Project management is the process of planning and executing a specific project. It requires close collaboration between stakeholders to address short-term and long-term goals, providing timely feedback to improve performance on future projects. The “project management career path framework” is a guide to the different project management jobs that are available in 2021. The guide includes information about what skills you need, how much they pay, and where they can be found. Businesses in every sector have acknowledged the value of good project management. A project manager is essential to the success of every project, from IT to healthcare, construction, marketing, and more. According to the Project Management Institute, project management employment is predicted to rise by 33% through 2027, producing 22 million new jobs. With the need for competent project managers at an all-time high, now is a perfect moment to get started or grow in this field. However, “project manager” is a comprehensive word. It will explain the many sorts of project management responsibilities and job titles in this tutorial.
What Is the Importance of Project Management Jobs?
Apart from the increased demand, project managers are in charge of several teams. Therefore, this profession includes considerably more than just directing people’s actions. Risk management, resource allocation, budget management, and other abilities are required for the most acceptable project management employment. You’ll also need soft skills like leadership, communication, and the ability to work with a diverse group of people. To execute this work well, project managers must be able to wear numerous hats regularly. Without a competent project manager, an organization’s chances of meeting its objectives plummet.
Tools to Help You Advance in Project Management:
You must be comfortable utilizing project management software to have a successful career in project management. In addition, you’ll be more qualified for project management employment if you’re familiar with contemporary technologies.
1. Trello
Trello is one of the most widely used project management platforms. Over one million teams utilize it throughout the globe, including major companies like Google and Costco. Trello is the ideal place to start if you’re new to project management and want to get your feet wet with project management software. Trello, unlike many other programs, has a shallow learning curve. Web-based Kanban-style boards are simple to set up and enhance work tracking at scale. Trello will also be a hit with your team since it offers everything they need to collaborate on tasks and current projects. Use power-ups and no-code automation to get the most out of Trello. This will help you simplify your process and increase your team’s productivity. Trello’s basic features are free, while commercial options begin at $10 per month. With a 14-day trial, you can try the business-class version of Trello for free.
2. Zoho Projects
Zoho Projects is a cloud-based project management application with a lot of features. Construction, education, real estate, consulting, marketing, software development, and other businesses utilize it. Zoho Projects is an all-in-one solution that can handle anything from task management to collaboration with distant teams. Time tracking, reporting, work breakdown structures (WBS), project baselines, alerts, and more are all included in the feature-rich program. It may be used to organize sprints, establish task dependencies, identify critical activities, and even manage budgets. With Zoho Projects, you can quickly move between task lists, Kanban boards, and Gantt charts. The program is free for up to three users, but I’d suggest upgrading to a premium account for commercial usage. Premium rates start at $5 per user each month, with a ten-day trial.
3. Collaboration
Teamwork isn’t as well-known as some of today’s other project management software. However, 20,000+ enterprises and 6,000+ agencies continue to use the program. Netflix, PayPal, Spotify, HP, and Disney are among its clients, indicating that it is a trustworthy platform. Teamwork appeals to me since it is both solid and easy to utilize. It’s an excellent approach for portfolio managers to manage numerous projects at once, and it’s ideal for PMOs to handle the administrative aspect of project management. It includes resource management, time monitoring, task management, reporting, and more. Small teams of up to five people may use Teamwork for free indefinitely. Pro plans start at $10 per user per month, and you may test any paid plan for 30 days without giving us your credit card information.
Project Management Jobs: The Fundamentals
A project manager’s essential competencies are often the same across the board. First, however, let’s take a deeper look at the many project management positions. These positions vary from entry-level to those with the highest-ranking titles and everything in between.
1. Project Manager for Information Technology.
An IT project manager, as the name suggests, is in charge of technological initiatives. This job might be a full-time position inside an organization or a project outsourced to a specialist business. A corporation may, for example, pay a third-party agency to design a mobile app. The scope of IT project management would include software development. Other areas for IT project management might consist of security, backend infrastructure, internal platforms, SaaS, and anything else that requires technical experience.
2. Project Manager for Construction.
This is another self-explanatory project management position. In the construction sector, a construction project manager is a specialist position. Anyone working in this profession must have a thorough understanding of how to develop and construct the project at hand. Contractors, suppliers, engineers, and other professionals required to accomplish a construction project usually have ties with construction project managers. Construction project managers would be in charge of anything from home construction to business remodeling.
3. Manager of Digital Projects.
A digital project manager’s responsibilities are a little broader. However, any initiative that is part of the internet sector would fall under this category. Online marketing, content production, and maybe digital sales or product development are all examples. Digital project managers widely use agile project management approaches. To connect with their teams and monitor deliveries, they use several forms of project management software.
