Help in starting a career in Project Management
Guest post by Samaa EL-Sayed
by D3 San Francisco via Flickr
Hi Josh,
Thanks for all of your posted information. I felt that my knowledge in project management has expanded and felt that I able to understand all the methologies and the processes that will eventually become an asset to have while considering a career in Project Management.
However I would like to share a concern of mine with you since you have been mentoring people who wish to consider a career in project management.
If it helps, I will share a little bit about my background. As of now, I have a Bachelors of Arts in Multimedia (convergent web design and media) along with a graduate certificate in International Business (with a focus in Interantional Project Management). I only have five months of relevant work experience as a marketing assistant/business analyst (left because it wasn’t what I wanted).
Since I enjoyed learning Project Management and becoming very passionate about it, I felt that this is the right career to pursue. However, I am not sure where and how to start.
I plan pursuing the CAPM designation because I was told by professional/senior project managers that it will help give me a edge while pursing a degree in project management. I also plan in becoming a member in a PMI chapter, because I am very eager to learn more and network with more project management professionals. Moreover, while becoming a member I am willing to vounteer in PMI events.
So my concern right now is whether Iam in the right track of getting my foot in the right door? Feel free to share some suggestions of how to begin a fresh start in the profession of project management.
Thanks 
Everyone, please contribute your advice! Thank you for posting this question Samma!
Dec 11th, 2009 at 6:35 am
Hi Samaa,
I for one am not a big fan of PMI. With over 100 million dollars in assets, I no longer believe the organization to be a legitimate not for profit professional organization.
Having been conducting PMP training now for 20+ years, (since 1988) I have seen what I consider to be a “dumbing down” of the PMP as it gained in popularity….
What do I suggest instead? Well, given you come from the Middle East, AACE, which has long been a competitor to PMI, offers much more technically demanding certifications (7 hour long exams vs PMI’s 4 hour exams) BUT, AACE tends to appeal more to oil, gas, mining, process plants than to IT or Telecommunications types. http://www.aacei.org/certification/
IF IT/Telecommunications is your interest, then I think INCOSE http://www.incose.org offers a nice blend of credible certifications without the crass over commercialization we see from PMI.
If you want to stay away from the US based credentials, APM/OGC offer PRINCE2, which is another very credible credential that seems to be gaining in popularity.
And then there is the International Project Management Association (IPMA) http://www.ipma.ch/certification/Pages/default.aspx which offers a COMPETENCY based certification which matches very closely to a career path in project management.
Bottom line- you have to make a decision between credibility vs popularity. While PMI and their PMP is losing credibility, they remain popular. So you have to decide do you want to catch a wave that has, IMPO, largely crested or do you want to take a risk and pick a credential which is just gaining in popularity?
Wassalam……
BR,
Dr. PDG, Jakarta
http://www.getpmcertified.com
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Josh Nankivel Reply:
December 11th, 2009 at 4:28 pm
Thanks Dr. Paul. When it does come time for certifications this is some great advice.
Just be sure you select a certification to pursue based on rational reasons for expected benefit. I like that Samaa sought advice from local project managers and posted here for more insight.
Seeking knowledge and tapping into the experience of others who have “been there, done that” is admirable Samaa, keep it up!
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Dec 11th, 2009 at 2:24 pm
I believe in different approach. Forget about certifications. Go get some experience running some projects. These don’t have to be something you do at work. Try to organize vacations for a group of friends, volunteer to help local non-profit organization or whatever. There are situations where it’s even OK when you fail and you learn no matter whether the project is a success or not (you even learn more from failures).
There are less organizations accepting inexperienced people for project management roles than those expecting at least few years of experience but if you dig deep enough you’ll find them. These are pretty often small organizations which allows PM to grow along with the company.
You can also look for some project management related roles and after some time try to move to PM. Then knowing the organization, how it works, which products they have will be your big asset. There are still many companies which randomly promoting their engineers to PMs because they have no idea it should be done other way.
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Josh Nankivel Reply:
December 11th, 2009 at 3:14 pm
Thanks Pawel, I agree that volunteering (either within your own organization, or other groups) is one of the best ways to get experience managing projects while reducing the negative consequences of failure. You’ve also usually got less constraints on you so it’s a good way to ease into the discipline.
Someone on my career coaching newsletter just emailed me this morning to say he had landed a position as a project analyst, which is perfect for the stage he’s at. These roles go by different names, but by supporting projects you can observe what’s going on, volunteer to help the PM(s) and find mentors, etc.
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Dr. Paul D. Giammalvo Reply:
December 11th, 2009 at 9:49 pm
Hi Pawel,
While I wholeheartedly agree with you, unfortunately, the HR folks are using certifications (ESPECIALLY the PMP) as an initial screen to filter out those they want to interview.
While this bothers me very much, not much I can do about it, other than raise the issue here and on Linked In.
And I was especially pleased to see you refer to project management as a discipline and not a profession. Another false and misleading premise that PMI, IPMA and APM would like to push….
I have absolutely no qualms recognizing that there are professional project managers. But just because there are professionals who do what we do, does not make what we do a profession.
BR,
Dr. PDG, Jakarta
http://www.getpmcertified.com
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Pawel Brodzinski Reply:
December 21st, 2009 at 3:20 am
While there are some HR folks who take certifications as their main indicator whether someone suits the position or not, there are also a lot of companies, especially smaller ones, where you’re judged on your knowledge and experience in the first place.
And I see significant difference in perception of PMP across the world. E.g. in Poland while PMP is valued it is rarely a requirements. I know in UK or in USA it is different and certifications are more important, but still you can have a great PM career with no certification at all.
