Careers advice for DH from anyone in IT/Tech?

[SpouseHelp]

Name changed for this as would love to show my spouse this thread. Wondered if any wise Mumsnetters working in IT/tech have any advice for him.

NB: I’m in an entirely different field and whilst super driven and (I think!) successful I unfortunately don’t really understand the IT industry.

So - He left college after BTEC and joined a distribution company and has spent yonks there now. He’s IT manager and late 30s. Obviously loads of experience but no significant qualifications. He’s reached a career dead end - in 3 ways -

1. he has a 3-4 hour round trip commute daily as his workplace doesn’t allow any WFH although he could all his work remotely
2. His pay is ceilinged now at 53k. And he/we don’t even know if this can be upped any way or whether this is the cap for life.
3. most importantly - he’s bored and exhausted and there’s no fun in what work means anymore.

he isn’t a management kind at all, but would love to be left alone with his keyboard and screens and get on with the tech side of things. We are both slightly stumped as to what precisely he could do to change things.

if he needs qualifications what would they need to be? If he needs a Linked In profile - what should he put in it from his yonks at this company?

it would be good if he could almost see a target to work towards with even a year or two of prep for a job change.

any advice from MNers in this sector for him? He and I will be most grateful! If nothing else - a reduction of the killer commute, a higher pay and a happier him would benefit me and my own life and career so much particularly balancing my career with two small children of ours!

Hi OP, we're moving your thread to our Mature Study & Retraining topic as we think you'll get some helpful replies here

You don't say what he is specialist in/manager of but assuming it's something networks/infrastructure etc related then most companies will look for experience and not necessarily qualifications for a job at his level. And there are loads of IT vacancies at the moment and loads of companies offering wfh or at least hybrid working.

I'd suggest he updates his CV and puts in up on linked in as a minimum step.
And has a look at job adverts. It's an employee's market at the moment in IT.

Thanks @redskyatnight my OP said he’s an IT Manager - but I’m not sure what exactly he “manages”. He doesn’t people manage but he manages the IT needs of 3 sites across UK and another country. We are getting going on the linked in profile task today and I’ll share this thread with him too so he can read your reply. Thank you.

IT is a huge field these days with many specialties and skills. If you can post some more specific info on what type of work and systems he has experience with then I think you will get more specific advice.
It may help him to do some online qualifications on cloud based infrastructure such as AWS or MS Azure for example as these are areas in high demand.

I was going to suggest AWS or Azure, so Infrastructure side of things. I recommend self directed study for Azure, looking to do the AZ900 Microsoft certificate exam. They have free resources for study and the exam isn't too expensive. From there is lot of different tracks and all training can be done from home with your own PC.

If he’s managing the IT needs of various sites then presumably his skill set is on the infrastructure / sysadmin side?

In which case, he should look for roles in those fields?

Depending on what precise skills he has I am sure a salary north of 53k is achievable.

Would need to know precise skill set to advise further!

Hi, OPs partner here

Ive been a jack of all trades, master of none for close to 15 years now. Sole IT person all that time so I have experience but no certs to show for it. Most job postings that match my wage requirements that I’ve seen require quite a bit of in-depth experience which I don’t really have. I know them to an intermediate level but not an advanced level.

I suppose I -

1. managing a busy environment across 80 users - 3 time zones
2. Working with windows servers and all associated protocols
3. some cloud - AZURE AD intermediate
4. VOIP telephony
5. MRP software
6. CRM software
7. Networking switches and firewalls
8. saving efficiency in business process - by automating processes
9. programming languages VB and power shell

the problem is that all of this is at intermediate level and uncertified.

I hope that’s some detail to go with and really grateful for any advice.

Definitely get a LinkedIn profile. Look at a load of jobs, see what the current buzzwords are, and tailor profile accordingly. What he's got there would match quite a few of my colleagues- experience more than qualifications.

If he's a small co IT manager, he'll probably be responsible for keeping their pcs and network running, managing cyber security, server maintenance, software licensing etc. Possibly audiovisual and voice as well.

If he has multiple sites, then wide area comms and data/security laws in different countries.

He must know the bits he likes best so why doesn't he look on LinkedIn to see which jobs are in demand and better paid locally. That should tell him where to focus his skills.

my OP said he’s an IT Manager

Yes, but that's like saying he works in retail. It could mean a huge range of things. What's his skill set and what is he interested in? Most people specialise in different "bits" of IT (I work in IT, but would have no interest in learning more about AWS/Azure as suggested by PPs for example).

I think there’s two basic choices here.

You could stick with a generalist skill set, and you’re probably looking at similar sized firms and similar roles?

Or perhaps focusing on one / two specialist areas here, figuring out if certification is a big deal in the market (try speaking to a recruiter, they can offer useful insight into market conditions). Obviously some specialities care more about certification than others (eg networking).

Any chance of getting current employer to put you through certification? Or it might be worth it shelling out yourself.

Spinning yourself as a devops or cloud infrastructure specialist is good PR in the current market!

