Students

MSIM accelerates careers

Alan Simon says that three scenarios cover the objectives of most students who enroll in the Master of Science in Information Management (MSIM) program. Some hope to advance in their companies. Others are looking for something different from their current career path. Still others are looking for a jump start after a break from the workplace.

2015-09-30

Alan Simon says that three scenarios cover the objectives of most students who enroll in the Master of Science in Information Management (MSIM) program. Some hope to advance in their companies. Others are looking for something different from their current career path. Still others are looking for a jump start after a break from the workplace. All courses are offered in the evening on campus or entirely online, the MSIM has turned out to be the on-ramp to a great career for many.

Simon, a senior lecturer in the Department of Information Systems, is the faculty director for the MSIM. A consultant before joining the faculty fulltime, Simon has encountered MSIM graduates in leadership and management positions all over the Phoenix area and across the country. That speaks volumes about the value of the degree, and makes for a good network, he said.

“Students see this program as a chance to turbo charge their careers,” Simon said.

The 12-month MSIM was launched in May, 2005, with the first class graduating in May 2006. In 2012, W. P. Carey added the 16-month Online MSIM, with classes starting in January and August. This fall more than 150 students are enrolled in the program.

Who they are

Because the MSIM is flexible, many of those 150 students are professionals who are seven to 10 years into their careers. “These students look around their companies and see great opportunities for advancement, but they’ve maxed out,” Simon commented. The MSIM is well-suited to these students, he said, because of the breadth and relevance of the topics in the curriculum. “The program puts them in a new light with management,” he said. “Not only are they in a master’s program — which is laudable — but they are also broadening skills the company needs.”

Others come to the program because they want to make a career change. The program’s dual focus on technology and business gives these students the reach to take on new responsibilities. For example, data analytics, which has been expanded throughout the MSIM curriculum, helps these students and others make better decisions for their companies.

Some of the students use the experience to reactivate their careers. The MSIM is a program is aimed at experienced professionals: all of the students have had a few years of full-time jobs after their undergraduate degree. Getting to know classmates is a great way to catch up with peers, Simon said, and the coursework positions them for new jobs. “They can get back into the game, but not at an entry level,” he added.

What’s perfect timing?

The decision to go back to school is individual, but many students find that similar circumstances contributed to the choice.

Keith Swanson (Online MSIM ’13) was in law enforcement, a detective who specialized in computer forensics and investigated computer crimes. A career change was in the near future, so he began to look for a master’s program that would help him make the transition. He chose W. P. Carey because of the school’s reputation and cost, and the flexibility of the online program. At the time he was working 40 to 60 hours a week, his wife was working and they had a child. “I needed something I could work into MY life, not me working into the program,” he said. Steve Sanelli (Evening MSIM ’15) was in his late 20s, working as an analyst when he realized that his ability to advance was limited without acquiring more credentials.

“I chose to go back to school because it would enable me to accrue a vast amount of knowledge in a short time,” he explained. He chose the MSIM because of the program’s strong reputation and the night schedule gave him the flexibility he needed.

Maria Riggio (Online MSIM ’14) had been a government contractor, and had been on both ends of layoffs several times. “It’s an unsettling feeling,” she said. “I knew I had to ensure my employability with a stronger and more defined education, and differentiate myself from others in workforce.”

Hitting the ground running

Going to school with other experienced professionals means that the education is horizontal as well as vertical. Students report learning from each other as well as from the professors.

“It’s intriguing how a group of people can work and grow together when there is a common goal to accomplish,” Riggio said. “The intelligence, the drive, the passion of each person — professors and students alike — is more than one could expect. These are exactly the type of people one would hope to encounter in the workforce.”

Sanelli found that what he learned came in handy right away because he was able to “talk technical” at work.

“The biggest advantage of the curriculum is it changed my ability to critically think about how business and technology decisions are formulated,” he said. “I can now approach challenges with tenacity that I did not have before the MSIM.”

Often, MSIM students change jobs during or right after the program. Sanelli was hired by Microsoft as an associate consultant in the Enterprise Mobility Center of Excellence. Swanson has left law enforcement and is an advisor to security operations in IT at CVS Health. He is also starting a consulting practice.

Riggio was laid off from her contracting position in the last few months of the program. Because she was articulate talking about her new expertise, she landed a job in a new field.

On a flight from Baltimore she had a long conversation with the passenger sitting next to her.

“For two hours we discussed data and information management, large data repositories, the strategic value of information technology, Watson and cognitive computing, business intelligence, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), drones and robotics, information-enabled business modeling … and many other topics — topics that had something to do with the degree program I had just finished!” she said. At the end of the flight her new acquaintance emailed his boss about her.

“Two weeks later, I had a brand new career,” she said.

Riggio is a senior manager in emerging technologies and innovations at Exelon Corporation, one of the nation’s largest electric utilities companies. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and robotics are her primary focus.

All three of these alumni stay in touch with the Department of Information Systems.

“The one thing that has been exceptionally valuable is the continued relationship with several professors that has extended beyond the classroom,” Sanelli said. “They want to know our experiences in the real world to continue to bring those success stories and relevant information back to future cohorts.”

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