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Dr. Paul D. Giammalvo Reply:
December 21st, 2009 at 5:02 am
Hi Pawel,
Yes, we are in full and total agreement on this. I am in the process of preparing a comparison between all the credentials and with a little bit of luck will be publishing it before the first of the year.
I think you will find it quite interesting and informative…..
I know I have had a lot of fun putting it together…
BR,
Dr. PDG, back in Jakarta
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Dec 11th, 2009 at 3:00 pm
wrote about this recently over here:
http://www.scottberkun.com/blog/2009/should-i-become-a-project-manager-mailbag/
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Josh Nankivel Reply:
December 11th, 2009 at 3:16 pm
Thanks Scott, I just checked it out. Great stuff!
Very strange that at Microsoft a program manager is entry level…everywhere I’ve been the project managers report to the program manager, and/or the program manager is responsible for portfolio/program management and the primary sponsor in many cases.
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Pawel Brodzinski Reply:
December 11th, 2009 at 3:46 pm
It is similar in Google, although they call it product manager. Don’t be tricked by the name – this is probably the closest job to classic project management there. Anyway you can start in this area on some junior positions or even on internship.
It’s not the path for most of folks however since their recruitment process is incredibly strict.
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Josh Nankivel Reply:
December 11th, 2009 at 3:50 pm
Interesting. In aerospace, I was a lead project manager so the general progression was something like this:
1) analyst/coordinator/controller/team member
2) project manager (managing pieces)
3) lead project manager (managing the project)
4) program manager (oversees portfolio)
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Dec 11th, 2009 at 3:04 pm
Hi Samaa – Good luck on your PM explorations!
Me, I’m a structural learner, and I found it much easier to really start working consciously as a PM after getting some knowledge and training. I needed to see the full structure of the profession, common tools, common approaches, so that I could more forward with a bit more of my own personal sense of credibility. That training made it easier for me to understand my experience and to hone my skills more quickly.
While I agree with Paul (above) that PMI is not the end-all, be-all of PM, I don’t perceive quite the decline in credibility that he would claim. I like your idea of going after CAPM early on. It will provide a complete view of one accepted interpretation of PM and, I believe, make it easier for you to participate with other PMs in your field because of a shared perception and vocabulary.
Pawel is right: certification won’t stand alone. Experience rules. Leveraging and understanding your new PM experience may be easier because of certification, I think. You should be prepared after certification to embrace and apply practices that may not completely match PMI’s view of the PM world. I find it much easier to be competently flexible after my PMP certification efforts than I did before, and I think you’ll find the same.
Then, later, if more certification still makes sense, then is perhaps the more apt time to be selective about which next-level certification you embrace, which one is most relevant to your chosen field, etc.
Good luck!
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Josh Nankivel Reply:
December 11th, 2009 at 3:20 pm
I agree with Max; the CAPM may certainly have value if the organization you plan to find a entry-level project role values it. When applying for roles like “project coordinator”, “project analyst”, “project assistant” (and many other names) the CAPM is sometimes specifically required or desired.
It really depends on your local region in terms of which certifications (including the ones Dr. Paul spoke of earlier) are important. Like Pawel and others have said, be worried first about how to gain experience and knowledge…certifications are great but not really useful unless you have the experience and knowledge.
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Dec 11th, 2009 at 3:34 pm
I agree with much of what has already been said. Check out my post on Getting Started in Project Management where I wrote about how experience is more important than education, but education is still very important too!
In that post I give some resources for learning and ideas on how to gain experience. You need to make it happen for yourself!
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Dr. Paul D. Giammalvo Reply:
December 11th, 2009 at 9:56 pm
Ultimately, if anyone is serious about project management or any other subject, getting a specialty degree would be the most plausible approach.
I started out 40 plus years ago with an undergrad degree in construction project management, and now I am seeing Universities such as Stevens Institute offering undergraduate degrees in Telecommunications Project Management and my son recently graduated from Embry Riddle and they are offering several courses (but not a full degree yet) in Aerospace Project Management.
And I developed and teach a course for the University of Western Australia in Asset and Project Management for the Petroleum Engineering Masters degree….
Sooner or later, I suspect most specialties will follow the lead of construction project management and start to create project management courses if not project management degrees pertaining or relevant to their unique types of projects/programs.
BR,
Dr. PDG, Jakarta
http://www.getpmcertified.com
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Dec 13th, 2009 at 6:40 pm
Hi Samaa,
I understand what you are talking about. I have a similar background as yours, I have a grad degree in mass communication and got interested in project management after finding out more through the fabulous blogs.
It all seemed confusing at first and I didn’t know if it was something I can do.More I read, more I figured out about the expectations of the job. However, there’s nothing better than getting some experience.
Try getting an internship or wherever you work, volunteer some time to work with the project management team if its allowed. It will help a lot and you will know for real, if this something you are willing to consider as your career.
Ask questions, seek help and get a mentor- hopefully it will help.
Good luck!
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Dec 17th, 2009 at 10:12 am
Hi Samaa. There is a lot of good advice here, but I would second the advice about finding a volunteer group you are interested in and helping with a project they are running. Even a the detailed planning in a single fundraising event can give you a good over view of Project Management, and looks good on a resume. One key is to document everything, so the organization can repeat and improve on the project next time. The documented information can also be helpful in an interview.
However, I would at the same time pursue some form of credentials, such as the CAPM. I am a PMP in the construction field with 20 years experience, and when I started I quickly hit a glass ceiling because I did not have any letters after my name. That might just be the culture in the organization I do most of my work for, but I see it a lot.
Good luck.
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Dec 19th, 2009 at 10:13 am
Update: Bas de Baar selected this post to discuss with me in Episode # 4 of What’s up in PM. If you have a few minutes to listen I’d like to hear your reaction to our conversation in the comments on that site.
Thanks!
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