Project managers organize teams of people to accomplish a specific goal, or project, for companies and other organizations. If you’re organized, intrigued by people, and ready to take on a larger role in your career, project management might be a good fit. If you have managed schedules, led teams, developed Gantt charts, and worked through the full project life-cycle, then you may be in a position to apply for project manager roles. It’s easy to undervalue the competency set they already hold, but you may be more experienced in project management than you think. If you’ve been the go-to person in a project to reorganise an office, or have been given the role of leading work towards a new compliance audit, then you may have built many of the skills involved in project management. To begin a career as a project manager, you need to gain new competencies, understand project management approaches and methodologies, and complete project manager certifications.
Agile and Scrum are also much sought-after qualifications and have particular relevance in software development and other incremental IT projects. As a project manager, you will be tackling complex problems and planning multiple streams of work on a daily basis. It takes a good amount of experience to feel comfortable working on a busy, multi-department project. It takes even more experience to be able to lead the project and manage all stakeholders through the process towards successful completion.
Networking opportunities
On the flipside, maybe you haven’t had much exposure to some of the other knowledge areas, like risk management or stakeholder management. In that case, you know exactly what you need to focus on to gain the experience you need to become a more well-rounded project manager. Discover the essentials of becoming a project manager in 2024 with our comprehensive guide, covering skills, certifications, https://remotemode.net/ and practical tips. There is more than one route to becoming a project management professional. Starting salaries for project managers in the UK typically range from £20,000 to £35,000, with higher wages often found in the construction and IT industries. You can gain experience of organising events, running projects and campaigns and leading teams by joining clubs and societies at university.
- Now that you know why project management is so important and you understand what a project manager actually does, you might be wondering how you can become a project manager yourself.
- Project managers in the U.S. earn a median annual salary of $115,000, according to a 2022 jobs report by PMI.
- Discover the essentials of becoming a project manager in 2024 with our comprehensive guide, covering skills, certifications, and practical tips.
Look for internships as a junior or assistant project manager in sectors of interest – for example, in the IT industry you could apply to work with a major employer such as Microsoft. Alternatively, you could gain experience in construction with Mott MacDonald. This shows that there are lots of things to do as a project manager. Thankfully, there are plenty of courses available where you can study for a certification and develop the knowledge and skills required of project management. At times you need to be technical and have communications with engineers or IT professionals.
Project Manager Salary and Job Outlook
Not all project manager roles are formally labelled project management. You may have been a coordinator, an office manager, or had another job title. If you have had three years of combined experience doing project management activities, you can take the project management professional (PMP) certification. This will open up new doors to project management in full-time and contract roles. Whatever path you’re hoping to take, here are six steps you should consider to become a project manager.
- Also check out our guides on how to get PMP certification and CAPM certification requirements.
- As mentioned earlier, many project managers work their way up into management from more junior project roles.
- If you’re organized, intrigued by people, and ready to take on a larger role in your career, project management might be a good fit.
- If you find you have quite a bit of experience already, you may be ready to apply for project manager positions, or approach your manager to state your interest in becoming one.
You might also need to log more practical hours as well as make time for all the book-learning. If you’ve ever planned, led, budgeted, scheduled, or documented the progress of a project, you’ve done some elements of project management. Though you might not have thought of it as project management at the time, your past experiences may have given you some exposure to the skills you’ll need as a project manager. Attending events and networking can help you learn from other project professionals across a variety of sectors and develop your career potential.
Preparing to sit your interview under the previous standard?
Some project managers are generalists who work in all business-related fields and are comfortable executing projects for clients in a variety of industries. However, many project managers choose to focus on fields like construction, real estate, information technology, sustainability and transportation. The Project Management Professional (PMP) is a certification offered by the Project Management Institute (PMI), the leading global organization for project management professionals. Here’s an overview of some of the most popular degrees for project managers to help start your formal project manager education.
Project management is among the most valuable skill sets in the current job landscape. You will also find career news, advice, resources, events and opportunities within the project management industry. You can get into general project management with any degree, although courses in business or project management are particularly useful.
Perhaps consider completing a project management certification as a way to demonstrate your commitment to project management and to build your knowledge and competencies. The Project Management Professional qualification specifies three years of project experience as an enrolment criterion. If you have the experience and can do the qualification, then this can set you up for more complex project roles. As a project manager, you will bring a team together to achieve the specific goals of a project. You’ll need to be highly organised, have great people skills and be able to make strategic decisions in order to succeed in this key organisational role.
