Project manager jobs require great organizational skills, motivating people, and often strong technical knowledge. Careers in project management are as demanding as they are exciting and varied. If you’re successful, the prospects are almost limitless.
Learn more about becoming a project manager and the most exciting careers in project management with our guide. We’ll cover your salary and prospects, the best educational pathways, and the huge variety of specialist roles you’ll find in this field.
Table of Contents
- What Does a Project Manager Do?
- Why Become a Project Manager?
- Types of Project Management Jobs
- How to Become a Project Manager
- Skills You Need to be a Project Manager
- Building a Strong Portfolio
- Networking and Professional Development
- Project Manager Career Growth
- Advancing Your Project Management Career
- What Companies Hire Project Managers?
- Job Searching and Interview Preparation
- Interview Questions – Examples
What Does a Project Manager Do?
A project manager is responsible for the design and execution of a project. It’s their responsibility to make sure that the project gets done on time and on budget, as well as making sure that it meets all of its goals. A project manager may perform any or all of the following:
- Project managers are responsible for overseeing projects from beginning to end, which involves
- Planning and developing new projects
- Coordinating with stakeholders
- Examining risks and appeasing concerns about them
- Monitoring progress and communicating status updates to stakeholders and people involved in the process (e.g., team members)
- Troubleshooting problems that arise throughout various phases of a project’s progression
Project Management vs Product Management
Product managers are responsible for developing and launching new products. They also handle the marketing for a company’s products. They work closely with designers, engineers and marketing managers to come up with new ideas for products or improve existing ones.
Project managers focus on the planning aspects of the project while product managers focus on innovation. They also tend to be more hands-on with day-to-day tasks while product managers tend to think about where the company is going in the future.
Project Management vs Program Management
The main differences between project management and program management are that the program manager is responsible for the implementation of programs, while the project manager looks at single projects.
A program typically has a life cycle that includes a start-up phase, a development phase, and an implementation phase. In contrast, a project has its own life cycle that is usually more compressed in time and tightly focused.
Why Become a Project Manager?
These roles require you to be a combination of visionary and realist. Your vision is important because it’s the source of all good ideas, while your realism is essential because you need to ensure that every idea is workable.
One common misconception is that project management is the same as product management. While these roles are interwoven, the key difference lies in vision vs. execution:
- A project manager is in charge of preparing work processes, budgeting, and assembling the design team.
- A product manager is responsible for coordinating the resources provided by the former to ensure the success of the product.
This means that you’ll flourish in this career path if you can prepare a path for a vision to become an actionable reality. You’ll work closely with the product development team along the way, of course, but you’ll find success here if you establish a framework that allows other people to thrive.
If this sounds like a job meant for you, here are several reasons why you’ll love being a project manager.
High Demand and Versatile Opportunities
Most of the world’s biggest projects require a project manager to bring a vision to life. Designing and constructing the Golden Gate Bridge required strong project management. Coordinating Google’s search algorithm needed a project manager, as did all updates since — including the famous Panda modification. Even the moon landing needed a project manager. As we continue developing technology and pushing the limits of human knowledge, we’ll need project managers to guide us towards success.
However, project managers are also in demand in advertising. Businesses will always need advertisements, which means that they’ll always need these campaigns — and someone to oversee them.
Project managers are particularly in demand for app development, but also gaming design. This is an industry that’s growing, and the demand for project manager jobs is growing with it.
Salary for Project Managers is Excellent
Innovation needs strong management to succeed. This is why project manager jobs are highly valued and paid well.
Due to the many industries project manager jobs exist in, the BLS doesn’t provide full, generalized statistics for project manager salaries and prospects of these roles. However, it reports that:
- Construction managers earn a median salary of around $97,000 per year with a predicted growth of around 8%
- Computer and information system managers earn a median salary of around $151,000 per year with a predicted growth of around 10%
- Architectural and engineering managers earn a median salary of around $149,000 per year with a predicted growth of around 3%
Given that the growth expected for architectural and engineering project manager jobs is around 3% (which matches the national average) and the other industries predict far higher growth, we can infer that the prospects for these career paths are very strong. Moreover, the salaries listed above are extremely attractive, suggesting that project manager jobs are a great choice if you have the skillset for success.
