Project Management: A Temporary Promotion or A Long-Term Life Goal?
A project manager is someone who oversees a project. We realise that you could have Googled that for yourself, but do you know their salary, how much responsibility they carry, and what personality traits are often desirable?
In this guide we look at a career in project management, what it takes to get there, and what you can expect once you’ve landed that ideal job.
What Kind of Person Will a Project Management Position Appeal To?
A job in project management demands a wide variety of skills, especially in determination, decision making and organisation. If you want to excel in this exciting area, these skills are some of the most common in project management.
A Thick Skin
Life in a senior management role can be tough. While there are so many rewards, such as a higher salary and gaining team management skills, the weight of the project is directly on your shoulders. Those that enjoy this high-stakes pressure will love this role.
Charisma
You’ll be the type of person who doesn’t mind chatting in the elevator, who loves asking for directions, and someone who can motivate a workforce like nobody’s business. Oozing confidence and always inspiring your team, you’ll have the charisma to spare.
Decisiveness
As the leader of your company’s project, your team will naturally look to you for guidance and leadership. While your role will ask you to make important decisions you should always listen to your team and hear what they have to say to make a balanced, informed choice.
What’s the Salary for Project Management in the UK?
Calculating the average salary for someone holding the Project Manager job title is a little tricky. This is simply because project managers can be found across a huge range of industries in either the public or private sectors.
IT Project Manager
Marketing Project Manager
Engineering Project Manager
Operations Project Manager
Construction Project Manager
The primary reason for the increased salary in an industry like engineering, compared with marketing, for example, is the cost to correct any mistakes. If something goes wrong in a marketing capacity, it can be much easier to fix than a sector like engineering or construction, where health and safety play a considerable part.
Therefore, the project manager is not only responsible for the successes and failures, but also the ramifications of their failures. If someone is injured because a safety element in your construction project was overlooked, the blame likely falls on you.
Of project teams completed a project
within the set budget
Is There a Set Path to Become a Project Manager in the UK?
You guessed it: No.
Like most senior jobs in the UK, there is no set path to achieving project manager status. Some in this position have worked their way up through the company. From a lowly, entry-level position, to someone in charge of the execution of short and long-term projects.
It is estimated that 33% of projects fail because of a lack of involvement from senior management. This could be solved by hiring quality project managers who fully understand the sector and its pitfalls. The second way that people can achieve the senior role of project manager is through qualification. Classroom knowledge, combined with practical experience, can be exactly what a recruiter is looking for.
Of projects fail because of a lack of involvement from senior management
By gaining a project management qualification you’ll be introduced to key methodologies and essential knowledge that will help you to get noticed.
All the courses that you’ll find will vary in depth, teaching styles and content but can all contribute to having you on the right path in no time.
Program Manager vs Project Manager
Program Manager:
Manager multiple projects for a company
Project Manager:
Manages the teams on one project, to deliver the necessary objectives
What Will My Promotion Prospects Look Like?
Rather than an Operations Manager who oversees the repetitive, everyday tasks, project management means often short-term projects. These might last a few days or several few months. Having learned a huge number of new leadership skills, it could be argued that the logical progression is into more permanent management roles.
Possible promotions could include:
Being a project manager can be incredibly rewarding. Whether it’s learning new team management skills that you hadn’t considered, a higher salary, or simply the satisfaction of seeing a project through to the end.
If we’ve inspired you to take up a project management role, why not visit our website to explore the many qualification options available to you right here at coursesonline.co.uk.
