I'm so sick of project management. I'm trying to get out of IT project management (and the IT industry as a whole) and into something different, but I'm a bit stuck. My qualifications are all IT industry related (Novell, Microsoft, CompTIA, etc.) and the only thing I've been told I could possibly get into is change management. But alas, I'd be back in project management if I go the change management route.Has anyone got any advice on what I can do? I'm 30 years old and looking to change careers. I'm interested in the HR field, but I don't have the necessary qualifications to move into HR. Any other fields a consultancy would be interested in employing me in?

I'd give some serious thought to an MBA.... It's a well-recognised way to effect a career change (skills boost, support of a careers service, builds a network, etc.), albeit an expensive one.

But how would an MBA help me move into an HR role? MBA seems to be more strategic in nature?

Not true - an MBA that is worth the name should be reasonably broad and include considerable content in areas such as HR and Organisational Behaviour as well as things such as Governance and Strategy. Also not all MBAs are the same, each school has a different focus and perspective. Check out the sylabuses on the websites of a few B schools.

Hello. You could focus initially on an HR IT role and then aim to move sideways once you have some solid HR exp under your belt. This kind of thing: http://www.totaljobs.com/JobSearch/JobDetails.aspx?JobId=17743063&Keywords=systems&Industry=5&AndOr=0&Sort=2 Of course, moving into HR is going to mean a potential pay cut - IT tends to be more lucrative.

yes, IT is more lucrative, but when you don't enjoy what you do, why stick around hoping it will change.Thanks for the link and advice RecruitGal. I'll take a look..ppt and me, can you tell me what B schools you can suggest I look into? I saw some info regarding Open Uni on this forum. What do you think of them as an MBA offering?Wouldn't it be better to do a degree in HR? I don't have a first degree. But I understand some MBA programs offer "bridging" programs to get access to an MBA program. Advice anyone?

Q1 I dont know off the top of my head which B schools would be better for that side of things. I would have a look at faculties and see which ones seem to have people who are well regarded in organisational behviour, look at which emphasise these subjects in their course outlines and also read up on them and find out about which are known to specialise in these areas. Q2 This may be controversial, but I wouldn't bother with an OU MBA. I would have thought if it is specific skill you want it is probably fine, however if you want to do a career change you need a big name B school (top 5-10 UK being a minimum). Q3 There are specific masters you could do and I know people doing masters in personnel which will also allow them to be CIPD acredited - which is often a pre-requisite for HR consulting. As to which route would be better? I really dont know as I have not either qualification nor tried to change my career in this way, however I would think that it depends on whether you want to do straight HR consulting or are going to try and do more culture change and organisation design work. Q4 No first degree is not in itself a barrier, but this depends on the B school. I think most are far sighted enough to realise that there are talented people out there who have not got undergraduate degrees. You will clearly have to demonstrate professional achievement to compensate though. Finally this is all just my opinion - I would take advice from as many people as you can before jumping.

Thanks for that ppt.I've just taken a look at the OU website, and I see they offer an open route to the MSc in HR management. If no degree, then they say I can do Professional Certificate in Management in year 1, Professional Diploma in Management in year 2, and then I'd get access to the MSc in HR Management in year 3. Take a look at the webpage and tell me what you guys think. It seems very focused which is what I'd need to move into another career, don't you think. http://www3.open.ac.uk/courses/bin/p12.dll?Q01F40_4_0Also, is there a website I can look at to see the B school rankings?

I am not really in a position to comment on the appropriateness of the course. The key league tables I would refer to are the FT top 100 (www.ft.com) and the Economist Intelligence Unit's league table (www.eiu.com).

Hi, I want to join the band too. Have you got any interesting suggestion?CheersJyoti

hi thereone alternative step - depending on your current company (size, policies etc.) is to consider moving into HR within this company. Consider: Are there any openings in your companys HR-side - the fact that you know the business side may make you more attractive if you stay in the same business (I assume consulting) and still is willing to move into a "less lucrative" position. So in short: look for an HR position where you can argue "I may not be your strongest HR-person - but on the other hand I could address HR from the business side"