What an IT manager really does
You run the team that keeps a company's technology working, and you spend your days deciding what gets done, by whom, and with what money.
FieldTech and design
Preparation (O*NET Job Zone)Considerable preparation needed
What the work involves
What fills a typical week for IT managers, built from O*NET occupation data.
- Set the week's priorities for your team and decide who works on what.
- Meet with department heads and vendors to sort out problems and get cooperation.
- Review project plans and progress, and step in when something slips.
- Manage the budget, approve purchases and compare vendor quotes.
- Make sure security, backups and disaster recovery are covered.
- Hire, coach and support your staff, including hard conversations.
- Still jump in on technical problems when the team is short.
What the days are like
What people in the job know
- You decide much of your own agenda, which also means nobody tells you what to drop. Determine tasks, priorities and goals: 83% a lot of freedom (O*NET Work Context)
- Your results are your team's results; you are judged on work you did not do yourself. Work outcomes and results of other workers: 70% very high responsibility; Coordinate or lead others: 64% extremely important (O*NET Work Context)
- Conflict is a weekly part of the job, between departments, vendors and your own staff. Frequency of conflict situations: 47% once a week or more but not every day (O*NET Work Context)
- You make decisions all day and the weeks run long. Frequency of decision making: 45% every day; Duration of typical work week: 65% more than 40 hours (O*NET Work Context)
- Even as a manager you still help users with technical problems. 'Provide users with technical support for computer problems', importance 75, Core, rank 5 (O*NET Tasks)
How people get into it
Job Zone 4. In O*NET's survey 48% say a bachelor's degree is required, 26% some college and 14% a master's degree. Nearly everyone gets here after years in a technical IT role such as support, systems administration or development, then a team lead position.
The Firstday trial, easy to hard
Three simulated tasks at Ashby Hollow Foods, a fictional company, with AI coworkers who message you, react to your work and coach with questions. Nobody scores you.
What the trial can't show: The trial cannot show the long arc of managing people: months of coaching, hiring rounds, performance reviews and building trust. Budgets, vendors and staff are simplified, and you do not see the hands on technical work your team does. A real IT manager also attends many more meetings than a trial can hold.
Reading about it is one thing.
Find out how the work feels to you before you spend on a degree, course or job change. Your first trial is free.
Other careers you can try
Job details on this page are built from O*NET OnLine, 11-3021.00. This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.