Hi guys

I know this might not be the best place to ask but yeah needs some advice on this please from anyone in this industry especially from recruitment standpoint, lol not looking for a job per se, just want to know what is the next step to further my career, please PM me please, would highly appreciate the honest advice

It depends. I have started many yeas ago in an IT specific career.

I gradually moved out of IT specific work, but as I work for myself I see that almost everything you touch project wise is IT related in some way or has an IT component to it.

Your career trajectory is based on you.

Your age.
Your skill set in terms of the really hard technical shit
Your soft skills.
Your leadership skills be it natural and learned

So I guess what I want to say it depends on you

If your highly skilled technically but have shitty people skills, you can learn to work on them but you will always be a bit stressed because it is not your comfort zone. So be open and truthful to yourself. Don't think career progression means going into management.

Dealing with people issues does not equate to more money.

There is a caveat in my statement as I have seen a lot of companies promote excellent techies into management roles because the companies do not have a clear career path for their techies. 9 out of 10 times these guys are then well remunerated but seriously unhappy or out of their depth

I spend roughly 2x more on the technical individuals I employ than the people managing the technical guys.

Just a few random thoughts having s beer at the pub while waiting for some mates to arrive

Hope it helps

Go to pnet , find the top paying it jobs, look at the skill they are paying for , SAP, big data , oracle , Cisco, togaf, prince2.. google details, find the one that interests you the most and then take the 5 day course in that technology from the supplier, probably cost about 20 grand, then start applying for those jobs...

Thanks for the advice guys, really appreciate it

I spent 35 years in the IT industry. Just remember that it is a continual learning process as technology changes rapidly. It is also, an industry that by the time you are 50 you are past your sell by date, so provide adequately whilst you can.