Top Reasons Why You Should Start a Career in Project Management

Project Managers are always in demand. They play an essential role in the success of a company and organization. If your skills lie in the domain of analysis, leadership, and organization, then Project Management is the perfect career for you. It offers a highly competitive salary and plenty of opportunities to work remotely! Let’s take a look at everything you need to know to get started with a career in Project Management:

What is Project Management?

Project Management is the method of organizing the plan, objectives, milestones, and deliverables of a project. It also includes managing team members, timelines, and budgets to ensure that successful projects are delivered.

A project management role at any company can be very challenging. A Project Manager requires several unique skills and mindset like leadership, communication, team-building, delegation, and integrity.

According to the 2020 Pulse of the Profession annual report (from the Project Management Institute), “an average 11.4 percent of investment is wasted due to poor project performance. And organizations that undervalue project management as a strategic competency for driving change report an average of 67 percent more of their projects failing outright.” [1] This clearly shows the importance of hiring strong project managers! 

5 Phases of Project Management

The Project Management Institute (PMI) breaks down the project management process into five phases [2]:

1) Conception and Initiation

The preparation plays a vital role in the success of a project. A good project manager creates a strong project foundation to ensure it will be completed on time and within budget. This includes Project Scope, High-level project overview and budget.

2) Planning

During this phase, the key milestones and dates are set to establish that all team members are moving towards the same goal. This can avoid confusion in whatever roadblock in the future.

The Planning phase includes selecting the team members, outlining deliverables, estimating resources, and determining associated activities

3) Executing

This is all about getting all the stuff done. Everything that has been discussed during the initiation and planning are accomplished at this phase. Monitoring and controlling stages simultaneously develop at this phase. It may also involve managing workflows and recommending changes and corrective actions.

4) Performance / Monitoring

This is where project managers ask the question ‘where are we at any given point in the project vs. where should we be according to the project plan?’ This phase requires regular, consistent project “check-ins” and the use of proper project documentation and tracking tools or frameworks for effective monitoring.

5) Project Closing

This final step, sometimes known as “project delivery.” It is when you wrap up all activities and deliver the final product to the client. 

Why Study Project Management?

1) There is a strong demand / skill shortage

According to the Project Management Institute (PMI®), the demand for Project Managers is high and is expected to open at least 22 million new project management job openings through 2027 [2].

2) Lots of industry options

Project Managers are required in every industry including Government sector, small to medium businesses, manufacturing and Information Technology. A career in project management could take you anywhere. You can be your own boss in the future.

3) Competitive Salary

Jobs with higher demand tend to command higher salaries. According to Glassdoor, the national average entry-level project manager salary is $65,432 base pay per year plus a bonus of $12,199 per year [3].

4) Opportunity to Expand your Knowledge

Project Management is a fast growing career industry and the learning never stops. Despite having a solid skill set and experience, studying and growing with technological advancement will help a project manager become successful. 

Learning can come from attending seminars, reading industry-related books, podcasts, from your colleagues, co-workers, networks and other industry experts. 

5) Project Managers can really make a difference

Aside from being at the forefront of exciting projects, project managers directly impact the bottom line of the company. Project Management helps improve the company’s efficiency and morale as a whole.

In addition to the nice salary,  it could also be quite rewarding to keep your schedule on track, collaborate smoothly with colleagues, meet the budget, solve every problem and effectively complete the project. 

Conclusion

Project Management is here to stay. With our ever-evolving age, the need to have a person in an organization with a wide variety of skill sets and strong characteristics is vital to the success of the company. It will take a lot of courage and proper research to know how to become an effective project manager. Take that leap of faith and start learning.

References

1. “Ahead of the Curve”, PMI (2022)  https://www.pmi.org/learning/library/forging-future-focused-culture-11908 
2. “Your complete guide to project management in 2022” Monday ( 2022): https://monday.com/blog/project-management/guide-to-project-management/
3. “Project Management Job Growth and Talent Gap 2017–2027” PMI (2022) : https://www.pmi.org/learning/careers/job-growth

4) How much does a Entry Level Project Manager make?Glassdoor (2022) : https://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/entry-level-project-manager-salary-SRCH_KO0,27.htm