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After a recent interview that I thought I had in the bag, but was basically told I was overqualified for, I'm beginning to re-evaluate my long term career goals.
My current job title is a Consulting System Engineer.. but job responsibilities are probably closer to a Systems Admin V type of position. I've always said I was more interested in the technical, hands-on part of the job and love what I do. Part of the enjoyment is being more of a "jack of all trades" and not specializing in one area, so I've got a lot of experience with Hyper-V, XenApp/XenDesktop, VMWare vSphere and View, as well as AD, DNS, DHCP, Windows OS, limited Linux, SCCM/SCOM, blah blah blah Of course over the years I've learned that the sysadmin field is almost viewed like the janitorial staff sometimes... they are there to keep things working and fix things that break, but the Network Admins (especially Cisco), Software Developers and Engineers, etc. get the glory.
In my work-life, I'm not a big people person. Sure, i can socialize, and prefer to make some friends where I work, but for the most part I'm good with just working. My best days are my work from home days.. or when no one else is in the office In general I really don't hide my thoughts either, which most of my previous managers and directors praised.. even when I let them know they promised more than we could do or their ideas were too far-fetched to make work.
With that said, there may be a "working manager" position opening up soon that would allow me to keep my "fingers in the pot" while taking "baby steps" into the management area. With IT, it seems that the only really "stable" job is management and when it comes to relocation, at least in the company I work for they only offer relocation options for those with "manager" or "director" in their titles.
At this point I'm feeling like I've hit the roof of my advancement within the company without being willing to step over that management threshold. With our near success in finally moving to Colorado, I'm now turning my sites on a 1-2 year plan of being able to move to the mountains, which would require changing companies so I want to put myself in a place with the best options for moving on.
I can see only two solutions : tune down your resume, or go for a higher level position.
If you have the knowledge, and experience, why wouldn't you want to lead and teach those who will report to you?
I'm living the corporate life right now, and we NEED managers who know their stuff, are willing to teach and not afraid to get dirty.. figuratively speaking, unless you're a hot blonde with DD
Going into leadership/management is an alternative, PROVIDED that you realize the major change that's going to take place in your career --- and your life.
Individual contributors, like you, are only accountable for their own behavior/performance. Leaders/ supervisors/ managers maintain their personal accountability, PLUS they are also accountable for the behavior and performance of other people. In other words, going from doing to supervising represents a terrific INCREASE in accountability, and an also-terrific DECREASE in control. Why the decrease? The simple truth, you see, is that it is impossible for one person to control the behavior & performance of anyone else. This is what I have come to call the Essential Paradox, and it is probably the root cause of each and every management horror-story you've ever heard. Therefore, an entirely new set of skills and competencies is required.
You got to where you are through your technical/professional competence, but as a leader/manager/ supervisor these skills must take a back seat to people-skills, specifically, how to constructively direct, motivate, influence, coach, reinforce and correct the behavior/performance of others. People who go from doing to supervising without these skills (and this is the vast majority, btw) quickly run afoul of the Essential Paradox.
After a recent interview that I thought I had in the bag, but was basically told I was overqualified for, I'm beginning to re-evaluate my long term career goals.
In my work-life, I'm not a big people person. Sure, i can socialize, and prefer to make some friends where I work, but for the most part I'm good with just working. My best days are my work from home days.. or when no one else is in the office In general I really don't hide my thoughts either, which most of my previous managers and directors praised.. even when I let them know they promised more than we could do or their ideas were too far-fetched to make work.
I admire your candor about yourself, and while you didn't ask, two things make me think you may not be the best candidate for a management position. You aren't a big people person, and managers really need to be able to read, understand, communicate and motivate different personalities. It takes a people person who has interacted with a lot of different types of people to do that, otherwise, the odds of success as a manager is greatly reduced. Where someone might be energized by all the interaction required in a management position, you might find it a huge hassle taking you away from things you would rather be doing.
In addition, you're going to run into problems if you don't hide your thoughts, both with people reporting to you and your co-workers, not to mention those higher up in the organization. You were praised for this in the past by your managers, but expectations change with a new position, as do the people you'd be reporting to. Managers have to edit themselves to spare feelings, stay out of the fray, keep the emotion out of discussions, avoid placing blame, etc.
Finally, the things you'll be tasked with will be mundane management reports, writing reviews, taking disciplinary action and things of that nature, not the things you really enjoy doing.
It's a move I would suggest you really think about before proceeding.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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I have seen several supervisors/managers fail because they were promoted with no management experience. A good worker does not always make a good manager, especially with no experience or training. Much of it involves performance reviews, FMLA law, coaching, building teamwork, and handling everyday behavior issues like tardiness and goofing off. If you anticipate any future openings get prepared. Talk to someone you know and trust with experience, and take a class at a local community college extension (evenings) and read a few books. The class(es) alone will help you get the job, the rest will help you succeed when you get it.
