Moving through a project management career path

As we all know the role of project manager is not necessarily one that we are aiming for when we embark on a degree course or even later when we are already working. Very often the role comes via an indirect route – for instance an IT developer may begin managing a team of developers, progresses to managing the whole project and welcomes the opportunity for a promotion and more prestigious job title and also opportunities for training and professional development and the future hope of being in an actual recognised profession.

Here are some of the courses that can help you master the concepts of Project Management

So is it advantageous to have had a "proper job" before becoming a project manager? It will certainly give you an understanding of the "technical" aspects of the work being carried out and of the people on the project team (certainly not an advantage to be underestimated). It may also have helped you establish a broader network of contacts within and outside an organisation

But there are also some disadvantages that might mean you are less able to see the bigger picture because of a tendency to get involved in the daily minutiae of tasks.

We could debate the pros and cons of which route is best for a career in project management but the route is likely to be less relevant than the individual person's skills, attitude and abilities.

Taking the more traditional route of coming up through the ranks, many people's first introduction to the world of project management is as part of a project team delivering work for a major project and working to some standard approach.

As a team member you would be used to having to work to milestones and deadlines, reporting progress, assessing risk, dealing with change requests so it is not such a big step to move on to being the one forming the plans, managing the change and defining the schedules. With the right training and support this is an easy transition for the right sort of person.

It can be difficult to tell exactly what a job is going to entail until you are actually doing it and of course it is possible to mould a job to suit once you are established in it, but generally the roles that could be taken in the early stages of a PM career include:

Projects come in all shapes and sizes so the logical next step for a project manager is to take on longer, larger or more complex projects as part of their career development. These roles may or may not be assigned the title senior project manager.

Once you have finalized on the role you plan to progress to, get a career insight into the role, the capabilities that are required and start acquiring the skills required. Preparing for interviews for Project Manager roles are bit difficult, as you may be asked situation based questions. It's better you prepare before hand than going to the interview directly. For interview guidance and questions on IT Project Management you may click here.

Here are some of the Project Management Experts who are willing to help you achieve your career goals. They conduct a personal one–to–one over Skype and discuss your profile and areas for improvement.