Is becoming a CIO right for me?
The first step to choosing a career is to make sure you are actually willing to commit to pursuing the career. You don’t want to waste your time doing something you don’t want to do. If you’re new here, you should read about:
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How to become a CIO
The road to becoming a CIO can be long and quite competitive. Experience and educational requirements can vary, however, the universal traits of an effective CIO include a strategic mind, leadership ability, excellent communication skills, and a firm grasp of both technology and business.
Many companies prefer their CIO to have a Master's Degree in Business Administration or Management Information Systems. This makes sense considering the complexity of IT budgets and processes - master's programs are designed to simulate the business, financial and technology challenges individuals will face in the real world.
Candidates typically need a decade or more of relevant experience to be considered for a CIO position. That being said, with the breakneck speed of IT innovation, and a booming start-up culture that's producing some serious young talent, the average age (and therefore the experience level) of CIOs is expected to dip in coming years.