Career advice: Preparing for after the recession

I've come to realize that the IT department I joined last fall is the most dysfunctional place I've ever worked. Communication skills are practically non-existent. I'm an IT director, so I obviously can't do much to heal the organization from my middling position, although I am trying to do the best with my little part of the IT world and be a good example for other leaders in the department. Clearly, I failed in my due diligence before I made this move, but what's my best option now? I used to spend a lot of energy (and a lot of sleepless nights) trying to change things and people that were really outside of my control. Now I focus on trying to improve myself and my team. I've found that over time, if my team and I are functioning well, then it tends to be contagious, and other people and groups start picking up our traits.

Of course, some situations are so bad that no matter what you do, it is just bad news, and not healthy. There is no sense being miserable. If this is one of those situations where there is no real hope, then I would continue to do the best job I could, while actively looking around for something better. It used to be that people who moved around a lot were viewed negatively. Now, in many cases, candidates who have experience in different jobs and companies are looked at favorably, as long as the job hopping is not extreme. I don't think a shift from a bad situation is going to hurt your career.

Having lost my job early in the recession, and with no luck in finding something new, I've decided to ride out the storm by going back to school. (I have a wonderful wife who is making this possible.) I have been working in networking for years and am up to date with all the gear in that area. Any suggestions on areas of study? Depending on your interests, I would consider one of two tracks. The first track is to stay technical. If that's your choice, I would consider moving "up the stack" and learning more about servers, storage, service-orientated architecture, virtualization, etc. The line between pure networking and other skill sets/technologies in the IT infrastructure space is getting blurred. It's tough to only have one skill set these days. Combining networking skills with virtualization, for example, should be a high-demand combination. Alternatively, you could move into IT security. People with good security skills always seem to be in demand. Threats from hackers are increasing at an alarming rate, and good security folks are hard to find. Combining networking skills with security skills would be another high-demand skill set in the technical specialist area.

If you want to take a different route, the second track is an MBA or similar degree. Such degrees are very valuable. Folks that have good business skills, combined with excellent technical skills, make great IT managers, IT architects, IT project managers, etc. I always look for that skill combination when I am hiring.

One final note: Develop your communication skills. The courses in college that had the most benefit long term on my career were the business writing and public speaking courses I took. Being able to communicate well will help your career regardless of whether you stay technical or move closer to the business side of IT.