A subscriber to the Project Management Career Newsletter emailed me that he would be going back to school in a few weeks, and asked me for any suggestions or advice.
back to school - by Avolore via Flickr
My Story
I had attended 1 year of vo-tech school right after high school, but dropped out when I moved to Albuquerque, NM for a job. My studies were in electronics technology, and I found that although I was good with electronics, software was much more interesting than electronics hardware to me. I was a computer geek (still am) and was a self-taught programmer. I moved into training and management roles, and got caught in a lot of layoffs too.
Even though I had work experience, it was a struggle to find new jobs. I discovered the formal discipline of project management and found out I had been doing it all wrong, and figured I needed a degree anyway to be competitive. I went back to school for a BS degree in Project Management, I think it was in 2005.
Appreciate
I appreciated the education much more than before. When I was 18, I took out loans and didn’t really feel like I was paying for it. I skipped classes sometimes, etc. This time around, it was a degree I was particularly interested in, and I applied myself to the material as much as I could.
First, I understood the value of the money I was paying (gladly paying) to get this education, and second I understood that the value would come from what I retained and applied, NOT from the piece of paper I’d get at the end or even the grades I received.
Write, Think, and Apply
Starting this blog at pmStudent.com was great for me, because I would write about what I was learning in school and how I could apply it in my day job. I also started frequenting many online forums and reading other blogs on the topic.
I had been a manager and managed some projects in an informal, adhoc manner. Just before going back to school I had taken a job as a developer at the time to get into a company where the environment was good for me to apply project management in a formal way. I was trying to work my way into PM roles wherever I could.
With my management experience I could have gone for a higher paying management position, but I took a deliberate step back so that I could be part of a project team and learn from the inside. 100% of my job was defining and implementing projects to improve processes, introduce automation, and integrate proprietary systems from mergers and acquisitions.
Contribute and Go Above and Beyond
Contribute in class as much as possible, and see it as an opportunity to learn and better yourself. Even students in online colleges and universities can take this piece of advice. I tried to do extra research on topics of particular interest whenever I could (much of what I researched was on PM methodologies and various aspects of management/leadership) It’s all about what you get out of it, not about the piece of paper.
Another way to go above and beyond is to volunteer. You could start a study group, a PM student club, or volunteer for other organizations. I attempted to start a PM student club at my college, but by the time political pressures would have allowed me to do so, I was graduating and wouldn’t be able to keep it alive. Had I started earlier it may have happened.
I also joined the Students of PM SIG (Specific Interest Group) with the PMI and volunteered there. There are lots of SIGs in the PMI that focus on specific topics you can look into. Look into other PM organizations as well, my only experience is with PMI but there are others out there.
Save Some Money
Oh, and something else. I suggest BigWords.com to find used textbooks instead of buying them from the college bookstore. This site compares prices across multiple merchants to find you the lowest price. I saved thousands of dollars over the years by doing this.
Note: Be sure to order these books in advance, it usually takes a few weeks for them to get to you. Also, be sure to get the correct editions!
Please leave a comment with your own tips!
Related posts:
{ 24 comments… read them below or add one }
Great information Josh. I’m a bit older than your average college student and I am still in school. If everything goes well, in a little over a year I will receive a bachelor’s in Network Security with a minor in Software Engineering. Anyway, I work 50 or more hours a week and I am still an A student. That’s because I do my best to contribute, learn as much as possible and manage my time wisely (most of the time).
I agree with with your statement about applying what you learn in school. The “C equals degree” mentality some students have will not benefit future graduates when they get in to the work force. Like you, I suggest obtaining as much information as possible and putting those ideas, methodologies and concepts to work every day. Getting that degree is just as important as having experience.
Earning and learning another day another project another priority…
Ad^2
Thanks for the great comment Ad!
Congratulations in advance on your degree, and congratulations now on applying yourself fully to the material!
Great information Josh. I’m a bit older than your average college student and I am still in school. If everything goes well, in a little over a year I will receive a bachelor’s in Network Security with a minor in Software Engineering. Anyway, I work 50 or more hours a week and I am still an A student. That’s because I do my best to contribute, learn as much as possible and manage my time wisely (most of the time).
I agree with with your statement about applying what you learn in school. The “C equals degree” mentality some students have will not benefit future graduates when they get in to the work force. Like you, I suggest obtaining as much information as possible and putting those ideas, methodologies and concepts to work every day. Getting that degree is just as important as having experience.
Earning and learning another day another project another priority…
Ad^2
Thanks for the great comment Ad!
Congratulations in advance on your degree, and congratulations now on applying yourself fully to the material!
