Stuck in a rut -> Masters

careeradvise

Hey,

So I am not sure if I am alone in feeling like this but I have become a little stuck in my profession. In fact a lot stuck and its driving me mad. I work in I.T and think it happens quite easily in this sector. Its driving me nuts. I am quite hard working and am not one to sit about moaning. I want to get into a more Business focused role in the world of I.T i.e. Business Analyst but really have been at a dead end when trying to figure out my next move. So am looking at two courses at DBS

1. Master of Science (MSc) in Computing & Information Systems
2. Postgraduate Higher Diploma in Business Studies

Both have their good points. But if ANYONE has any experience of doing either and if they are worth doing I would appreciate the advise. I would be funding this myself so to pay over 9000 for a masters, I would like to think there would be some pay off at the end.

Thanks for listening.
ca

p.s If anyone has any stories of how they found themselves in a similar situation and got out of it i would love to hear them. Everyone around me seems to be flying on with their careers aided by companies who constantly train them up.

botvot

Hi

No experience with the other two qualifications, but...
You can always try CIMA - it is a business/accounting management qualification, and many multi-national consultants from all fields are doing it as it gives great all round business experience.

Take a look at www.cimaglobal.com, or here is a link they their (very salesy) brochure:

http://www.cimaglobal.com/cps/rde/xbcr/SID-0AAAC544-57B6CD81/live/brand_recruitmentliterature2007.pdf

Good luck

damnyanks

Well whats your background. Are you trying to move from tech support to BA or developer / tester.

What benefit would a msc be too you personally to move in that direction ? Are e you looking to move within the company or are you looking outside as well ?

careeradvise

damnyanks wrote:

Well whats your background. Are you trying to move from tech support to BA or developer / tester.

What benefit would a msc be too you personally to move in that direction ? Are e you looking to move within the company or are you looking outside as well ?

hey, cheers for the reply. I graduated with a 2.1(hons) in computing science back in 2002. Since then I have worked as a Software Engineer and Senior System Test Engineer. I am not interested in developing as a career. As mentioned I would love to move into the direction of a BA. The msc provides a lot of tools in that area (research, database modules on IT systems in business, actual BA module). I feel pigeon holed at the moment and want to give my career a boost.

GoneShootin

try having a look at

http://www.businessanalyst.ie/

Tom Dunne

As somebody who has a Masters in Computing (1st class honours ) I would say it was the greatest waste of my time, from a career perspective.

I am currently paid the same as another IT person whom I work with who has no qualifications.

Employers don't seem to hold an MSc in any high regards at all. I would recommend an industry certification over a masters any day. That's what I am doing.

careeradvise

tom dunne wrote:

As somebody who has a Masters in Computing (1st class honours ) I would say it was the greatest waste of my time, from a career perspective.

I am currently paid the same as another IT person whom I work with who has no qualifications.

Employers don't seem to hold an MSc in any high regards at all. I would recommend an industry certification over a masters any day. That's what I am doing.

So did you do a degree in Computing Science and a follow up Masters. Thanks for that view, I am just not sure then how you are meant to progress if doing these sort of things mean nothing.
There is no real industry certification for the type of role I want to get into. Fair enough if it was Networks / Development there probably is.
Also thanks for the link Goneshootin, that was pretty interesting, although i think is geared towards people in the field already. Also I am not sure if I could take two days off a month to attend lectures.

BC

Do you have links to the content of those courses?

Pythia

Why DBS in particular?

careeradvise

Pythia wrote:

Why DBS in particular?

No reason, they just had some good courses on offer. I haven't found anything else that is of interest. I am open to anything really. I did look into another masters at DCU, which was part-time but essentially all lectures are during the day. So unless your work will back it, I couldn't do it.
Both courses can be found on the DBS site. I guess i was hoping someone went through something similar and had tales of success ....

MonkeyWrench

Personally I would not recommend going down the route of getting a qualification such as a masters to get into a BA type role, its a bit of a waste of time as already pointed out. My backround is mostly in Development, Test Management and a bit of BA work in my last company. My recommendation would be to just apply for any BA type roles in the company you are already in and if that avenue is not proving successful look elsewhere. Tweak your CV in such a way that will give you the chance to get in to that role, in the meantime read books relating to BA type roles to get you up to speed. From my experience if you show initiative and drive to change roles within a company it is not all that difficult to get the role you want.

Tom Dunne

careeradvise wrote:

So did you do a degree in Computing Science and a follow up Masters.

A degree in Information Technology, then the Masters.

Pythia

careeradvise wrote:

No reason, they just had some good courses on offer. I haven't found anything else that is of interest.

The new UCD Masters in Management (MiM) (used to be Diploma in Business Studies I think) is for non business grads too. Maybe have a look at that.
http://ucdbusiness.ucd.ie/index.cfm?area=content&action=contentselect&menuid=799&MainNavigationMenuID=155

AARRRGH

This is a tricky one. I know a lot of people in this situation.

Certainly I think there is never any harm in furthering your education, so I think the MSc is a good idea. But if you'd like to kind of move away from computer, I don't fully understand why you'd want to do a Computing MSc.

Would you consider a H.Dip and becoming a teacher?

Where would you like to see yourself in 5 and 10 years?

damnyanks

Moving from developer to BA is possibly easier then MSc to BA. Assuming you picked up the business lingo you should be in reasonble shape to sort it. What you really need to do is talk to your manager about moving into a BA role.

careeradvise

Thanks for the replies. Just to answer a few things in peoples posts. Its not that I want to move away from I.T completely. I want to further my career and know I want to move into the BA -> PM route. I don't want to be stuck in the same role for the rest of my career. So I am trying to figure out what i can do to improve my situation. Its very difficult trying to figure this stuff out when you are trying to do it by yourself.
I don't think the avenue of a BA role would be open to me in my current company. I will ask but due to the nature of our business i dont think it would be available. There are no current people doing that role at our place.
The reason I chose that Masters in particular is because it had a BA module. I am leaning towards a more business orientated course now. I think it would benefit me more.

Thanks for the info provided so far.

careeradvise

Pythia wrote:

The new UCD Masters in Management (MiM) (used to be Diploma in Business Studies I think) is for non business grads too. Maybe have a look at that.
http://ucdbusiness.ucd.ie/index.cfm?area=content&action=contentselect&menuid=799&MainNavigationMenuID=155

Hey,

Thanks for that. I would love to do a course like that. The problem is I couldn't afford to quit my job and go back to studying for a year. I wouldn't have the money. I really wish i could as I know how well those courses are regarded. Sometimes I wonder how people who do become stuck in their career manage to give themselves a boost as from my experience so far, most things are geared towards people who are just finished a degree or are already on the path to success.

fret_wimp

try a managment Consultancy. I know a guy who works in one of those. He gets to do some IT, but a lot of his job is process re-engineering, and deals with a lot of business practices. It sounds like the perfect job for you. most IT people want to steer clear of the business side of things, but if you like that then there are loads of positions availiable. also a systems analyst/business analyst. thats basically mapping business processes onto an IT system and making sure the system represesnts the business needs correctly. another job i wouldnt like, but if you like that type of thing, theres lots of work out there. with no expirience you might have to start on low enough wages, but it would be totally worth it as after a coupple of years you could start making some decent moola. You would be expected to hit the ground running( or at least walking pretty fast!) so pressure would be an issue until you found your footing, but if your up for it, i think it could be a good direction for you.