Runninghead:BUSINESSTECHNOLOGYMANAGERTERMPROJECT

BusinessTechnologyManagerTermProject
JoshuaCameronBrand
SaltLakeCommunityCollege


BUSINESSTECHNOLOGYMANAGERTERMPROJECT

BusinessTechnologyManagerTermProject
ThroughoutthetermIhaveresearchedthecareerpathofbecomingabusinesstechnology
manager.Ichosetoresearchthiscareerbecauseitcombinestwoofmyinterestsbusinessand
technology,andissomethingImaybeinterestedinasacareerchoiceforthefuture.Sincethisis
acareerpathImightactuallypursue,Iwantedtoknowwhatspecificallywhatabusiness
technologymanagerdoesonadailybasisandwhattypeofeducationandexperienceisrequired
tobecomeaBTM.OneofthebiggestsourcesofinformationformewasapersonalinterviewI
wasabletohavewithJasonBrandwhoiscurrentlyabusinesstechnologymanagerateBay.I
alsotooktimetoresearchonlinewhatthefutureislikeforabusinesstechnologymanagerand
howapersoncouldbecomeaBTM.
JobDescription:
Abusinesstechnologymanagerissomeonewhomanagesemployeesthatareworking
withanddevelopingtechnology(Rouse,para1.)WhatseparatesaBTMfromotherformsof
managementisthattheyhaveanunderstandingofboththebusinessandthetechnicalsideofa
company.Oneofthemainresponsibilitiesofabusinesstechnologymanageristoreviewthe
workofothersandmakesuretheworkisalignedwithwhatthecompanyistryingtodo.Whena
businesstechnologymanagerispresentedwithanideathatalignswiththecompanysgoals,
theythenbeginbuildingateamofemployeesthattheyfeelcangetthejobdone.(Brand,2016.)
Sincebusinesstechnologymanagersarealwaysdealingwithpeople,theyshouldhaveeffective
communicationskillsandknowhowtobothpraise,andrespectfullyrejectideas.Inaddition,a
BTMneedstoknowwhatthecompanyslongtermandshorttermgoalsare,aswellaswhatthe
companyiscurrentlytryingtoachieve.


BUSINESSTECHNOLOGYMANAGERTERMPROJECT

Anotherresponsibilityofabusinesstechnologymanageristomanagethetimeand
resourcesthatarespentonvariousprojects.Theywilloftenhavetoplanwhichpeoplewillbe
workingonwhichprojectsandmanageexpectationsofwhenaprojectwillbecompleted.Jason
Brandgavemeagoodexampleofthisinmyinterviewwithhimwhenhesaid,Imaywantto
giveaprojecttoacertainpersonbuttheymayalreadybebookedonotherprojects.Iwouldhave
theresponsibilitytosetexpectationswithotherpeoplethattheycouldstartworkingonaproject
whentheybecomeavailable.(Brand,2016.)ThisshowsthatifIwanttobecomeabusiness
technologymanager,Iwillhavetodevelopbettertimemanagementskillsnotonlyformyself
butforthosethatIwouldbemanaging.
Businesstechnologymanagersoftenspendalotoftimecreatingassignmentsfor
projects,andabigpartofthatischoosingpeoplethatcanhelp.Somethingthattheyneedto
considerwhenchoosingpeopleforateamiswhichpeoplearegoingtogivethebestresults,and
whichpeoplehavetheskillstocompleteaproject.Forexample,someoneworkingasabusiness
technologymanagerwouldwanttoassignaprojectthatrequiresalotofwebsitedevelopment
skillstoanemployeewiththepropertrainingandexperiencewithwebdevelopmenttogive
goodresults.However,inmyinterviewwithJasonBrandheremindedmethatgettingthefastest
resultsisnottheonlyfactorindeterminingwhoisassignedtoaspecificprojectwhenhesaid,
...itisimportanttohelppeoplegrowanddeveloptheirskillsbycrosstrainingthemwith
someonewhohasexperiencewithacertain[task].Iwillsometimesgiveaprojectto
someonewhodoesnthavealltheskillsrequired,butIwillpartnerthemwithsomeone
whoknowswhattodo.(Brand,2016.)


