Information technology is one of the fastest-growing fields. To organize and manage this field, large companies and organizations always need IT managers.
If interested in this job, immediately refer to the requirements for skills, education, and job outlook in this article. Scroll down for more right now!
Job Description
IT management is an exciting job requiring extensive information technology knowledge and many other critical soft skills.
To understand more about this exciting industry, below is a job description, detailed duties, and responsibilities that you can refer to.
What is an IT manager?
Information technology managers take on resources related to technology software, data, and algorithms within a business or organization.
Managers can also do technology-related work such as hardware evaluation and cabling. They are also responsible for training network administrators and computer programmers.
The best IT managers know how to lead employees to accomplish the organization’s strategic projects.
Their primary duties will depend on the requirements of each company. Some companies need managers focused on computer networks. Meanwhile, in others, IT managers require electronic support system upgrades, monitoring, and routine maintenance.
Duties and Responsibilities
IT managers act as leaders. With such an essential role as above, managers in this field will need to fulfill the following tasks and responsibilities:
- Update and check network, software, and system security regularly.
- Develop and disseminate policies related to information technology.
- Draft policy documents, seminars, and system reports
- Supervise information technology projects.
- Train employees through workshops and programs.
- Manage the information technology budget, and prepare budget allocation reports to explain to stakeholders.
- Consult for employees working in the same field.
Where Do IT Managers Work?
Information technology managers often work right in the office of the company they work for. IT managers can also work remotely. Yet, they will usually spend time working next to the computer desk. Sometimes, they can work with stakeholders, such as chairing IT solutions meetings with colleagues.
Education Requirements
It is not easy to become a manager, especially in a complex field like information technology. Here are the degree and certification requirements you need to advance to a career in IT management.
Degree and Certificate
To be an IT Manager, you need to have in-depth knowledge of information technology and business. Most employers require applicants to have at least a bachelor’s degree in a field related to information technology, computer science, or management information systems.
In particular, candidates will have an advantage when they have research in software development and business.
Some employers also require applicants to graduate from an MBA program. After completing your master’s degree, you will increase your salary significantly.
In addition to a degree, when applying for an IT manager position, you can also offer certifications for an added competitive edge:
- Certificate in Project Management (CAPM): It confirms your ability to manage projects and handle related tasks. To earn one, you must study for at least 23 hours and complete a rigorous test of 150 questions.
- Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP): This certification will require learners to have several years of experience in risk management and project management.
- TOGAF certification 9.
Essential Skills
To become a manager in the field of information technology, you will need to spend a long time trying to improve your professional and soft skills.
Hard Skills
About both engineering and management, the knowledge of IT managers will need to focus on two main areas:
- Information technology skills: IT managers need a bachelor’s degree in computer science and information technology.
- Administration knowledge: Understanding business administration will help managers succeed in their leadership roles.
Soft Skills
Soft skills will determine how they handle accountability, organization, work navigation, and staffing tasks.
Here are some critical soft skills that a manager needs to hone constantly.
- Leadership: It is an essential soft skill that helps managers handle work in their team and field. Some of the most critical leadership skills are conflict resolution and fostering cooperation.
- Time management: IT managers will be responsible for scheduling tasks such as training employees, monitoring systems, and issuing terms and policies. Time management is an essential skill that helps managers ensure the above functions are on time.
- Solve problems: IT managers will face technical problems such as security threats and system failures. They also have to deal with conflicts that take place within the group. Therefore, problem-solving is one of the essential skills that any manager must practice.
- Budgeting: IT managers also have to deal with budget-related tasks. And to use your budget effectively, you need the ability to budget.
- Communication: Managers need to explain techniques to departments and subordinates. They have to work a lot with individuals from IT-related departments. Their communication skills will push their team’s effectiveness to the next level.
Essential Tools
Managing information technology is a complex business. Therefore, those who do this job will have to seek help from support software.
Below are some helpful software for human resource management, technology system control, software design, and budgeting.
Apache Mesos
Apache Mesos has always been among the ideal open-source tools for managing distributed applications. This tool works on many devices and supports building and running flexible distributed systems.
Apache Mesos is also a powerful tool for developing parallel applications in various programming languages. You can also extend this tool and perform many other complex tasks.
Graphite
IT managers will use Graphite to view and store time series data. This tool is particularly effective in allowing users to view and analyze data.
Its unique advantage is the visualization of data and flexible tool support. It also includes multiple databases and gives complete control to the user.
This tool is not only the first choice for managers but also serves quite well for teamwork.
