IT Manager In Philly Believes Business Acumen Should Drive Tech Solutions
Not only is it important to know the ins and outs of technology, but Corey Musselman - an IT Manager for Qlik in Radnor, PA - finds understanding the business aspects of the corporation helps him understand the work process and therefore his team can work more efficiently. Corey learned his business skills in his undergraduate studies and continued his education in computer science at Ursinus College.
What sort of education is needed to successfully do your job?
"Even though I am in information technology, I needed to understand the business side of the house to learn the work process our technology needs to perform. I have a Bachelor of Arts in Marketing from Messiah College and completed the CAPS program in Computer Science from Ursinus College. I learned all of the business acumen from Messiah, and the technical thinking skills from Ursinus. Management concepts are an essential part of education for career growth. Machines can only do what we tell them, they don't have desires, beliefs or convictions, but people sure do. Having an education in management concepts help me to see what others need to succeed at their job."
Do you believe education plays a vital role in landing a great job in the technology field?
"While the entry to technology has historically been through certifications, my career path was greatly improved by having the business education as the foundation. I've been very hesitant to equate certifications with education because far too often the classes attended for certifications 'teach the test' instead of 'educate the mind.' As a hiring manager, I prefer work experience over the alphabet soup behind someone's name."
What is the most relevant aspect of your education that applies to your day-to-day job?
"The greatest part of education is that you learn how to learn. Every day, I experience new technologies and business processes that are unfamiliar to me, yet my education has given me the tools to know how to study and learn those technologies and processes so I can understand them. There are few times I actually use FIFO accounting principles or set analysis of discrete math, but the way I learned to understand those concepts are part of my toolbox every day."
What is the most fun aspect of your job?
"Every day is different. Technology keeps changing and advancing, but the principles still exist. The advances are exciting and being a small part of Qlik innovations makes me proud and happy to come to work."
Christina Thompson is a freelance writer living in Philadelphia. Her work can be found at Examiner.com.