Hi Josh, (and Ad)
Great story…… Like you, I too attended trade school and became a Union carpenter, and from 1969 to 1975, after 2 years in Vietnam, I went to school at nights under the GI bill to get my undergraduate degree in Civil Engineering, majoring in construction project management…. Which was then and still is my passion….. After getting my degree, I moved into management and ended up owning my own construction company for 20 years. After retirement the first time, I got sick of playing golf and fishing and gave teaching and consulting a try and found another niche that I really enjoyed….. I went back to school to get my Masters in Project Management from GWU’s Distance Learning in 2003 and then continued on to get my PhD in Project/Program Management from ESC Lille, in 2007, at age 59.
Having been both a recent student and a teacher/mentor has provided me with a very realistic outlook on what makes a good student as well as what makes a good teacher/mentor.
So I can relate to what you are doing and fully agree with AD as well……. Keep up what you are doing- never lose your passion for project management, your passion for work or your passion for learning. There is no greater reward than knowing you are good at what you do and that you can get paid for doing what you love.
BR,
Dr. PDG, Jakarta
Thanks Dr. Paul, I didn’t know that about your background and found it very interesting.
It’s never to late to learn more about the world, and if we aren’t moving forward, we’re standing still!
Dr. Paul,
Tell me more about your PhD experience and the ESC program specifics. I think this is the URL: http://www.esc-lille.com/en/Programmes/PhD
I went to the same school as Josh and even had the privilege of taking some classes with him. He was a bit of a microphone hog. Always raising his hand and ruining the curve for everybody. Just kidding. About the time you finished your PhD, I was wrapping up my B.S. in project management.
Currently I am about 22 months into my 24 month MBA at the University of Sioux Falls. My MBA education combined with my A.A.S in Architecture and B.S. in Project Management has given me a boat load of exposure to academia theory, concepts, and professor knowledge. The real take away from my education experience is of course my knowledge, but also the relationships or network of people I met along the journey.
In the book, Zen and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, the author wrote, “Sometimes it is better to travel than it is to arrive.” As I come to the end of my MBA journey, I wonder what is next in line for me. What advice can you share regarding your PhD experience? How has the PhD added value to your understanding of strategy, program/project management?
Hi Travis,
Let’s see…… As I not only graduated from ESC Lille, but also teach there, I have a certain bias, but having disclosed my inherent conflict of interest, let me answer your questions.
Obviously enough, given that as an “independent consultant” I paid for my MScPM and my PhD out of my own pocket, by voting with my money, stands evidence that I believe the ESC Lille Masters and PhD programs represents a “best value”. Professor Christophe Bredillet, the Director of this program, is well known and highly regarded around the world and invitations to his annual PhD Colloquiums held each August are eagerly sought after for the camaraderie and hospitality.
ESC Lille is a 125 year old, EQUUS and PMI accredited University with campuses in Lille and Paris. It is in the process of MERGING with the University of Nice, which should help it grow in stature.
Again, as I am an entrepreneur, I feel I got a “simple payback” on my investment in earning my PhD in less than 12 months. Strange as it may sound, but having a PhD enabled me to increase my billing rate significantly and at the same time, made me more attractive to some clients.
On the down side, ff you work at a “real job” I’m not so sure the PhD will help you that much, as most corporations do not seem to appreciate having PhD’s on staff, but seem much more willing to hire us on short term basis. I am supervising several PhD candidates who are employees and their companies don’t seem overly supportive…… Maybe coincidence, maybe not, but certainly something you have to evaluate.
FWIW, I am always eager to supervise highly motivated and passionate people, so if you do decide to go for your PhD, I will be happy to mentor you, provided you select a topic that is of interest to me.
Hope this helps you?
BR,
Dr. PDG, Jakarta, Indonesia
http://www.getpmcertified.com
I think Dr. Paul meant EQUIS, not EQUUS.
Also, it looks like they are accredited by the APM in the UK too…
Hi Josh, (and Ad)
Great story…… Like you, I too attended trade school and became a Union carpenter, and from 1969 to 1975, after 2 years in Vietnam, I went to school at nights under the GI bill to get my undergraduate degree in Civil Engineering, majoring in construction project management…. Which was then and still is my passion….. After getting my degree, I moved into management and ended up owning my own construction company for 20 years. After retirement the first time, I got sick of playing golf and fishing and gave teaching and consulting a try and found another niche that I really enjoyed….. I went back to school to get my Masters in Project Management from GWU’s Distance Learning in 2003 and then continued on to get my PhD in Project/Program Management from ESC Lille, in 2007, at age 59.
Having been both a recent student and a teacher/mentor has provided me with a very realistic outlook on what makes a good student as well as what makes a good teacher/mentor.
So I can relate to what you are doing and fully agree with AD as well……. Keep up what you are doing- never lose your passion for project management, your passion for work or your passion for learning. There is no greater reward than knowing you are good at what you do and that you can get paid for doing what you love.
