Software manager to ICT consultant
A software manager already meets 20% of what the ICT consultant role asks for. The move turns on 18 required skills not yet in the profile.
79.5/ 100
1 How much of what an ICT consultant is expected to do is already part of a software manager’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the ICT consultant role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An ICT consultant role treats 3 of its required skills as things a software manager already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- analyse software specifications
- manage ICT project
- provide user documentation
What stands in the way is 18 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 10 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An ICT consultant role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a software manager background worth leading with.
- already held provide user documentation communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held manage ICT project management skills
- already held interact with users to gather requirements communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held identify ICT user needs information skills
- already held analyse software specifications working with computers
- already held Process-based management business, administration and law
All 10 carried skills, including the 3 the ICT consultant role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 28 missing skills fall into 10 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn analyse ICT system required
- still to learn manage changes in ICT system required
- still to learn manage standard enterprise resource planning system required
- still to learn optimise choice of ICT solution required
- still to learn solve ICT system problems required
- optional, not held use e-services optional
- still to learn provide ICT consulting advice required
- still to learn identify technological needs required
- still to learn manage contracts required
- optional, not held maintain relationship with customers optional
- still to learn keep up with the latest information systems solutions required
- still to learn verify formal ICT specifications required
- still to learn identify customer requirements required
- optional, not held keep task records optional
- still to learn ICT sales methodologies required
- still to learn legal requirements of ICT products required
- optional, not held copyright legislation optional
- still to learn create project specifications required
- still to learn define technical requirements required
- optional, not held manage ICT change request process optional
- still to learn ICT system integration required
- optional, not held ICT process quality models optional
- optional, not held software components libraries optional
- optional, not held hardware components optional
4 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an ICT consultant role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 ICT sales methodologies study this
- 02 ICT system integration study this
- 03 analyse ICT system practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 10 skills that carry over
- already held analyse software specifications skill
- already held manage ICT project skill
- already held provide user documentation skill
- already held Agile project management knowledge
- already held ICT project management methodologies knowledge
- already held Process-based management knowledge
- already held identify ICT user needs skill
- already held interact with users to gather requirements skill
- already held lean project management knowledge
- already held systems development life-cycle knowledge
The 4 learning areas not shown above
- still to learn visual presentation techniques required
- still to learn monitor system performance required
- optional, not held emergent technologies optional
- optional, not held game theory optional
10 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held ICT process quality models optional
- optional, not held maintain relationship with customers optional
- optional, not held manage ICT change request process optional
- optional, not held software components libraries optional
- optional, not held copyright legislation optional
- optional, not held emergent technologies optional
- optional, not held game theory optional
- optional, not held hardware components optional
- optional, not held keep task records optional
- optional, not held use e-services optional
38 held skills the ICT consultant role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role Android (mobile operating systems) knowledge
- not needed by the target role BlackBerry knowledge
- not needed by the target role ICT project management knowledge
- not needed by the target role ICT system user requirements knowledge
- not needed by the target role analyse ICT technical proposals skill
- not needed by the target role apply ICT system usage policies skill
- not needed by the target role apply conflict management skill
- not needed by the target role apply system organisational policies skill
- not needed by the target role coach employees skill
- not needed by the target role create software design skill
- not needed by the target role data storage knowledge
- not needed by the target role define technology strategy skill
- not needed by the target role digital systems knowledge
- not needed by the target role ensure adherence to organisational ICT standards skill
- not needed by the target role evaluate cost of software products skill
- not needed by the target role execute analytical mathematical calculations skill
- not needed by the target role give live presentation skill
- not needed by the target role iOS knowledge
- not needed by the target role manage business knowledge skill
- not needed by the target role manage data skill
- not needed by the target role manage schedule of tasks skill
- not needed by the target role manage software localisation skill
- not needed by the target role manage staff skill
- not needed by the target role manage tender processes skill
- not needed by the target role mobile operating systems knowledge
- not needed by the target role monitor ICT research skill
- not needed by the target role monitor technology trends skill
- not needed by the target role negotiate buying conditions skill
- not needed by the target role organisational policies knowledge
- not needed by the target role quality assurance methodologies knowledge
- not needed by the target role software metrics knowledge
- not needed by the target role trading software knowledge
- not needed by the target role train employees skill
- not needed by the target role unified modelling language knowledge
- not needed by the target role use ICT ticketing system skill
- not needed by the target role use an application-specific interface skill
- not needed by the target role use different communication channels skill
- not needed by the target role use methodologies for user-centered design skill
10 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn ICT sales methodologies required
- still to learn ICT system integration required
- still to learn visual presentation techniques required
- still to learn legal requirements of ICT products required
- optional, not held ICT process quality models optional
- optional, not held software components libraries optional
- optional, not held copyright legislation optional
- optional, not held emergent technologies optional
- optional, not held game theory optional
- optional, not held hardware components optional
Common questions about this move
Can a software manager become an ICT consultant?
Yes, and it is a career change move. A software manager already covers 20% of what an ICT consultant is expected to do: 10 skills carry over, 3 of which the ICT consultant role treats as required.
What skills does a software manager need to become an ICT consultant?
18 required skills are missing, plus 10 optional ones. They fall into 10 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by working with computers. The single most important is ICT sales methodologies.
How hard is the move from software manager to ICT consultant?
Its learning distance is 79.5 out of 100, which is the career change band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.