Matthew Moran - Building Your I.T. Career: A Complete Toolkit for a Dynamic Career in Any Economy

A Complete Toolkit for a Dynamic Career in Any Economy

Matthew Moran

Building Your I.T. Career: A Complete Toolkit for a Dynamic Career in Any Economy

Copyright 2013 by Matthew Moran

All rights reserved. No part of this book shall be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher. No patent liability is assumed with respect to the use of the information contained herein. Although every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher and author assume no responsibility for errors or omissions. Nor is any liability assumed for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein.

ISBN-13: 978-0-7897-4943-7
ISBN-10: 0-7897-4943-2

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data is on file.

Printed in the United States of America

First Printing: February 2013

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Matthew Moran is a business coach and technology consultant with more than 20 years of experience. He began his career as a data entry clerk at Blue Cross of California (Anthem). Over the next 6 years, he created a variety of database systems and a large automated document assembly system. The success of this system led to several consulting engagements in the healthcare and legal industries.

His consulting focuses on business-centric application development, with a focus on workflow automation. His clients include Northrop Grumman, HealthNet, Power-one, Maracay Homes, Waste Management, Primerica Financial, and others.

He coaches I.T. departments on concept over process, a business-focused methodology for more proactive and solution-oriented technologies. He also coaches entrepreneurs and small businesses on matters of I.T., content strategies, online presence, and social media.

He is a keynote and workshop presenter, speaking to colleges, professional organizations, and I.T. groups. He is also a songwriter and performer, performing solo and with his band.

He lives in Los Angeles, California, with his youngest daughter and their three dogs.

I want to thank my editor, Mary Beth, for seeing enough in my articles to track me down and for patiently listening to all my tangential stories during our phone calls. Thank you for second (and third) chances.

A special thanks to Barbara Lynch, my boss, at Blue Cross. Thank you for putting up with my eccentricities and allowing me to create solutions for you for five years. I learned as much during those years as any time in my life.

To everyone at Pearson, Prentice Hall, and Cisco Pressin particular, Chris Cleveland for saying I was a good writer. All my bravado and pseudoconfidence stripped away, that is something every writer yearns to hear from an editor.

Thank you to my past employers, clients, mentors, and peersyou have been my best professors. I hope to continue to learn from you for many years to come. Kevin and Lori, thank you for believing I have something to say. Ill keep working on that.

Finally, most of all, thank you to the readers, students, and instructors who read the book, sent me e-mails, asked me questions, and encouraged the new edition. Scott, that means you!

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In 2002, I started writing some articles for Power Media Group. During that same time, I occasionally posted on the CramSession.com discussion boardsprimarily focusing on the career and job discussions.

The response to my articles and to the posts was extremely positive. In June, I posted a question to the discussion board asking whether anyone would be interested in having me compile my prior posts and articles into a career toolkit. The response was overwhelming and led to this book.

This is not a technical book. Although this book certainly contains techniques and methods, its really about personal and professional growth. It is directed at IT professionalsboth those who are just entering the field (the newbies) and seasoned veterans who want to advance their career.

No certifications are available to guide you on many of the topics covered in this toolkit. To a large degree, they are adopted into a total working skill set that, to many, seems vague or difficult to internalize and put into practice. Pure technical skills, such as configuring a specific brand of router to perform a function or writing a program to achieve a particular end, are often more easily defined. Thats why I have framed the book as a toolkit.

I want you to see the techniques as one more set of skills to adopt in your overall career development program. They are skills, just as your particular technical skills that you will use daily over the course of your career. Similar to the way you adopt new technical skills, use the toolkit to help define those soft skills that you must learn and put to use. The result will be a more well-rounded and complete professional skill set.