Types of Project Management Jobs
Curious about which jobs you could work on as a project manager? Below, we’ll take a look at a few of the major career paths in this field.
Construction Project Manager
If you ever doubt that there are jobs in construction project management, spend half an hour wandering around a major city and check how many times you have to move for scaffolding or other works. Better yet, drive around for a while and take note whenever the orange cones come out.
Every construction job needs a project manager to see it to completion. That’s to say nothing of the works that you don’t see up-close, like building water towers or designing more eco-friendly construction materials.
If you’re interested in improving infrastructure, these roles are made for you.
Digital Project Manager
Digital jobs in this field involve overseeing a product’s lifespan, from inception to successful delivery. You’ll work for a company that needs someone to coordinate budgeting, testing, and product delivery. In addition, you’ll liaise with different departments and help inform the development team of key company goals.
IT Project Manager
If your background is in technology, you could thrive in an IT role. These positions include responsibilities like:
- Keeping a company’s security infrastructure up-to-date
- Implementing new IT services for your company when appropriate
- Ensuring that IT development projects remain in-budget and are delivered in a timely fashion
Your IT background and strong organizational skills could help you flourish in this role.
Engineer Project Manager
An engineer project manager can work in many fields but always oversees the more technical side of things. In this position, you’ll be responsible for overseeing a team of skilled engineers and ensuring that all ideas and solutions remain within the budget and are actionable.
These roles exist in many industries, including:
- Software engineering
- Chemical engineering
- Aerospace engineering
- Civil engineering
If you have a background in engineering or even have an engineering degree, you could advance your prospects by moving into this career path.
Agile Project Manager
The agile methodology is used in almost all software development today. So if you’re interested in leading a team of software developers and have a firm grasp of the benefits of the agile methodology, you could have great prospects in project management.
Many individuals that are considering careers in project management already possess the values of the agile methodology. Beyond this, in-depth knowledge of technical matters like project management best practices for testing and continuous integration will stand you in good stead to succeed in this area.
Technical Project Manager
These roles involve designing and overseeing tech-intensive activities, from helping design a company’s software network to being in charge of the software element of a new product’s release. Whatever you’re doing, it’ll be heavily involved with computer science, but you’ll also need strong organizational skills and vision.
How to Become a Project Manager
Below we cover some of the best education pathways to becoming a project manager. Due to the varied nature of the field, some roles require more technical expertise and study than others, and some are easier to transition into from alternative career paths.
Bachelor’s Degree
For many of these roles, a bachelor’s degree in management is a good qualification. However, this depends on the area you’re planning to work in. For example, advertising companies may accept a bachelor’s degree in management or business. However, more technical roles may expect you to have a bachelor’s degree in an industry-specific field and then, in some cases, go on to get your master’s degree in project management.
Examples of industry-specific bachelor’s degrees that may prove useful include:
- Computer science
- Civil engineering
- Industrial engineering
- Information technology
- Aerospace engineering
- Finance
- Chemical engineering
- Software engineering
Progressing from these education pathways to a master’s degree in project management is considered a good idea because you can plan your career trajectory early. You choose your specialization first, gain industry knowledge, and then become a project manager.
Master’s Degree in Project Management
A master’s degree in project management is considered important by many employers, especially by the big companies where competition is fierce. While this route is advantageous, you don’t have to follow a bachelor’s degree with a master’s immediately: you can take your master’s later when you know which project manager position you’re interested in.
You may also take a master’s degree in the same specialist field you studied for your bachelor’s degree. With the help of a project management course to give you an overview of the business side of things (see below), you may find that the specialist knowledge you’ll get in your master’s program puts you in a great position to become a project manager at top companies.
Job Training & Certificate Programs
Certificate programs and job training courses are a great way to transition to careers in project management, especially if you already possess strong technical knowledge in your field. Project management job training programs and certificate programs can last between 12 weeks and several months and provide a great frame of reference for what life is like in project manager jobs. Google offers a project manager certificate program where you could learn from their own.
Obtaining professional certifications is a valuable way for aspiring project managers to demonstrate their expertise and commitment to the field. There are several certifications available, each with its own requirements and focus areas.
