Moving from IT Management to Training / Consulting

Hello all,

I'm new to the forums, and so far, I am quite impressed with the quality of the threads and the eagerness of folks to offer up sound advice.

Currently, I'm employed as an IT manager (ERP), and have 15 years of experience in the field. I hold a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science/Math (Interdisciplinary), and a Master of Arts degree in Management. Over time, I have accumulated a few terms of community college teaching experience and hope to have the opportunity to teach again. Yesterday, I completed my application to teach at a local college, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

I'm slowly moving toward the instruction side of IT, and this is mostly due to personal choice. It boils down to what I'm doing versus what I would rather be doing. Life is short. Moreover, I'm not satisfied in my current work environment and feel the need to make a change.

I have two colleagues that have motivated and inspired me to consider this: One is an Oracle consultant, who, years ago, held one of the early Oracle certifications. She has since let that lapse, but with her curriculum writing and teaching experience, she claims she doesn't really need it.

The second is a Microsoft Trainer that held somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 certifications. She taught for a local training center, but has since moved on to better things.

Both were excellent, not only in terms of their pure intellect, but also in their manner of conveying ideas and inspiring others to be better professionals.

So at this point, I consider myself in the discovery phase of this change. I already work in higher education, have teaching experience, have climbed the IT ladder, and hold the degrees. But, I believe I should narrow my focus in order to make this both doable and worthwhile.

The technology platforms that I manage include IBM AIX, Windows Server 03/08, SQL Server 2005, network backup systems, and various Java apps. My desire is to stay with the server/database side, if at all possible, because I haven't programmed seriously in years. Plus, I believe that in order to effectively teach a modern programming language, one should probably earn the required number of graduate hours in CS/CIS/MIS according to the regional accreditation board. From where I am, I rarely see folks teach programming classes outside of academia, and when they do, it is very basic syntax.

Do any of you have a feeling about where the market is leaning right now? Do any of you do what I am considering?

Many thanks in advance!