Microsoft SCOM
Microsoft’s System Center Operations Manager is one of the most potent tools IT managers can use to monitor infrastructure.
The software also provides multiple alerts so users can be aware of application availability and monitor performance.
Yet, as a tool from Microsoft, it works effectively on many different operating systems, from Windows Server to Unix, Linux, even VMware and Hyper-V.
NinjaRMM
NinjaRMM is a valuable tool for IT managers who love to work remotely.
This tool allows managers to easily navigate and perform operations on security, monitoring, and developing network devices.
Compared to other remote management tools, NinjaRMM is more popular. The reason is that it standardizes management and automates many daily tasks, saving managers time.
Nimsoft
Nimsoft is no longer a strange tool for information technology organizations. Its main task is to optimize the system and support the management process of information technology service providers.
It is supportive of the management of business technology services. Its strength comes from the integration between monitoring and service management.
ServiceNow
ServiceNow is also a popular IT service management tool. You can use this software to allocate budgets and manage and optimize your assets.
Job Outlook
IT manager is a job that requires many technical and soft skills. So are you curious about the salary for this challenging position? Here are some statistics about the average salary an IT manager can get.
Salary
In the US, the average salary is around $96,596. However, the number above may vary depending on your experience and position.
Usually, an IT manager’s lowest salary is $26,000/year. Meanwhile, the highest number for this position is around $211,000.
Career Opportunities
IT management will have a relatively high growth rate in the period from 2020 to 2030. According to US Department of Labor statistics, domestic businesses will need to recruit more. 8% per year for similar positions.
When pursuing IT management, if you have solid knowledge in the field of information technology and business acumen, your career development opportunities will be pretty open.
Advantages and Disadvantages
Being an IT manager requires you a lot of experience and skills. Aside from the initial difficulties, it has many outstanding advantages that you should consider.
- High salary.
- Clear career path.
- Good working conditions.
- Employment growth averaged around 7%.
- Jobs related to information technology impact every industry.
- Update new knowledge regularly
- Take time to monitor work and discuss new strategies.
FAQs
What is an IT manager in a company?
In a company, the IT manager heads the information technology department. Their primary duties are supervising and directing employees to fulfill the company’s system requirements.
The jobs that an IT manager often performs are system maintenance planning and ensuring hardware and software work correctly.
Is being an IT manager an excellent job?
Information technology manager is a good job position. The salary for this job is much higher than average. An IT manager’s working environment and career development opportunities are also beautiful.
What is the role of IT support?
The IT technical support person will monitor and maintain the computer system. They will coordinate with the staff to get the job done quickly.
How many hours do IT managers work?
Information technology management is a job that requires high concentration and has a reasonably large workload.
As a result, most people in management work at the company full-time. They also often work overtime, even more than 40 hours per week.
Which do you consider the most crucial duties of an IT manager?
Their most crucial task is to ensure that the technical and information technology systems usually operate and meet the business’s needs.
To complete the above task, managers must perform supervisory activities, manage employees and provide technical support.
Where can I go from the IT manager?
Those who have worked as IT managers can develop their careers in many different directions.
And some development directions, you can refer to the information technology program director, senior project manager, and information manager.
You can also work as a software engineer instead of management-related tasks.
Can you be an IT manager with no experience?
You need to have experience in the information technology field to manage and supervise employees.
How long does IT take to be an IT manager?
Employers for information technology management positions will require candidates with a minimum bachelor’s degree. But to apply to big companies, you need a master’s degree, certification, and years of experience.
To become an IT manager, you must study for at least 4 years. And most current managers have at least ten years of experience in the management field.
How do I become an IT manager without a degree?
You’ll need to gain experience and earn industry-related certifications to become an IT manager without a degree.
Some soft skills you need to practice are leadership and conflict resolution skills. You can also join Bootcamps and earn Agile and ScrumMaster certifications.
How do you become an IT?
To become an IT professional, you need to have the right qualifications. Most businesses require candidates to have a bachelor’s degree in information technology or computer science.
To become an expert in this field, you also need to earn some certifications, gain experience, and choose a career path toward specialization.
Career Advice
The road to becoming an IT manager is not easy. You must have a good understanding of both information technology and business.
The tasks you have to handle are quite heavy, directly related to the company’s comprehensive information technology projects.
However, the salary and benefits received when pursuing this job are extremely attractive. IT manager is still quite an ideal job to date. If you want to develop your career in this direction, combine technical knowledge and business goals.
I hope that the sharing in the article has been helpful for your career development orientation. Thank you for reading!