4. Project Manager for Legal Matters.
Legal project managers usually have a legal background. It’s a diverse position that might include process management for internal legal operations and managing client legal initiatives. Legal project managers, for example, may assist attorneys in ensuring that client expectations are satisfied. They’ll plan and execute a legal project’s main deliverables and milestones while managing the budget and resources.
5. Project Manager, Senior.
A senior project manager has a great deal of expertise in a particular organization or sector. This kind of expertise usually entails a higher amount of responsibility. Senior project managers are often in charge of larger projects with larger teams and more lavish budgets. A senior project manager is a title that may be earned by someone who has worked for a firm for an extended period. The new label may result in a salary raise. However, the job stays the same in the end. To appease customers, some companies want to hire a few senior project managers. It’s another technique of demonstrating to customers that you’ve got the “A-team” on the job.
6. Project Manager.
Senior project managers who are helping with a project are sometimes designated as project directors, often known as project leads. This individual will not be as involved in the project as a regular manager. However, they will be accessible to sponsor and assist the project team, and they may collaborate with another project manager who will be in charge of day-to-day operations. Larger projects often need project directors. This individual may or may not have prior project management experience. On the other hand, a project director can be better familiar with the product or deliverable that the team is working on.
7. Director of the Program.
In most cases, program directors are in charge of a work program or numerous programs. A program director may be in the order of many projects within a company’s department. If you’re a program director, you’ll almost certainly have typical project managers reporting to you on the progress of their initiatives.
8. Manager of a Portfolio.
As the name suggests, Portfolio managers are in charge of a group of projects. This is a typical function among agencies. However, it may also be assigned to persons who work directly for a company. Portfolio managers aren’t concerned with the project team’s day-to-day responsibilities and deliverables. Instead, they concentrate on the company’s long-term objectives. Project portfolio managers must ensure that each project delivers a satisfactory return on investment. Thus, they will emphasize budgets, risks, and resources.
9. The administrator of the project.
One of the most popular entry-level roles in project management is project administrator. This individual is solely in charge of one project and assists the team by concentrating on administrative responsibilities.
10. Specialist in Project Management.
Project support professionals, sometimes known as project support officers, are widespread in the public sector. It’s an entry-level project management position that serves as a project manager’s assistant. If you can’t acquire a job as a project manager outright, you may start as a project support specialist until you’ve gained enough experience to manage your team.
11. Manager of the project.
Project controllers are often found in areas such as building and engineering. This is another entry-level job that, depending on the project, has a relatively distinct responsibility. A project controller may be a cross between a project coordinator and someone ultimately responsible for project planning.
12. Analysts and specialists in the PMO.
Analysts and professionals from the PMO (project management office) assist with a project rather than managing it from start to end. The analyst’s expertise will play a part in the supporting function. You may, for example, work in a PMO that specializes in risk management or law.
Methods for Improving Project Management Jobs
These quick tips can get you started on the right path if you’re looking for a change career in project management, either for more salary or new challenges:
1. Raise quality standards.
Getting a job completed vs. getting a project completed correctly are two very different things. All too frequently, project managers place such a high priority on finishing a project on time and on a budget that the quality of the final delivery suffers. I’m not suggesting that you go over budget or exceed your project timeframe projections, but you should find a method to emphasize quality at each point of the project life cycle. From the start, define quality criteria with project stakeholders and sponsors. Ascertain that your staff is aware of these standards and that you can measure them using genuine KPIs. Assigning a different QA job to your team is another excellent strategy to increase project quality. This individual will be in charge of testing and other quality assurance duties to keep the rest of your team responsible. When the quality of your deliverables is higher than anticipated, your project management job has a better chance of taking off.
2. Set realistic expectations.
There is an excellent need for project managers. These professions may pay well into the six figures, with project management positions earning up to $140,000. Don’t expect to get a situation like this right out of college with that in mind. As with other jobs, you must begin at the bottom and work your way up. I’d be amazed if you could get your first job with a 20-person team and a $10 million budget. You may not even be the team’s single project manager for an extended period. Begin by taking an entry-level job and learning the ropes. Starting as a project administrator or project support expert isn’t bad. You won’t be able to apply for senior project manager or project portfolio manager roles until you’ve worked in the industry for 10-20 years.
3. Negotiate.
To execute their jobs successfully, project managers must learn to bargain regularly. You may also use the same negotiating abilities to advance your project management career outside of actual projects. Start by negotiating your wage, whether you’re a new manager or an experienced one. A simple request may sometimes result in a wage boost. Alternatively, keep an eye out for additional project management positions that match your qualifications. Those available roles may help you advance your career. You may also ask for more significant duties as part of your bargaining strategy. This might lead to you handling more substantial projects and a higher-paying job title in the future.
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