BR,
Dr. PDG, Jakarta
Thanks Dr. Paul, I didn’t know that about your background and found it very interesting.
It’s never to late to learn more about the world, and if we aren’t moving forward, we’re standing still!
Dr. Paul,
Tell me more about your PhD experience and the ESC program specifics. I think this is the URL: http://www.esc-lille.com/en/Programmes/PhD
I went to the same school as Josh and even had the privilege of taking some classes with him. He was a bit of a microphone hog. Always raising his hand and ruining the curve for everybody. Just kidding. About the time you finished your PhD, I was wrapping up my B.S. in project management.
Currently I am about 22 months into my 24 month MBA at the University of Sioux Falls. My MBA education combined with my A.A.S in Architecture and B.S. in Project Management has given me a boat load of exposure to academia theory, concepts, and professor knowledge. The real take away from my education experience is of course my knowledge, but also the relationships or network of people I met along the journey.
In the book, Zen and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, the author wrote, “Sometimes it is better to travel than it is to arrive.” As I come to the end of my MBA journey, I wonder what is next in line for me. What advice can you share regarding your PhD experience? How has the PhD added value to your understanding of strategy, program/project management?
Hi Travis,
Let’s see…… As I not only graduated from ESC Lille, but also teach there, I have a certain bias, but having disclosed my inherent conflict of interest, let me answer your questions.
Obviously enough, given that as an “independent consultant” I paid for my MScPM and my PhD out of my own pocket, by voting with my money, stands evidence that I believe the ESC Lille Masters and PhD programs represents a “best value”. Professor Christophe Bredillet, the Director of this program, is well known and highly regarded around the world and invitations to his annual PhD Colloquiums held each August are eagerly sought after for the camaraderie and hospitality.
ESC Lille is a 125 year old, EQUUS and PMI accredited University with campuses in Lille and Paris. It is in the process of MERGING with the University of Nice, which should help it grow in stature.
Again, as I am an entrepreneur, I feel I got a “simple payback” on my investment in earning my PhD in less than 12 months. Strange as it may sound, but having a PhD enabled me to increase my billing rate significantly and at the same time, made me more attractive to some clients.
On the down side, ff you work at a “real job” I’m not so sure the PhD will help you that much, as most corporations do not seem to appreciate having PhD’s on staff, but seem much more willing to hire us on short term basis. I am supervising several PhD candidates who are employees and their companies don’t seem overly supportive…… Maybe coincidence, maybe not, but certainly something you have to evaluate.
FWIW, I am always eager to supervise highly motivated and passionate people, so if you do decide to go for your PhD, I will be happy to mentor you, provided you select a topic that is of interest to me.
Hope this helps you?
BR,
Dr. PDG, Jakarta, Indonesia
http://www.getpmcertified.com
I think Dr. Paul meant EQUIS, not EQUUS.
Also, it looks like they are accredited by the APM in the UK too…
Josh,
There is a bit more to the story……. I was just at the cusp of an amazing period of transition……
For literally hundreds of years, following the “Guild” system, “construction project management” was done by tradesmen- usually either the masons or the carpenters. To become a “construction project manager” was the capstone of a career that spanned a working lifetime- from apprentice, to journeyman to master tradesman, carpenter/mason foreman, carpenter mason superintendent and finally, at the end of your working life, general project superintendent or what is known today as construction project manager….. Thus, it was EXTREMELY rare to find a construction project manager younger than 50 years old, and most of them were in the 55 – 65 age group.
So by the time you got to that position, you knew the processes inside and out; you knew how to lead and motivate people; you learned how to deal with clients and deal with management, to deal with other unions and to deal fairly and ethically with subcontractors and vendors. In short, through your performance, you had earned the right to hold the coveted and highly respected position of general project superintendent or construction project manager.
Back in the 1960′s we were transitioning from the last vestiges of the Guild System over to the “new” system. Instead of working in the trades (I followed my father and uncle into the trades union, my uncle being a mason and my father being a carpenter) companies were grooming project managers from the ranks of graduate engineers. So after having served my apprenticeship, I realized that IF I wanted to be a construction project manager, then I had to move beyond being a tradesman and get an engineering degree, which I did. Meaning I was one of the last to be part of the Guild system and one of the very earliest to become part of the new system.
So to this day, my perspective (and advice) comes from having had one foot in the old or “guild system” and the other foot based on “modern management” philosophies- that “managers” can be developed in 4 year institutions of higher learning. Or worse yet, in 18 month long “MBA” programs…..
Quite frankly, I still find that concept approaching absurdity, but then, thats why I am considered a heretic…..
