What qualities to you look for when hiring for your team? The ability to work with others is a key requirement in today’s team oriented environment. Another is the ability to look at IT as a service and understand how we support the business, even if a person is an infrastructure specialist. Everything and everyone supports the business, not just functional analysts.
I’ve been in law enforcement for over ten years, and my opportunities to advance have been slim. My position is secure, with good benefits. Unfortunately, this position also provides me with no challenges. There is a firm that is hiring in my area that will accept applicants with a bachelor’s degree and will train you on the job. I have a good background in IT, especially hardware. Should I give up a sure thing to pursue an IT or project manager position in this economy? The IT market has certainly picked up in the past year. IT can be a very challenging and rewarding area and I feel that opportunity abounds. On the job training is a great way to get the basics and get in on the ground floor. There is a groundswell of projects that were delayed over the past couple of years with the recession that are now starting to come back to life. While there are no guarantees, I would say that this would be a good career move.
In an increasingly cloud -based world, what skills will be in most demand in years to come? We have to look at the two cloud environments. Public clouds do alleviate the need for server support, but you still need strong security and firewall expertise. With a private cloud, you will actually require stronger support skills with the advanced technical capabilities that make up that environment. This includes Virtual Machine support from the server side, storage expertise, networking skills, and a good architect as well as security and firewall expertise.