progressing from IT development into Management

jon1981

hi,

Im thinking long term that i would like to get into management/project management. Although I am happy in development at the moment (4yrs altogether), i dont think its something i want to be involved in long term. Also id like to broaden my skillset and not just be the techie!

So im thinking of doing a masters, aside from a MBA (not experienced enough nor do i have the money) what masters in management or project management would you recommend?

cheers

helimachoptor

Op I presume your in dublin??

I was looking at doing the MSc in Project Management or MSc In Technolgy Management. Part time over 2 years will probably cost about 22/23k.

copacetic

I wouldn't do a masters in either tbh. If you want to move into project management, do the diploma out in blackrock, 2 days a month over 6 months. Do the PMI exams and become qualified. Possibly supplement it with some courses out in the IMI and look to do a Masters at a later stage. It is the experience that counts in project management and management not really the pieces of paper.

jon1981

yeah i am in Dublin, were you looking at those in smurfit? they seem to be quite pricey, are they worth it just because it will smurfit on the piece of paper? I was thinking of doing a masters thats not so much technology orientated, so the project management would interest me.

jon1981

copacetic wrote: »

I wouldn't do a masters in either tbh. If you want to move into project management, do the diploma out in blackrock, 2 days a month over 6 months. Do the PMI exams and become qualified. Possibly supplement it with some courses out in the IMI and look to do a Masters at a later stage. It is the experience that counts in project management and management not really the pieces of paper.

from experience do you know if its possible to move into management line or project in a junior capacity without taking a drop in salary? its probably best to do it within the company ..right?

helimachoptor

jon1981 wrote: »

from experience do you know if its possible to move into management line or project in a junior capacity without taking a drop in salary? its probably best to do it within the company ..right?

Op it is possible I've just moved into a management role with my company and i'll be getting a decent payrise hopefully! Is there the chance to do this in your own company??

I am prince2 certified, I havent really looked at PMI/PMP stuff though

Edit: Just to add to this OP,could you become a dev team lead or something like that. It will give you good management experience and expose you to higher echelons in your company.


copacetic
Thanks I've never even seen that grad diploma in technolgy management I'll have a serious look at that!

jon1981

helimachoptor wrote: »

Op it is possible I've just moved into a management role with my company and i'll be getting a decent payrise hopefully! Is there the chance to do this in your own company??

I am prince2 certified, I havent really looked at PMI/PMP stuff though

TBH i've just moved jobs so i'm still getting the feel for the place. In all reality im probably looking at 1-2 yrs before i could look into progressing to a management type role within the company. So i'm thinking in that time i could put my efforts into obtaining some kind of relevant qualification, the Prince2 looks interesting, where did you do that?

copacetic

jon1981 wrote: »

from experience do you know if its possible to move into management line or project in a junior capacity without taking a drop in salary? its probably best to do it within the company ..right?

I moved from senior HW designer to project manager then to R&D manager in one company then to senior project manager in a different company. All significant steps upward. However I would say the move to project manager was before I did any courses or anything. I did it by basically taking over 2 or 3 projects I was working on and just running them well then was offered the position officially.

The courses etc really didn't matter until I moved except for actually being able to use the techniques day to day. Most project manager positions expect a fair bit of experience of whole project cycle and also like you to be pmi or prince 2 or whatever qualified. From my experience most people here or USA are PMI, in the uk it is all Prince2.

The course in blackrock has loads of people from the likes of IBM, HP, Dell the banks and the consultancies as well as smaller places. It is a good place to make contacts. It's not all great but it is decent enough.

The Machine

In a similar situation myself, at the stage of branching from development to management.

Firstly I'd say it is far easier to get into management for the first time when you've put in a bit of time with your current company.

Personally the best IT managers that I've met have a solid grasp of the technical issues. So if you've only got 4 years under your belt I'd say keep at the technical side for a little longer. During that time try learn the companies processes both tech and managerial, and get into a team lead role.

From my experience most larger development companies find it hard to get techies to move into management so there is always openings for the right person....

As said by other posters, IMI, PMI, Prince courses would all be good.

One other point worth considering, not sure how true it is, but several people in the last while have told me that when the market is uncertain it is a lot easier for a developer to get work than a project manager....

copacetic

The Machine wrote: »

One other point worth considering, not sure how true it is, but several people in the last while have told be that when the market is uncertain it is a lot easier for a developer to get work than a project manager....

