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A business student recently interviewed me via email. She is interested in project management and this was part of an assignment to reach out to people via Twitter to interview about what they do and the state of their industry/role. (My kudos to the professor for encouraging students to use new media to interact with people who are already in the field!)
I asked her permission to share the interview with you, I hope you find it helpful. Leave comments on what you agree and do not agree with!
How is the job market for project managers?
I would say it is healthy overall. Project managers lead teams to get things done in companies, and organizations always need them. Note that many project management jobs do not actually have “project manager” in the title. There are so many variations of the title. I suggest you look around on some of the job listings like careerbuilder.com, dice.com, etc. and see what you can find in your own region.
How do you deal with changes that are happening in the field?
Personally, I run a blog and community site, read other blogs, and am a member of PMI so I participate with my local chapter and several SIGs (specific interest groups). I’m also on the PMI New Media Council and will be presenting at the 2009 North America Global Congress in Orlando (October 11, 2009). Just as with any profession, there are a lot of niches and personal development opportunities to be had. Just staying active in advancing project management as a discipline is a great way to keep your finger on the pulse of it.
What are the best companies to work for?
Project management can be great in any type of organization or industry. If you can get into an organization who makes their money from doing successful projects you will be in the best learning environment. If you are a project manager in an organization, say in the financial services industry, and do internal projects that can be good too….but project management doesn’t get the attention it deserves unless the business model makes running projects central to the bottom line.
How do you use information systems in your job?
I’m self employed now, but in my last role as the lead project manager for the LDCM TSSC contract (building the ground system for a joint USGS/NASA satellite mission) information systems were certainly important. The key thing with IS is that the systems are easy to use, accurate, reliable, and allow you to focus on the few key metrics that help you manage the project. I’ve seen a lot of systems that have a lot of bells and whistles, and are virtually useless unless you get a degree on how to run the damn thing. It’s also easy to get lost in data and lose sight of what’s really important.
I will say this though. Managing projects is about managing people. If you get too data-centric you can lose sight of that. Tools and data don’t run the project, you and your people do.
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Job market for PMs: here in S.Africa I know of several PMs with ERP/IT backgrounds who are out-of-work, so not sure how ‘healthy’ the job market is.
Beginning to think that too many people are seeing ‘The Apprentice’ and getting the wrong idea about PMs
Thanks Simon. Of course the job market is a regional thing unless you are willing to relocate or can work remotely…
In my area, I think healthcare-related project management is going to be a big growth area. Independent of anything going on at the national level in the USA, a local hospital has been expanding like wildfire for the past few years and setting up all kinds of research labs, etc. here. I see lots of current and future need for IT/IS roles and those more specific to the industry that would likely require a background in hospital/clinic administration.
PMs in many health-related fields, and especially in biotech and pharma, are mostly controls clerks with the real PM functions vested in the lead technical person.
This is as it shuold be. In defense, the Program Manager is the Lead for the program. Program Planning and Controls provides cost, schedule, and techncial perfomancce “management.”
On our electric utility work both nuclear and fossil fired, the Project Management provides work coordination and oversight management, while the sibcontractors provide the technical work management to build the plant.
In our ERP roll out projects, the PM “herds all the cats,” while the technical specialist provides the technical leadership needed to stand up SAP.
In our medical equipment project, the PMs provide the oversight needed to assure the products and the processes to build then adhere to project plan and the 21CFR regulations. The scientist provide the technical skills needed to produce the product.
In our process improvement projects the PM provides the corrdination and perfomance management of the process consultants in the development of new business processes.
PM’s provide the guidance, controls, oversight, and performance management of those doing the work.
I’m not sure when a PM actually does the work of the techncial people excpet in agile software development. The PM is always playing a coordinating role, using her leadership skills along with the tactical skills and knowledge of how to “manage” a project which itself is being delivered by others.
interested articles!what about for one who didn’t comes from PM’s field but becomes a project manager?for example civil engineer still can be a project managers right.how we can differentiate it?
I am not completely sure I understand the question. But project managers can come from any background really… and the level of domain experience in the field required will vary depending on that specific domain.
Considering the high unemployment today, is it advisable for a fresh graduate of civil engineering (with no work experience) to aspire for PMP qualification?
No. The PMP requires 3-5 years of experience leading and directing project tasks, so someone with no work experience managing projects would not qualify until you had gained more experience managing projects.
It’s best to go out and get some experience, find some mentors, and other techniques I talk about here on the blog and in other places.
Other resources for you:
http://www.project-management-podcast.com/index.php/episodes/320-episode-147-how-to-become-a-project-manager
http://pm411.org/2010/07/11/podcast-episode-061-tips-for-new-project-managers-2/
http://pm411.org/2009/07/23/podcast-episode-043-interview-with-josh-nankivel-pmp/
http://www.peopleandprojectspodcast.com/ – interview coming soon
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