Project Management Certifications
The Project Management Professional (PMP) certification, offered by the Project Management Institute (PMI), is one of the most recognized and respected certifications in the field. To earn this certification, candidates must meet specific education and experience requirements before taking an exam that covers various project management topics. The PMP certification is highly regarded by employers and can lead to increased career opportunities.
For those with less experience, the Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) certification, also offered by PMI, is an excellent starting point. This certification requires a lower level of experience, but still requires candidates to pass an exam that covers fundamental project management concepts.
Another popular certification is PRINCE2, which is widely used in the United Kingdom and Europe. PRINCE2 certifications are offered at the Foundation and Practitioner levels, with each level requiring a separate exam. These certifications focus on a specific project management methodology and are well-regarded in industries such as information technology and government.
Lastly, Agile project management certifications, such as Scrum Master and Agile Certified Practitioner (ACP), focus on the Agile methodology, which has become increasingly popular in recent years. These certifications are particularly valuable for project managers working in the software development and technology sectors.
Project Management Bootcamps
Project management bootcamps provide a fast track to becoming a project manager. Coding bootcamps provide an affordable way to learn those project management skills The curriculum of a project manager bootcamp usually includes topics such as budgeting, scheduling, decision-making, change management, resource allocation, and risk management.
Project Management Courses
You can acquire the skills required for success in project management careers through self-study. While you’ll need to embark on further study if you plan to move into a technical area, self-study is a very affordable way to learn the skills you’ll need to succeed in project management. Udemy and Coursera offer some of these individual courses in project management.
Skills You Need to be a Project Manager
Below we give an overview of the skills you should pick up in your training to become a project manager. We’ll discuss both soft skills and technical skills you’ll need to become a project manager and succeed in your job.
Soft Skills
- Organization
This is the no. 1 skill on the list. If you can’t organize as a project manager, how will the project get finished on time? Your training should help develop your organizational skills and teach you how to prioritize resources to achieve key objectives.
- Communication
You’ll need to communicate constantly with your team and other departments to ensure that the project is completed on time and budget.
- Motivation
Motivation is the key to successful delivery, especially as an agile project manager. Success depends on helping every team member understanding their role in product development and executing to their highest ability.
Technical Skills
- Budgeting
You’ll be tasked with budgeting the task from start to finish. This means drawing up an initial budget with a high degree of accuracy and seeing things through to completion without unnecessary costs.
- Quality Control
Whether it’s testing in a software development role or ensuring that the best materials are being used in construction, you need to oversee quality control. Poor-quality products result in problems later that can impact a company’s reputation and be costly to remedy.
- Software Skills
Many of these roles are in software development. If this is the case, you’ll need a strong grounding in the best practices for coding and testing. This is essential for successfully coordinating a software development team.
- Engineering Knowledge
The skills required to become a successful engineer are common to most specializations. However, if you find yourself overseeing works in an area like aerospace or chemical engineering, you’ll need a rigorous background in these subjects.
- Agile Management
The agile methodology feels so intuitive when used in practice, but there’s a lot of technical learning behind its strategies. If it’s not covered in your college work, it’s worth taking a course to better understand this methodology and how you can implement it in software development. It also requires good software knowledge to master.
Building a Strong Portfolio
As a project manager, showcasing completed projects in a well-organized portfolio can significantly impact your career opportunities. A strong portfolio demonstrates your experience, expertise, and ability to handle various projects successfully. It also allows potential employers to assess your skills and suitability for specific roles.
To build a diverse and impressive portfolio, it’s essential to document the outcomes of each project you undertake. This documentation should include relevant data, such as project goals, timelines, budgets, and key performance indicators. Including references and testimonials from clients, team members, and supervisors can further strengthen your portfolio, providing additional proof of your capabilities.
Presenting projects in a visually appealing format is also crucial. Clear visuals, such as charts and graphs, can help convey complex information effectively, while a well-designed layout can make your portfolio easy to navigate. By investing time and effort into creating a professional and comprehensive portfolio, you’ll be better positioned to showcase your skills and attract the attention of potential employers.
Networking and Professional Development
Networking is a vital aspect of career development in the project management field. Building connections with other professionals can lead to new opportunities, knowledge sharing, and valuable insights. One way to expand your network is by joining professional associations and organizations, such as the Project Management Institute (PMI) and the International Project Management Association (IPMA). These organizations provide resources, support, and networking opportunities for project management professionals.