BUSINESSTECHNOLOGYMANAGERTERMPROJECT

Oneofthebestqualitiesofaneffectiveleaderisbeingabletohelpdeveloptheskillsofothers
andhelpinggrowthepeoplearoundyou.ThisissomethingthatIhadntreallythoughtofasa
responsibilityofaBTMbeforeinterviewingJason,butIdefinitelyseetheadvantageofthisand
understandwhythishelpsmakehimsuchaneffectivemanagerhimself.
Itisalsotheresponsibilityofabusinesstechnologymanagerandreallyanytypeof
managertopairemployeeswithtasksandassignmentsthatfittheirneeds.Thismeansthatan
employeeshouldhaveenoughwork,andworkofahighenoughdifficultythattheyfeel
challengedandimportanttotheoverallsuccessofthecompany.Atthesametime,amanager
needstomakesuretheyarentoverworkingtheiremployeesorgivingthemsuchdifficultwork
thattheyfeeloverburdenedandbegintodisliketheirjob.
GeneralCareerPath:
Themajorityofpeoplewhobecomebusinesstechnologymanagersdonotstartoutthere.
AlargeportionofthepeoplewhoendupbecomingaBTMstartoutonthetechnologysideand
learnleadershipskillsastheyworkonprojectstogetherwithotheremployees.Peoplecangain
leadershipskillsinavarietyofotherwaysaswell,schoolingandcertificationbeyondthe
technicalsideinfieldslikebusinessandmanagementcanbeahugeboosttotheirskillsand
makeemployeesmoredesireableforaleadershippositionsuchasaBTM(BusinessTechnology
Management,2015,para3.)Peopleoftenalsolearnleadershipskillsfromnetworkingand
findingmentorsthatcanhelpthemadvancetheircareers.
GeneralEducationExperience:
Formostentrylevelbusinesstechnologymanagementpositions,employersusually
requireaminimumofaBachelorsDegreeandoftenpreferacandidatewhohasaMasters


BUSINESSTECHNOLOGYMANAGERTERMPROJECT

Degreeorhigher.AccordingtoStudy.com,someofthedegreefieldsthataremostrelevantto
beingabusinesstechnologymanagerare,...computerscience,informationscience,
managementinformationsystems,or[another]relatedfield.(Study.com,para3.)Itisimportant
toconsiderboththefieldandthetypeofdegreewhendecidingacareerpathtofollow.
Anotherformofeducationthatcouldbeusefulorevenrequiredtobecomeabusiness
technologymanagerisSigmaSixcertification.Thiscertificationteacheswaystoidentify
problemswithinasystemandmakechangestoimproveefficiencywithinaprocessora
company(WhatisSigmaSix,para3.)TherearevariousdifferentlevelsofSigmaSixtraining
thatgobyabeltsystemwithblackbeltbeingthehighestdegreeofcertificationavailable.Jason
BrandforexampleiscertifiedasagreenbeltintheSigmaSix.
ProjectmanagementcertificationalsoknownasPMIcertificationisanothertypeof
training/certificationthatcouldbeusefulforabusinesstechnologymanager.Thiscertification
helpsteachpeoplehowtoeffectivelymanageprojects,time,resources,andpeople.Italso
teachestheskillsrequiredtokeeptrackofpeoplesworkandmakesureeverythinggetsdonethe
rightwayandontime(ProjectManagementInstitute,2015,para4.)Thistrainingisveryuseful
foraBTMtohavebecausetheyareconstantlygivingpeopleassignments,andbeingableto
effectivelyunderstandwhathasbeendoneandwhatstillneedstogetdoneiscrucial.
AverageSalary:
Thesalaryofabusinesstechnologymanagerobviouslydependsonavarietyofdifferent
factorssuchaswhothecompanyis,theregion,thelevelofeducationpossessed,andwhatkind
ofexperienceapersonhas.Glassdoorestimatesthattheaveragesalaryofbusinesstechnology
managersintheUnitedStatesisaround$112,000peryear(Glassdoor,2016,para1.)However,


