How to make the jump

According to my experience, all the certificates are mostly insignificant when it comes to change from pro to manger. Usually you have to find a boss, whom you are willing to support and who is willing to support you (and present yourself favourablyto such a boss - be it a specific project or open position). But first check if you really would want to fight with personal issues - you will need to survive not only you-boss relationship, but also you will need to MANAGE your prospective team - ask yourself, will you be able to do this without nervous breakdown? But really, the essence is proper networking - you must be in right place in right time and to have possibility to talk to right people. Otherwise, it's just blind chance...

If you don't have a 4 year degree, then you definitely need one. Almost any degree will do, but I would concentrate on an engineering related degree or business/commerce degree. If you already have a 4 year degree, then you should take a different approach. The approach I took was to simply interview for management level jobs. The first few interviews told me where my weaknesses were. Then I adjusted my interview process. I focused on the issues managers are concerned with, like customer satisfaction, ability to lead teammembers and my understanding of budgets and financial matters. What I found out was that my technical skills were a give from my experience, but management has little to do with technical expertise, as the people I manage are now the "experts".

Charles

A degree would make the move to a managerial position more justifiable, especially if your immediate boss needs to update any higher authority.
Being an engineer is different from being a manager. The former requires mainly skills and knowledge andthe latter requires management skills. Which one do you think you are more capable of? Then that's where you should continue on your path.

I say work on your skills in both areas. It does nothing but help. You may want to look at project management - that's the logical step. Here's what I'm talking about - You continue to work on your technical skills (Yes by all means sit for the CISSP, go to the SANS Institute, etc..) and then move to a technical lead position.. Then, Really work at taking some Project Management classes, and improving these skills - and then show management that you can work with people by doing the technical work in a project environment - which involves a LOT of people skills. Once you've shown that you can really work well with people and make technical decisions you are most likely going to be able to make the move. So I say it isn't going to be a jump, but more likely a slow transition which is made by continuing to strengthen skills in various areas. There's lots of books on leadership out there... Unfortunately I don't think you can just concentrate on one thing. You really have to begood at more than one...

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