callback.”
Pro 4
Ramsey says that if it doesn’t, then you chose the wrong program and spent your money in the wrong direction.” She says that many university executive programs track the progress of their graduates as well as their ROI. “This is a measure that you use to measure the effectiveness of your program,” she says.
Scheible claims that many IT professionals utilize their MBA as a means to move up into higher-paying roles with greater income potential. “[Additionallycertain companies might provide formal raises for employees who have graduate degrees or professional certifications. Others might not.”
Pro 5: An MBA will lead to better satisfaction at work
Adler says, “You will be a different person once you have completed an MBA.”
Yet, the level of satisfaction in a career that an MBA provides generally depends on one’s ambition and aspirations. The most fulfilled people are those who reach the highest goals. Cuk says that an MBA is unnecessary If you’re able to remain in the same job for a prolonged period and aren’t interested in ascending the corporate ladder.
Pro 6 -an MBA proves that you’re committed to your job
An MBA degree can make an impression on individuals who make decisions.
“Companies and hiring managers show a great amount of respect for those who are willing to put in the time and effort necessary to get an MBA
amid juggling work and family obligations that normally are associated with the mid-points of one’s career,
” says Mark Settle, CIO of the IT security company Okta and author of the book, Truth from the Trenches: A Practical Guide to the Art of IT Management.
Pro 7: An MBA can boost your confidence
An MBA will boost the professional confidence of IT leaders.
It also provides the leaders with better problem-solving skills.
Which can help them navigate through tough situations and ultimately speed up their career growth.
Adler says,
“In my case, I was concerned that I didn’t have the expertise and capability to make my case against more powerful older peers.”
“I found myself with a higher conviction in my views following the completion of my MBA.”
Scott claims,
“I wouldn’t have been capable of surviving more than 20 years of being an independent IT contractor or to create books, without an MBA degree,”
Scott, who has recently published Bullseye Breach. Anatomy of an Electronic Breach is an IT security book that Scott described as fiction.
Although having an MBA can offer many career advantages.
It is crucial to recognize that it requires applicants to make substantial sacrifices to their personal and financial lives to attain it.
Furthermore, MBA benefits may be muted, or even non-existent, for certain types of IT professionals.