Does anyone have advice for a recent college graduate that wants to be a higher level IT Manger or CIO/CTO later on in life? Career choices/ people you surround yourself with/ conventions to go to? Any help would be awesome!
You just got to climb the corporate ladder. Stick with one company and work your ass off. I am sure will be move from junior to senior to lead to manager to cto
breadth of experience... you at least have to be able.to converse in platform engineering, app development, product strategy, security, BI.... start learning and when you get a job in one area keep learning others on the side. continue until you're a mega millionaire.
Flow like water. Your company, industry and IT in general will experience constant and increasing change. Change with it. Also, you're not "in IT", you're in "what ever business you're in with a focus on IT".
Get an MBA and manage your career (which I should have done long ago). Every few years increase the size or scope of your position. For example, start as a junior dev, then move to a junior dev at a bigger firm or a more senior dev at a smaller firm. Eventually you will be a CxO at a small firm then move to bigger firms every few years.
I've seen many Eng folks with MBAs and they don't seem to be "killing it". Frankly it's complete waste of money and time. Best thing to do if you have MBA type of brain is to join a company that will sponsor your MBA. Also aim for schools at least better than Berkeley. Don't get MBA if you want to be in tech like CTO role.
put your time in. realize the chances, work your damn tail off. I'm not 30 yet, 0 certificates in IT, yet I am an IT director for a company in cybersecurity. and we have some a class clients (Boeing, etc...) something that always stuck with me... IT is a vocation. treat it as such, meaning go outwork people, it really shows in IT. don't brag, but announce feats. the easiest way to announce them, is to just be excited. I always goto my bosses and high five them and say what "we" did. they note, And I don't look like a threat since I said we. social engineering dominates in the IT field because social skills are so scarce. man up, take it. it's all you gotta do! 😁
Wow lucky you. Not everyone gets the opportunity.
There's some luck to it yes. but I work longer hours, first one in last one out, bust my ass and handle the bidness. Work Ethic beats out just about everything else. especially nowadays...
Work for 2 or so years in tech then get a dual degree MBA/MSIM. That should help you jump into a management position and help you move up quicker from that point on.
Be willing to take opportunities that are driving change in the company. Forge new paths. Learn about strategy and business acumen -- how does the money flow and what is the direction of the company. Tech will only get you so far. You need to be able to communicate, empathize, and influence.
Check out "The Rules of Work" great advice for moving up the corporate ladder
Later life is unpredictable for the most part - nobody in tech industry knows how things will be in even 4 years let alone a decade. Having said that - build a CIO/CTO level breadth of knowledge more than depth on single topic
Lol so true.