I appreciate all the comments and advice and they definitely point out some of the issues that I recognize in myself. Over the years I have been working on attempting to "cultivate" that little bit of management training I was supposed to pick up with my MIS degree in college 15 years ago I've taken some Model-Netics courses and have requested to be put in more "project lead" roles. My current manager (who would possibly be moving up and opening his current position for me to move into) has been helping along the way by trying to coach me (things like asking me to help proof read communication emails, bringing me into management meetings, and putting more project management tasks on my shoulders). Overall i would say I've been very successful and have a great working relationship with facility management and other department managers I've had to work with during the large projects. It's really the idea of having direct reports under me that is scary (performance evaluations, conflict avoidance and/or resolution, etc.).
I guess my biggest issue is that as I get older (38) I'm really feeling the "glass ceiling" in my line of work due to lack of specialization.
@OP If you feel that you aren't management material then it's probably true. Not everyone is made for management, and that's OK too.
My suggestion is to abandon the hand-on work and go toward the Architect role. Those are technical experts who are not in management, but have much more responsibility and higher pay than sys admins. Alternatively you can work toward your PMP and become an IT Project Manager, again, not actual people management, but decent pay.
Have a look at employment at VMware, they are hiring Senior System Engineers all over the place. Those are essentially entry level architect roles, you still get to build out the POC systems and such, but you don't run anything.
@OP If you feel that you aren't management material then it's probably true. Not everyone is made for management, and that's OK too.
My suggestion is to abandon the hand-on work and go toward the Architect role. Those are technical experts who are not in management, but have much more responsibility and higher pay than sys admins. Alternatively you can work toward your PMP and become an IT Project Manager, again, not actual people management, but decent pay.
Have a look at employment at VMware, they are hiring Senior System Engineers all over the place. Those are essentially entry level architect roles, you still get to build out the POC systems and such, but you don't run anything.
Great advice! Also, IT Operations could be a great next step for you too!
I appreciate all the comments and advice and they definitely point out some of the issues that I recognize in myself. Over the years I have been working on attempting to "cultivate" that little bit of management training I was supposed to pick up with my MIS degree in college 15 years ago I've taken some Model-Netics courses and have requested to be put in more "project lead" roles. My current manager (who would possibly be moving up and opening his current position for me to move into) has been helping along the way by trying to coach me (things like asking me to help proof read communication emails, bringing me into management meetings, and putting more project management tasks on my shoulders). Overall i would say I've been very successful and have a great working relationship with facility management and other department managers I've had to work with during the large projects. It's really the idea of having direct reports under me that is scary (performance evaluations, conflict avoidance and/or resolution, etc.).
I guess my biggest issue is that as I get older (38) I'm really feeling the "glass ceiling" in my line of work due to lack of specialization.
One of the biggest problems in the workforce today is poor management because companies have cut out training. They promote people with no experience or skills and expect them to know how to deal with people and the issues that have to be dealt with each day. So when they're pushed to get something done and they look up and find five people standing outside their office waiting to speak to them, they get snappy. Can't do that - it's not their problem. Or they don't know how to take disciplinary action while expressing support for the employee. Or to leave someones dignity intact while terminating them. These are just a few examples of how new managers often fail.
Find out if the company will pay for any type of management training and in the meantime start picking up books and read as many as possible. You'll be more confident going into it if you get the job and you'll be better able to lead a team of good people.
One of the biggest problems in the workforce today is poor management because companies have cut out training. They promote people with no experience or skills and expect them to know how to deal with people and the issues that have to be dealt with each day. So when they're pushed to get something done and they look up and find five people standing outside their office waiting to speak to them, they get snappy. Can't do that - it's not their problem. Or they don't know how to take disciplinary action while expressing support for the employee. Or to leave someones dignity intact while terminating them. These are just a few examples of how new managers often fail.
Find out if the company will pay for any type of management training and in the meantime start picking up books and read as many as possible. You'll be more confident going into it if you get the job and you'll be better able to lead a team of good people.
Good luck!
this is a brilliant point;
My company offers multiple classes to those who aspire to be managers, new managers and even those who are tenured. We are also urged to network within and outside the company.
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Of course over the years I've learned that the sysadmin field is almost viewed like the janitorial staff sometimes... they are there to keep things working and fix things that break, but the Network Admins (especially Cisco), Software Developers and Engineers, etc. get the glory.
In general I really don't hide my thoughts either, which most of my previous managers and directors praised.. even when I let them know they promised more than we could do or their ideas were too far-fetched to make work.