Attending conferences and workshops is another excellent way to meet other professionals, learn about the latest industry trends, and develop new skills. These events often feature expert speakers, panel discussions, and hands-on workshops, providing valuable learning experiences that can enhance your career growth.
Staying updated on industry trends is also essential for project managers. Keeping abreast of new methodologies, tools, and best practices can help you stay competitive in the job market and ensure that your projects are executed efficiently and effectively. Regularly reading industry publications, participating in online forums, and engaging with fellow professionals on social media can help you stay informed and up-to-date.
Project Manager Career Growth
Below we list the general responsibilities of project management careers at different levels.
Entry-Level
At entry-level, you’ll generally be tasked with ensuring that the project is completed on time, i.e., managing teams and communicating with different departments. You may also be involved in strategic planning and some technical initiatives.
Mid-Level
At this level, you’ll have more control over the direction of a project. You’ll influence budgeting decisions and will be responsible for the timely completion of key goals.
Senior Level
At a senior level, you’ll be responsible for designing an accurate budget and ensuring that the project completes according to the budget and in the designated timeframe. You’ll be ultimately responsible for quality control and product development.
Advancing Your Project Management Career
To continuously grow and excel in your project management career, it’s essential to invest in ongoing professional development. Pursuing advanced degrees or certifications can help you deepen your knowledge and expertise, making you a more valuable candidate for higher-level positions.
Another way to advance is by gaining experience in different industries and sectors. Working on diverse projects can help you develop a broader skill set and adaptability, making you a more well-rounded project manager. Additionally, developing specialized expertise in a particular area, such as risk management or software development, can differentiate you from other professionals and open up new opportunities within your field.
Finally, mentoring and teaching others can not only contribute to your professional growth but also enhance your reputation as a leader in the field. Sharing your knowledge and experience with others demonstrates your commitment to the project management community and can lead to new networking opportunities and career advancements.
What Companies Hire Project Managers?
Below we list some of the best companies for project management careers.
- Microsoft: Believe it or not, Bill doesn’t oversee everything. Microsoft has many opportunities for project managers, as its key products include technology, gaming, AI, and tech infrastructure. According to comparably.com, the average annual salary for this role is around $166,000.
- Jacobs: As one of the largest construction companies in the U.S., Jacobs offers varied project manager jobs, especially if your specialization is in engineering. Indeed.com suggests that the average salary per year is around $113,000.
- Google: Famed for its innovation and commitment to projects that it believes in, Google is a dream employer for a project manager. You’ll need to have some strong technical knowledge to succeed at this company, as well as the ability to drive a project through to completion. Google’s reputation for allowing its employees creative freedom is well-founded but comes with the caveat that it expects you to make it work on time and within budget.
Job Searching and Interview Preparation
As you embark on your project management job search, it’s essential to explore various resources to find suitable openings. Online job boards are a popular starting point, offering numerous listings across different industries. Additionally, networking events and industry-specific job portals can help you uncover opportunities that may not be widely advertised.
Once you’ve secured an interview, thorough preparation is crucial for success. Begin by researching the company and its industry to gain an understanding of their mission, values, and challenges. Familiarizing yourself with common interview questions for project management roles can help you develop thoughtful and well-structured answers. Be prepared to highlight your relevant skills and experience, demonstrating how you can contribute to the success of the company’s projects.
Interview Questions – Examples
- What do you consider to be the most important skill for a project manager to have?
- How do you define “success” in a project management context?
- What is your favorite project management method?
- How do you define “time management”?
- What are some methods for managing stakeholders?
- How would you define and communicate a project?
- What are some challenges with being a project manager?
- How do you prevent risk and then manage it throughout the project lifecycle?
- How do you keep track of all the projects that you’re managing?
Need more preparation for that interview? Check out our project management interview question guide.
Conclusion
When you become a project manager, you’ll be overseeing projects, developing project strategies, project timelines, and managing other teams. No matter your specialization, your project management skills will be in demand just as much for your technical knowledge. If you’re just considering this career path, know that it will lead to exciting opportunities to work on revolutionary projects.
