What the IT manager needs to know or learn the light, and you have to pay for the light

Study, study and study again!
V.I. Lenin

The main difficulty in the work of an IT specialist is that IT is a very volatile area. If you do not constantly learn something new, you risk losing your job. Finish with common truths, you know them without me. Let us turn to practical advice. Since I have specialized in the “dark side of power” (IT management) for many years, and have not been programming for commercial purposes for a long time (only for the soul and rarely, I don’t have enough time), the tips will be mainly for IT managers (project managers, tmlidov, team managers and other and other brethren, fattening around the neck of workaholic programmers and system administrators), but some of the skills will be useful to any IT specialist.

So, what is necessary to study the present or future IT manager, where to study and how much it costs. All the imperative IMHO.

1. English

This is the first thing to learn and maintain in good condition. I will leave out of the framework of this discussion its necessity for comrades who have decided to “start a tractor” and will focus on other aspects. The English-language pool of documentation, frameworks, communities, experts and books MUCH MORE than Russian. You cannot develop normally as an IT manager (and generally as an IT specialist), without knowledge of English, at least at the level of reading documentation without a dictionary - if you are just an IT specialist and possession at the Intermediate and higher level - if you are aiming for the proud title IT management pro. Where: it depends on your capabilities. Ideally, it is very cool to spend a couple of months in the country of native speakers, but this option will suit 5% of those who want to improve their language skills. For those who can not afford it, there is an excellent resource - EF School . Good online school, with excellent material, live communication with carriers and at an affordable price (2000 rubles per month). From the accompanying recommendations - it is useful to watch every day for 30 minutes before going to bed any English-language channel, and on the weekend an English-language film. It is better to start with films that you have already seen in the Russian dubbing, and watch the first 10-15 films with English subtitles.
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2. ITIL

Without it, the modern IT manager can not live. The base of most systems is based precisely on the service approach and the ITIL glossary (tickets, incidents, problems, SLA, CMDB, reaction time, solution time, escalation, change, service requests, etc.). You can start with the Russian version of the glossary of ITIL ( Glossary ), then read articles on itsmonline.ru and itsmforum.ru .

It is advisable to take a course ITIL Foundation and pass the exam ( course ITIL F - $ 229). Work in helpdesk systems that support the ITSM approach (ServiceNow, HP OpenView, ManageEngine ServiceDesk, etc.). With a sufficient level of English, you can later take up the original books themselves. If the English is not very good, it will be useful to read this book here - Free ITIL (although it is probably worth reading even for those who speak English well).

3. Project Methodologies (ANSI PMI PMBOK, PRINCE2)

The IT manager is constantly confronted with these or other projects, so he should be able to competently manage them. There are no options. This is the basis. Choose what you like and learn ( PMI PMBOK , PRINCE2 ). Issue price in the range of $ 1000, depending on the level of certification. Which of the methodologies is better is a matter of personal preferences and place of work (for example, Prince2 is more popular in Europe). I strongly advise you to choose one for yourself as the main one and, of course, to familiarize yourself with the basics of the second methodology.

4. Agile

This buzzword hides behind itself a whole layer, which is called a flexible approach to development (Scrum, FDD, XP and others). Where to read: you can actually read a lot where. About Agile did not write just lazy. Here, for example - a blog . You can even take a certified course (for example, the course is $ 549. Expensive, but this is the price of popularity), although I would do it only if I decided to concentrate on working as a scrum master or if there are formal requirements from a “tasty” employer. What to look for - flexible methodologies are not a panacea! In some places they are even harmful. They have shortcomings that are not immediately obvious. But, in general, this is what the doctor ordered, for the needs of most development teams. Disadvantages of a flexible approach can be leveled if you delve deeper into the topic.

