ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses issues and strategies that can help Information Systems (IS) professionals to stay on top of their careers. As IS training staffs shrink, any decision to wait for supervisors or managers to provide learning opportunities and resources is a shaky strategy, because it is based on the questionable assumption that managers feel accountable for the career development of their people. Self-directed learning is learning for which the individual takes the initiative and bears the responsibility. Learning experiences can include informal but focused individual reading programs, small-group discussions on specific topics, participation in courses, and active involvement in professional association programs, perhaps by serving as a chapter officer. Organization and personal changes are increasingly driven by process and technological reengineering: rethinking and remaking the enterprise. For IS professionals to participate successfully in reengineering projects, they need to change their perceptions of themselves from technical experts on vertical applications to business partners using technology to improve enterprisewide business processes.
