Hot MBA Jobs: IT Manager / Director

What About an MS in IT or an MS in Information Management?

You may think of them as similar, but in fact these degrees are very, very different. Essentially, an MBA in IT is a business degree, focusing more on operations and management. An MS in IT is a technology-driven degree.

Meanwhile, an MS in IM focuses more on running information systems, software and hardware, while an MBA in information technology is a business degree grooming candidates to manage the people who are looking over those systems.

Got It. Any other Reasons Why Pursuing an MBA Is a Good Move for Me?

Thomas MacKay, the assistant director of IT at Christopher Newport University, believes that an MBA education provides communication skills and training in pragmatic, analytical thinking—all very important skills for tech executives to have. He outlined a 10-point argument in favor of earning an MBA to CIO. Here are a few examples:

It teaches you to think like a business person

An MBA teaches you to look at problems and opportunities holistically. It also provides analytical frameworks, such as risk assessments, cost-benefit analyses and strategic plans, that you can apply to any problem or opportunity you encounter, whether in or beyond IT. The business mindset that an MBA gives you becomes habit because you use those frameworks repeatedly in a rigorous academic environment and you see how they can be applied in a variety of situations from one course to another.

An MBA better prepares you to solve business problems

We’re in the process of implementing credit card processing on campus at Christopher Newport University. When we are discussing the impact credit card processing will have on the general ledger and the reconciliation process, I’m not lost. Because I studied accounting in business school, I can assist with technical and process automation solutions because I know what the university is trying to accomplish, what can be automated and what needs to be reviewed and audited. Thus, I’ve made meaningful contributions to this project.

You will communicate better with your business colleagues

Finally, the MBA experience will change the language you use in conversation with business people. Before I got my MBA I’d enter a conversation by asking, “How can we solve this problem with technology?” Now I start by saying, “How does it make sense to solve this problem?” because technology isn’t the solution to every problem.

Great! Which Schools Have the Best Programs for an MBA in IT Management?

There are plenty of great programs out there for prospective MBAs looking to break into the IT management field. CIO named the following schools the 10 most tech-centric MBA programs:

1. Sloan School of Management
2. Tepper School of Business
3. McCombs School of Business
4. Carlson School of Management
5. Robert H. Smith School of Business
6. The Wharton School
7. Eller College of Management
8. Leonard N. Stern School of Business
9. Stanford Graduate School of Business
10. J. Mack Robinson College of Business

For more information on mba career options, mba career paths, highest paying mba jobs, and entry level mba jobs, make sure to check out the other stories in our Hot MBA Jobs series: Product Manager, Logistician, and Operations Research Analyst.

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