5. DevOps

If you describe in a nutshell - this is, as it were, Agile, but for system administrators. This is very inaccurate, but conveys the essence. When the developers switched to the use of flexible methodologies, IT operations became a lagging block that slowed down, issuing, to the top, every two weeks, developers. DevOps eliminates this problem (or tries to do it). Where to read: you can buy or find a PDF version of the DevOps Cookbook book on the Internet and get acquainted with it. You can (if you have not spent all the money on certification and courses from the previous items in the list) to complete a certification course approved by the DevOps Institute here - the DevOps course . Issue price - $ 499.

6. Vendoro-dependent certification

Immediately, I note that there is little more than zero from Vendera-independent certifications (with very few exceptions) and I will not dwell on them in detail. Certain vendor to pass - I will not tell you, it depends on the path you have chosen. For many, the path looks like this: due to the youth of Microsoft, then “oh, without Lin, there is no way for serious companies”, then “oh, I need to understand SAP, they pay for it the most” (just kidding). It is useful that is used in large companies. You have set yourself such companies as a place of work, and not Doors Plus LLC? Then you need certification from Microsoft, Cisco, RedHat, SAP, IBM, HP. If you have planned your path to managers, then you should not go deep into technical certification, you can stop at basic levels. Examples: MCSA for Microsoft, CCNA for Cisco and RHCSA for RedHat. Price issue: MCSA - $ 240, CCNA - $ 450, RHCSA - $ 400. More deeply, if you plan to develop as a manager, I would not advise climbing.

7. MBA

A lot of hot battles were devoted to the question, is it necessary to spend time and energy on the MBA? My opinion - if possible, then it is worth it. How: choose a school that suits you according to the criterion of price / quality / availability / rating, pay attention to the availability of accreditation (AMBA, EFMD, AACSB), check the accreditation and look for information. For foreign, you can see the information here - rating FT . Please note that not a single business school from Russia got into the first hundred of this rating! Therefore, the value of your studies at a business school in Russia will be relevant only for Russia. Price issue: very diverse from about $ 6,000 in the Russian Federation and up to $ 130,000-150,000 abroad. Example: MBA in INSEAD, which occupies the 5th place in the rating, will cost approximately $ 80,000 + $ 50,000 will be spent on accommodation and other expenses. Just do not forget about the loss of profits, as you lose at least one year of income, with full-time study. It is worth all very well weigh.

8. Finance

An IT manager, in every incarnation, has to deal with finances. Understanding such things as budgeting, types of costs, depreciation, payback period and return on investment, and many others are vital in daily activities. Ideally, it is not bad to get a second degree in finance and economics. Issue price: from $ 4,500 to $ 7,500, depending on the university and curriculum. Pay close attention to the financial management process in ITIL and the “Project Cost Management” area of ​​expertise in PMBOK. If you are targeting a career as an IT manager in the banking / insurance industry, then consider passing the CFA exam. I note that this is an expensive pleasure - without courses and other costs, the first level of CFA costs about $ 1,100 - $ 1,500, depending on the time of registration. Also, note that about 40% of the candidates pass it the first time. The exam is, of course, in English, like most of the significant certifications in the IT world (have you already enrolled in English or do you know the language?)

9. Security

Ensuring security in information systems is one of the key aspects of the work of an IT manager. At a minimum, you need to know the basics and know the security software: antivirus, IDS / IPS / DLP systems, protocol analyzers, cryptographic software, firewalls, authentication tools and software, video surveillance software and software. Very useful to get acquainted with the standard ISO 27001 ( standard ). A good experience will be participation in certification for compliance with PCI DSS standards at any level. The PCI DSS standard contains a list of sufficiently specific technical and organizational requirements for ensuring information security. Even those who do not work with cards are also very helpful just to read the SAQ questionnaire ( SAQ D questionnaire ).

Actually, I’ll stop on this for now. I will not describe in detail the need to study each manager of psychology and the availability of software skills. This is the topic of a separate article. As a conclusion, I would like to say - never stop learning and remember that investing in yourself always pays off!

Successes!