My only hope is the pendulum will start to swing back in the other direction before I die….. And with the move beyond knowledge based credentials to competency based credentials, I believe I am seeing (and participating) in making this happen.
BR,
Dr. PDG, Jakarta
http://www.getpmcertified.com
We welcome heretics here Dr. Paul! If you’re not being accused of heresy now and then, you’re not pushing the boundaries enough!
Josh,
There is a bit more to the story……. I was just at the cusp of an amazing period of transition……
For literally hundreds of years, following the “Guild” system, “construction project management” was done by tradesmen- usually either the masons or the carpenters. To become a “construction project manager” was the capstone of a career that spanned a working lifetime- from apprentice, to journeyman to master tradesman, carpenter/mason foreman, carpenter mason superintendent and finally, at the end of your working life, general project superintendent or what is known today as construction project manager….. Thus, it was EXTREMELY rare to find a construction project manager younger than 50 years old, and most of them were in the 55 – 65 age group.
So by the time you got to that position, you knew the processes inside and out; you knew how to lead and motivate people; you learned how to deal with clients and deal with management, to deal with other unions and to deal fairly and ethically with subcontractors and vendors. In short, through your performance, you had earned the right to hold the coveted and highly respected position of general project superintendent or construction project manager.
Back in the 1960′s we were transitioning from the last vestiges of the Guild System over to the “new” system. Instead of working in the trades (I followed my father and uncle into the trades union, my uncle being a mason and my father being a carpenter) companies were grooming project managers from the ranks of graduate engineers. So after having served my apprenticeship, I realized that IF I wanted to be a construction project manager, then I had to move beyond being a tradesman and get an engineering degree, which I did. Meaning I was one of the last to be part of the Guild system and one of the very earliest to become part of the new system.
So to this day, my perspective (and advice) comes from having had one foot in the old or “guild system” and the other foot based on “modern management” philosophies- that “managers” can be developed in 4 year institutions of higher learning. Or worse yet, in 18 month long “MBA” programs…..
Quite frankly, I still find that concept approaching absurdity, but then, thats why I am considered a heretic…..
My only hope is the pendulum will start to swing back in the other direction before I die….. And with the move beyond knowledge based credentials to competency based credentials, I believe I am seeing (and participating) in making this happen.
BR,
Dr. PDG, Jakarta
http://www.getpmcertified.com
We welcome heretics here Dr. Paul! If you’re not being accused of heresy now and then, you’re not pushing the boundaries enough!
Thanks Dr. Paul for that great information. It helps to encourage and answer some existing questions that I am plauged with because I am also an older student that is considering going back to school to complete my bachelors w/a focus on Project Management as my degree, but my present job does not allow me to get any exposure to any type of Project Management experience. I would like to find a mentor that can help with my Project Mangagement interest. Any suggestions to find a mentor or suggetions to gain experience in this field when you don’t have direct contact into this field. Thanks for any information that part with.
Myrth
Thanks for the comment! For finding a mentor, take a look at these search results, several of the posts and comments speak to this specifically:
pmStudent search: mentor
Hi Myrth,
Email me privately, pauldgphd@gmail.com and I will do my best to mentor you.
Having gotten my PhD, I still take courses, and am thinking of going for another Masters in Systems Dynamics.
Given that I think systems thinking/systems engineering is the future of project management, if you want to get ahead of the crowd, then I would urge you to consider taking a combined Bachelors/Master degree in project management with a major in Systems approach.
Give it some thought and email me privately if you have any additional questions.
BR,
Dr. PDG, Jakarta, Indonesia
http://www.getpmcertified.com
Thanks Dr. Paul for that great information. It helps to encourage and answer some existing questions that I am plauged with because I am also an older student that is considering going back to school to complete my bachelors w/a focus on Project Management as my degree, but my present job does not allow me to get any exposure to any type of Project Management experience. I would like to find a mentor that can help with my Project Mangagement interest. Any suggestions to find a mentor or suggetions to gain experience in this field when you don’t have direct contact into this field. Thanks for any information that part with.
Myrth
Thanks for the comment! For finding a mentor, take a look at these search results, several of the posts and comments speak to this specifically:
pmStudent search: mentor
Hi Myrth,
Email me privately, pauldgphd@gmail.com and I will do my best to mentor you.
Having gotten my PhD, I still take courses, and am thinking of going for another Masters in Systems Dynamics.
Given that I think systems thinking/systems engineering is the future of project management, if you want to get ahead of the crowd, then I would urge you to consider taking a combined Bachelors/Master degree in project management with a major in Systems approach.
Give it some thought and email me privately if you have any additional questions.
BR,
Dr. PDG, Jakarta, Indonesia
http://www.getpmcertified.com
{ 1 trackback }