BUSINESSTECHNOLOGYMANAGERTERMPROJECT

thisincludesdatafrompeoplewithawidevarietyofexperienceinthecareer.Theaveragesalary
ofsomeonewhoisfirstenteringthecareerwouldprobablymakelessthanthisnationalaverage.
JasonBrandtoldmethatherecentlyhiredanewemployeewhowasintrainingtobecomea
BTMandhissalarywas$65,000whichisquiteabitlowerthanthenationalaverage(Brand,
2016.)
CareerOutlook:
Thefutureforthiscareerisbright,aseverydaymoreandmoretechnologyisbeing
developed.TechnologycompanieslikeGoogle,Amazon,andeBayarecontributingtoabigger
andbiggerportionoftheeconomyandusageintheworld.Aslongasnewproductsandservices
arebeingmadeandofferedbypeople,therewillbeaneedformanagerstooverseetheworkand
makesureeverythingisbeingdoneproperly.Inaddition,theskillsrequiredfor,anddeveloped
inthiscareerareonesthatareverytransferableandcanbeusedinawidevarietyofotherjobs.
Soifsomething
were
tohappenthatwouldmakethiscareeranunnecessaryone,theskillsand
knowledgepossessedcouldbeusedtogetjobsinotherfields.
BioofJasonBrand:
JasonisacurrentlybusinesstechnologymanagerateBay.JasonhasaBachelorsDegree
inbusinesswithaconcentrationininformationsystems.Hehasbeenworkingasabusiness
technologymanagerateBayforalittleoverfouryears.PriortothatheworkedatAmerican
Expressonvarioustechnologyprojectsforoversixteenyears.Jasontoldmethatheisasigma
sixgreenbeltandhasyearsofpreviousexperienceasaprojectmanager.(Brand,2016.)


BUSINESSTECHNOLOGYMANAGERTERMPROJECT

ProsandConsoftheCareer:
Someoftheprosofthiscareerarethatyougettoworkwithandunderstandboththe
businessandthetechnicalsideofacompany.Inaddition,withthiscareeryougettomakea
differenceinacompany'ssuccessandgettoseetangibleresults,whilealsohelpingdevelopand
growtheskillsofthepeoplearoundyou.Thiscareerisalsoonethatpaysrelativelywellandwill
beneededintheforeseeablefuture.
Someoftheconsofbecomingabusinesstechnologymanageristhereisahighamount
ofschoolingandexperiencerequiredtogetapositionasaBTM.Itcanalsobedifficultattimes
becauseyouaremanagingbothpeopleandprojectsatthesametime,whichcouldleadtopeople
pressuringyoutogetdifferentthingsdone.Ialsoimagineitcouldbecomestressfultohavethat
muchresponsibilityandcontrol.
MyfitasaBTM:
Overall,IfeellikeIwouldbeagoodfittobecomeabusinesstechnologymanager
becauseofmyloveforbothtechnologyandbusiness.PriortomyresearchIdidntrealisehow
muchexperienceandschoolingisrequiredtobecomeaBTM,butIfeellikeitwoulddefinitely
beworthittogetacareerlikethis.IthinkthatIhavesomeoftheskillsrequiredforthiscareer
andfeellikeIamonagoodpathasfaraseducationgoestobecomingabusinesstechnology
manager.


BUSINESSTECHNOLOGYMANAGERTERMPROJECT

Sources:
BusinessTechnologyManagement(BTM).(2015).RetrievedApril16,2016,from
http://careermash.ca/education/businesstechnologymanagementbtm
Glassdoor.(2016,March16).BusinessTechnologyManagerSalaries.RetrievedApril18,2016,
https://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/businesstechnologymanagersalarySRCH_KO0,2
7.htm
J.Brand,PersonalCommunications,April172016
ProjectManagementInstitute.(2015).ProjectManagementProfessional(PMP).Retrieved
April19,2016,from
http://www.pmi.org/certification/projectmanagementprofessionalpmp.aspx
Rouse,M.(n.d.).Whatisbusinesstechnologymanagement(BTM)?Definitionfrom
WhatIs.com.RetrievedApril16,2016,from
http://searchcio.techtarget.com/definition/businesstechnologymanagement
Study.com.(n.d.).HowtoBecomeaBusinessTechnologyManager.RetrievedApril18,2016,
from
http://study.com/articles/How_to_Become_a_Business_Technology_Manager.html
WhatIsSixSigma?(n.d.).RetrievedApril18,2016,from
https://www.isixsigma.com/newtosixsigma/gettingstarted/whatsixsigma/