"In several of my previous jobs, the IT management team reached out to the systems engineers when they were budgeting. They often sought input regarding the cost of our normal operations, specific items related to a project, or extraordinary items which would impact the team's budget. While contributing to this, I learned a lot about the budgeting process. I became familiar with how the management creates an annual operating budget and allocates funds for specific projects. As I became more adept at this, the management team gave me more responsibility for creating individual parts of the budget. I enjoy this work because it gives me a big picture view of the entire IT organization."