Could be true but usually developers are tied quite closely to their field of expertise. In theory as a project manager there are a lot more companies open to you.

jon1981

The Machine wrote:

One other point worth considering, not sure how true it is, but several people in the last while have told be that when the market is uncertain it is a lot easier for a developer to get work than a project manager.....

i suppose thats true...a good developer will always manage their own time

copacetic wrote: »

Could be true but usually developers are tied quite closely to their field of expertise. In theory as a project manager there are a lot more companies open to you.

i like the possibilty of being more transferable...

helimachoptor

jon1981 wrote: »

TBH i've just moved jobs so i'm still getting the feel for the place. In all reality im probably looking at 1-2 yrs before i could look into progressing to a management type role within the company. So i'm thinking in that time i could put my efforts into obtaining some kind of relevant qualification, the Prince2 looks interesting, where did you do that?

OP I did it in CTI/ESME on harcourt street. 3 days for the foundation and 5 days for the Practioner. Its a lot to do in 5 days so my advice would be do the 3 days. Read the books and a month later do the additional 2 days. But a lot of people do it in 5 days in one go.

copacetic wrote: »

I moved from senior HW designer to project manager then to R&D manager in one company then to senior project manager in a different company. All significant steps upward. However I would say the move to project manager was before I did any courses or anything. I did it by basically taking over 2 or 3 projects I was working on and just running them well then was offered the position officially.

The courses etc really didn't matter until I moved except for actually being able to use the techniques day to day. Most project manager positions expect a fair bit of experience of whole project cycle and also like you to be pmi or prince 2 or whatever qualified. From my experience most people here or USA are PMI, in the uk it is all Prince2.

The course in blackrock has loads of people from the likes of IBM, HP, Dell the banks and the consultancies as well as smaller places. It is a good place to make contacts. It's not all great but it is decent enough.

One of the big things about Smurfit is the networking, they do really play it up.

BC

Project management and management are not the same thing so have a think about which you would like before you go paying for a masters. Clearly a manager would have to have some project management skills but its often not essential.

I did this and can recommend it:
http://gradschool.cs.tcd.ie/mscmis/

However i would say that having moved from a development to a management role myself, the area i really felt i need training was around people management, conflict management and all the 'soft' skills. I'd recommend looking at some courses around that stuff.

copacetic

BC wrote: »

Project management and management are not the same thing so have a think about which you would like before you go paying for a masters. Clearly a manager would have to have some project management skills but its often not essential.

I did this and can recommend it:
http://gradschool.cs.tcd.ie/mscmis/

However i would say that having moved from a development to a management role myself, the area i really felt i need training was around people management, conflict management and all the 'soft' skills. I'd recommend looking at some courses around that stuff.

you would be surprised at how much current project management theory is based around change management and the softer skills. The course I mentioned above was about half 'management' and half 'pure' project management.

jon1981

so it comes down to either doing a masters or a professional accredited qualification such as PMI/PRINCE2 ...etc

the questions is if i want to pursue project management then the PMI/Prince is most likely enough? IF im looking at line management or more senior management in the bigger picture is it better to have a MSc?

I suppose most will say neither really counts if you have the natural ability to manage?!

helimachoptor

jon1981 wrote: »

I suppose most will say neither really counts if you have the natural ability to manage?!

You hit the nail on the head there OP! All the Msc and professional qualifications mean nothing if you can't manage!

On a side note I applied for a junior PM job a couple of years ago directly with a company. They rejected me as they said "for insurance reasons they needed someone with a PM qualification"

Some companies want it others want real life experience some other want both.

bosscat

resurrecting an old thread but to any PMs out there , does any project follow a methodology fully, such as PRINCE2 or do you take bits and pieces of it and be practical? Im thinking about a move to project management and wondering if its worthwhile doing the 5 day PRINCE2 course but no project Ive worked on ( in test or dev ) has used it!

To anyone who has done a PRINCE2 course , was it worth the time and money?

helimachoptor

bosscat wrote: »

resurrecting an old thread but to any PMs out there , does any project follow a methodology fully, such as PRINCE2 or do you take bits and pieces of it and be practical? Im thinking about a move to project management and wondering if its worthwhile doing the 5 day PRINCE2 course but no project Ive worked on ( in test or dev ) has used it!

To anyone who has done a PRINCE2 course , was it worth the time and money?

Op I think a lot of the larger companies and MNCs seem to follow an amalgamated methodology. Usually they take bits of a few methodologies and it evolves into what works for them.
My last place was like this but it was very document heavy and process heavy, to do anything you needed everyone and their uncles approval.

My current place uses prince2 but has a common sense approach. For smaller docs not every single process is used but for larger ones it us but I usually tailor each project design to each project.


OP until I did the course I hadn't went near a prince2 project. As said above most companies usually have a variation on an established methodology that works for them.

I would do the prince course, it will give you a good foundation.

bosscat

thanks helimacopter , ill give a course a bash if i have a few weeks between contracts