Question from a college Soph targeting a technology management career

The email below was written by a student from the Indiana University group that I mentioned a few entries ago. I met him during a student trip to Chicago held in mid-January. He and I chatted a bit about his desire to move into IT after his college graduation and, since I used to work in the industry, he thought I’d be able to give him some good advice. Please read below for his questions and my answers to those questions and a key question that he didn’t ask but that I thought would be important.

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AK wrote:

Marquis,

My name is AK and I got your contact information from WH in the KLLC. I wanted to thank you for your time and hospitality at Aon last weekend with the KLLC. I know many of the freshman on the trip learned about Aon as a company but even more about getting geared up for the professional world. I enjoyed listening to your panel and hearing their stories about interviewing and recruiting. I especially enjoyed hearing your story about almost losing your hands in Morocco. [Note from Marquis: That’s a story that I don’t think I’ll ever be able to tell on this blog :-)]

I wanted to talk to you about starting out in IT and tech management. Right now I am majoring in Information Process Management and Supply Chain Management, but I really think I would like to go into IT or some technology related position. I still have a passion for business so I feel that I would not have to go into a company that focuses solely on technology. My other passion is solving problems, like I do as an RA all the time. I’ve looked into technology consulting as well and plan on applying for the MSIS (masters in science of information systems) program as well. My only concern is that I don’t know exactly what tech management consists of in terms of day to day work life, and if I go for the MSIS degree, would it add any value to what I would be doing?

I thought you might be able to help shed some light on my concerns because you did start out in technology and know a little more about those kinds of positions than I do. I would appreciate any insight you may have as I search through life and internships.

Best Wishes,

AK

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My response:

Hi AK,

Thanks for reaching out with this email. It was great to meet you last weekend during the KLLC trip to Chicago. One of my goals was for you guys to walk away with a good understanding of Aon and some additional insights into business career. From the sound of your email, my mission was accomplished on that.

Let’s dive right into hitting the points you raised in your email. I must be honest and say that I’m a little confused by the questions that you’re asking when I consider everything that you say in your email before them. The following are the questions that I think you care about, including an additional question that you didn’t ask but that you would also care about:

1. What does “technology management” mean in terms of day-to-day activities?
   This is a pretty broad term and giving you a sense for what the day-to-day duties are is tough because that would be based on one’s specific role. A few areas that would fall under the umbrella of technology management are software project management, system implementation management, database/information management, vendor/procurement management, tech strategy, tech finance management, etc. As you can see, there are a lot of areas under the overall heading of what you’re looking at. At the highest level, the Chief Technology Officer and/or Chief Information Officer would have to reign over all of those areas and several more. For you as an entrant into the tech space, you’d likely start off with a focus on a single area at the lowest level, such as system implementation, database admin, project management, or tech requirements management.

2. Would you get any benefit from pursuing the M.S. in Information Systems degree (above and beyond what you’re getting from your current major)?
   If you’re majoring in Information Process Management and Supply Chain Management and want to pursue a job in tech management, you’d get a lot of benefit from the MSIS degree. I may be a little off on my interpretation, but I believe that your undergrad course of study will give you a great foundation in the process and logistics side of a business operation, regardless of the industry (which is good). If your undergrad curriculum isn’t giving you much background on the systems that underlie the information transfer and supply chain of a business, you’ll have a bit of a knowledge gap on the technology side, which is where the MSIS could be a plus. The key question is whether you’d need that deep-dive on information systems and you’ll have to figure that out based on where you’d like to work after graduation.

3. What educational/career path should you consider to reach your longer-term career goals?
   This one really depends on the kind of job that you are targeting for after graduation. If you want to go for a job doing Tech-related consulting (think Accenture, PwC, Booz Allen Hamilton), your undergrad degree should be good preparation to get the job and the firm should provide training on specific technologies that you’d use on your projects. In this case, the MSIS might help, but I wouldn’t say that it is necessary. If you want a job in the IT/Technology function of a corporation, then the MSIS would be a big plus as a complement to your undergrad degree. The graduate level study focused on information systems would make your resume pop out from the page. Finally, if you want a job at a Tech company but not necessarily in a tech function, the MSIS might be helpful, but I don’t think it is 100% necessary to get an offer. Your undergrad degree would probably get you in the door and then you would just have to soak up all the tech knowledge that you can.

I hope my points above picked out the questions from your email correctly and answered them in a way that you were hoping. If not, let me know.

Take care and good luck with the rest of your semester.

Marquis