You are bored with your job – the long working hours, the coding or the calls, and the same old deliverables. You start thinking of ways to get out of this rut. As the luxury of the corner office (or maybe just a larger cubicle) beckons the better-manager-than-coder within you, you wonder if there some way you can take a shot at management.
Here is the good news: there are some excellent career paths in store for you, provided you have a strong interest in technology. You can go down this path the easy way (through an MBA) or the hard way (keep at it for more years and go up through the ranks). On second thought, the MBA route isn’t particularly easy – but it is still relatively faster. 🙂
But what about non-IT folks who want to work in technology?
Gee, it is rare to see someone from a non-Tech background wishing to make a breakthrough into this field – but if you do fall into this category, remember that more than anything, you will need to justify in your B-school application:
Your passion for and knowledge of technology, irrespective of what field you are in currently
Why you want to make a career switch to technology at this stage in your career
This is because, at the end of the day, you need to have strong tech fundamentals and a keen interest in the field, to don a leadership role.
Career Paths in Technology
Previously in this blog series, we covered 2 of the most popular post-MBA career paths in technology: Tech Consulting and Product Management.
Let us now look at two of the other technology careers available to MBAs:
1. Project Management:
If you are tech-savvy, and are looking for a post-MBA career path that requires you to be a technical expert, but also handle managerial functions, then project management maybe your cup of tea. A technical project manager is responsible for organizing and managing projects from start to completion.
He or she has to find the fine balance between technical expertise and managerial skills. This role involves project scoping, scheduling, budgeting and managing risks associated with delivery. A project manager will have to manage the internal project delivery team, as well as customers, and will be a single point of contact for all matters related to the project.
Typical Career Path in Project Management
What Does It Take To Build A Career In Project Management?
Technical expertise
Excellent communication skills
Negotiation skills
Work management skills: organizing, delegating etc.
Analytical and problem-solving skills
2. Analytics:
Big Data seems to be the watchword in the industry right now and analytics is considered one of the hottest areas to be in right now. By definition, a business analyst’s job is to analyze datasets, systems and business models from the perspective of identifying trends and business needs, designing processes and translating business requirements in terms of technology. A business analyst may be given other titles also, like process consultant, functional analyst, systems analyst or systems architect, depending on the organization.
Typical Career Path of a Business Analyst
What does it take to build a career in Analytics?
Data modeling & statistical skills
Technical expertise
Eye for detail and spotting trends
Communication and storytelling skills
B-schools renowned for Technology
MIT Sloan, Tepper, UCLA, Haas, Cornell Johnson, Boston University, Krannert, Scheller, Olin, Fisher, ISB, IIMB
Read our previous blog post in this 5 part series on Post MBA careers: Operations
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