Lots of ways to skin this cat, IMO, I don’t think you’ll have trouble once you settle on a strategy.

thanks all. I’ve got him to do a post above for himself so hope that gives a bit more detail than what I could Give!

OP’s partner here.

Interesting to think of what 1 or 2 things interest me. I like making business processes more efficient and improving processes. I’m bored of IT but improving processes through things like CRM for instance. So a specialisation in the direction of CRM/improving business processes would interest me.

but I don’t know if that’s too big a pivot from being an IT generalist for so many years with the same firm?

the end goal is to better my pay so would such a pivot entail starting lower and once again trying to build myself up which we can’t afford to.

Sorry, my last response crossposted with yours. Are there bits of that quite varied list that appeal more? Something like an Operations Manager or Operations Support manager might be a job role to look for? Or a more specialist role like Server Engineer/Management or Networks Engineer if you want to specialise into a particular area? You should also consider whether you might like to move into general management (e.g. budgets, planning, strategic direction, probably more people management) where some more formal training might be more beneficial or stick more to being a technical expert.

I would think your level of experience would negate the need for formal certificates. Although if you wanted to specialise into something you might have to go into a mid-level job and work up.

Has he considered IT project management? I know he likes the techie side of things but with a PM role its nothing like line managing people, someone else does that. You can get a Prince 2 cert quite easily and same probably goes for Agile type stuff. With his background as a jack of all trades and interest in process/system improvements he might find he is ideally suited.

He could try a permie role for a bit to get the experience under his belt and then start contracting.

Thanks @redskyatnight. you’ve hit the nail on the head by distinguishing those two sorts of roles - the people/management side of roles or stick to being a tech expert and if there’s one thing I’m sure of it’s the latter I want. I’m not keen on the management side of things.

Me and my kind other half are going to get the linked in profile up and running based on all the advice on this thread although after having done so many years of this role in this same org it’s hard to even get my head into the thinking space of a big change like this!

It sounds like a process improvement analyst or even a business analyst job might suit? I think the general IT background would be useful for either job (so often these jobs are done by people who are more business specialists and don't have so much of an interest in the supporting infrastructure so that would definitely be a benefit). Or if the company has embraced DevOps then the all round skill set would be welcomed. You need to think about how to market your transferable skills on a cv.

look on jobs boards to see what is out there and where the gaps are in the cv - maybe chat with a recruiter???. Sometimes a remote role with a slight pay cut may be possible if you factor in the reduced fuel (though maybe increased home energy costs). Perhaps devops or cloud roles may be of interest? I am interested in breaking into this area - I have done aws cloud foundation cert(I’m sure azure have one that would fit more with his experience). I hope to learn docker. Kubernetes and terraform have certs too - which I hope I will get in time. I don’t think the certs are a replacement for commercial experience, but I am hoping it shows initiative and ability to learn (haven’t actually tried applying yet).

I would suggest go down the CRM route or even RPA (robotics). Definitely look different delivery approaches, most organisations are using scrum agile these days and it can be a bit of learning curve, but a really good collaborative way of working.

Thanks so much all. Just making a to do list here -

1. Figure out what exactly I wish to specialise/market myself in - which I think is business processes and CRM.


2. detailed linked in profile where I use words which recruitments in the area appear to use (not fully sure how good I’ll be with this)


3. Upskilling in - currently upskilling in a CRM market leading software (not being too specific here) + I see suggested above prince 2 and azure. I think I need to develop a clearer idea of what certs exactly I need here


4. making a useful list of my current transferable skills and pitch that on likened in profile

perhaps a years prep work for the outcomes to materialise? Not sure!

My partner is in IT and says that Salesforce developers are like gold dust. Commanding £600 a day upwards as contractors and he thinks they are taking on more than one contract at a time. So if you are interested in the CRM side of things and have a good Azure background then if you get some training in that area you could have plenty of options. Its all remote working too.

YES! I agree on this entirely - and am v glad to see SF mentioned by your partner :)

If he's quite techy combining those skills with Robotics might work - hits the process improvement button. Try looking up lean six sigma type courses as well for PI.

Also maybe functional consultant - covers all areas from working with businesses to define processes through testing and deployment of new systems.

Hi, my partner works in IT for a bank. I'm no expert whatsoever, not even sure what he exactly does! But I did want to raise a few maybe relevant points -

(1) he does have degree-level qualifications but none of them are in anything IT related whatsoever. My impression is that it's skills and experience that are much more important than formal qualifications.

(2) He has worked in technical developer type roles and is now doing more project management - his days are now essentially endless meetings! He says he is by no means an expert on all the technical aspects but his skill set is managing those who are the experts and keeping projects on track, identifying technical issues etc.

(3) He has been at his current employer for around 4 years - there has been quite few opportunities to progress, develop skills etc. His salary has increased in that time. I think it's worth considering whether you could initially take a bit of a pay cut if it was for a role with good progression opportunities. Also important to way up whole package - base salary, bonuses, pension etc.

Good luck!

*meant, 'quite a few opportunities'