Project Management is a fundamental function across all industries and organizations. With the rise of globalization and digitization, there is an increasing demand for skilled Project Management professionals to manage and lead projects on budget and on time.
According to Glassdoor, the national average for an entry-level Project Manager salary is $59,680. The average Project Management professional without a PMP certification made $100,247 per year according to a 2019 survey of almost 9,000 Project Managers by PMI.
Projects Managers will be in high demand well into the future. More work is being projectized and some industries such as health care, that historically did not use many, are now looking for talented Project Managers. The basic skills needed by a Project Manager applies to virtually every industry. You will have a lot of flexibility and opportunities for a future proof job.
WHAT RESPONSIBILIES WOULD YOU HAVE AS A PROJECT MANAGER?
The figure below shows the Project Management responsibilities.
Project usually start with a request for quote (RFP) from the customer requesting a proposal to perform the defined work. The Project Manager is responsible for preparing the proposal and briefing management on it to get their approval.
After contract award, the Project Manager issues work authorizations to start project planning. The next task is to update the integrated master schedule (IMS0 and other preliminary project documents based on negotiations with the customer. The final step is to finalize all project documents and brief management on plan to get their approval to start the execution stage.
Once execution starts, it is a matter of following the plan. The Project Manager holds frequent meetings with his or her team for status, problem identification and resolution. The project Manager usually holds status meetings with major subcontractors on a monthly basis. Typically, he/she will brief management on a monthly basis.
HOW DO YOU UPSKILL TO BECOME A PROJECT MANAGER?
The table below lists the skills a project manager should have. To identify your skills gap, assess each skill and identify the ones that need improvement. The right column lists some sources for you to consider in fill the gap.
| Skill | Description |
Skill Source
|
| Education | – Ideally a BS or greater in the project field
– For coding or developer projects, a boot camp or 2-year school is sufficient |
-College
-Community college -Boot camp |
| Experience | – Working on several project related tasks with increasing responsibility in the project field | – Work
– Responsibility |
| Leadership | – Natural or learned leadership principles | – Military service
– Sports leadership |
| Communications | – Good oral and written skills
– Speaks clearly and concisely – Communicates with management |
– Community experience
– Online courses – Reading |
| Design | – Understand the design process
– Knowledge of Requirements, Concept, preliminary, and Critical design reviews |
– Online classes
– Papers – Books |
| Proposal | – Knowledge of what a proposal is and how to prepare one | – Online courses
– Articles – Books |
| Planning | – Understanding of scope and Statement of Work
– Work Breakdown Structure knowledge – Work Package, Activities, and Planning package knowledge |
– Online courses
– Articles – Books |
| Scheduling | – Knowledge of how to schedule tasks
– Working knowledge of how to use the schedule tool(s) – Knowledge of how to read the schedule tool(s) |
– Online courses
– Articles – Books |
| Budgeting | – Knowledge of how-to budget
– Knowledge of how to estimate costs and rational for estimate -Knowledge of how to verify cost estimate validity |
– Online courses
– Articles – Books |
| Earned Value | – Know what Earned value is
– Understand the basic terms- – Knowledge of how to incorporate into a project -Knowledge of how to read a read earned value report |
– Online courses
– Articles – Books |
| Risk Management | – Knowledge of management process
– Knowledge of how to identify and mitigate risk – Knowledge of how to create a risk mitigation plan and implement it into the IMS |
– Online courses
– Articles – Books |
| Subcontracts | – Know how to select subcontractors
– Know how to manage subcontractors |
– Online courses
– Articles – Books |
| Contracts | – Know types of contracts
– Know what type of contract to apply |
– Online courses
– Articles – Books |
| Interpersonal | – How to manage a diverse geographical and culture team
|
– Online courses
– Articles – Books – Online courses |
| Behavior Psychology | – How to communicate and motivate a diverse team
|
– Online courses
– Articles – Books |
| Tools | – Excel spread sheets, power point, Microsoft project schedule (or Primavera), and word are the major tools you need to know how to use them | – Online courses
– Articles – Books |
WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF YOUR WORK?
Digital transformation is driving future work. COVID-19 has accelerated trends (remote working and learning for example) that were ongoing prior to the pandemic. The virus has accelerated the way we work, and where work is done. None the less, technology will drive jobs. Organizations must respond, adapt, and adopt new devices, tools, and emerging capabilities. Essential to capturing the benefits of these technologies is the ability to collaborate, visualize, analyze, and act effectively with agility. By pursuing innovation-driven product refresh cycles, organizations can provide the tools to deliver faster, smarter, and more manageable and consistent improvements. Project Managers can look forward to a bright future.
SUMMARY
The future of work is changing due to COVID-19 and new technologies. More work is going to be projectized. The demand for Project Management will continue into the future.
If you have a job that may not be there in five years, or a junior or senior in high school and do not know what courses to pursue in college, or a college student not knowing what career to pursue that will be secure well into the future, or out of a job, then my book If you want to upskill for a more secure and higher paying job in your company, then this book How to Get A Project Management Job: Future of Work applies to you.
Bio:
Currently John is an author, writer and consultant. He authored a book entitled Project Risk Management. It went on sale on Amazon in August 2019. He authored a second book titled How to Get A Project Management Job: Future of Work. It will go on sale on Amazon in mid-May. The first book is a text book that includes all of the technical information you will need to become a Project Manager. The second book shows you how to get a Project Manager job. Between the two, you have the secret sauce to succeed. There are links to both books on my website.
He has presented several Webinars on project risk management to PMI. He writes a weekly column on project risk management for CERN. John also writes monthly blogs for APM. He has conducted a podcast on project risk management. John has published numerous papers about project risk management on LinkedIn.
John earned a BS in Mechanical Engineering and MS in Engineering Management from Northeastern University. He has extensive experience with commercial and DOD companies. He is a member of PMI (Project Management Institute). John has managed numerous large high technical development programs worth in excessive of $100M. He has extensive subcontract management experience domestically and foreign. John has held a number of positions over his career including: Director of Programs; Director of Operations; Program Manager; Project Engineer; Engineering Manager; and Design Engineer. He has experience with: design; manufacturing; test; integration; subcontract management; contracts; project management; risk management; and quality control. John is a certified six sigma specialist, and certified to level 2 EVM (earned value management).https://projectriskmanagement.info/