There are actually many kinds of jobs in project management that range from entry-level to senior strategic positions. Below introduces four career possibilities for those with an academic and employment background in project management.
Entry Level Project Manager
The main responsibilities of an entry-level project manager depend on the industry and the company in question, according to the Project Management Institute. In the IT industry, for example, entry-level project managers must meet and communicate with clients to understand their needs and specifications. These strategic meetings will result in goals that will be incorporated into the project plan. Entry-level project managers must develop project scopes and schedules that align with the client’s needs and the company’s resources. They must work closely with internal staff to identify problems, provide solutions and adjust goals and tasks as needed. In order to ensure project success, they must act as the main point of contact with the client during the project so they continually gather ideas, assets and content to pass on to their own developers and designers.
Associate Project Manager
An associate project manager is another entry-level job, but it is geared towards documentation and administration. They will work under the direction of a project manager to support collaborative processes, scalability initiatives and internal assignments. They typically act as an interdepartmental coordinator and focus on identifying premature problems and promoting results-driven process improvements. Associate project managers support the development of project assignments through maintaining the project calendar, documenting changes and providing status updates to key personnel. Most employers expect associate project managers to have a few years of work experience supporting projects and process improvements. They must have knowledge of project management scheduling tools and processes, such as Gantt and PERT charts.
Project and Process Manager
A project and process manager in a service orientated company will assist with the development and implementation of internal programs. Some of these will be internally driven, such as operations improvement campaigns, and others will be externally driven, such as those based on changing regulatory requirements. They regularly perform audits to detect operational weaknesses and inefficient processes. Based on their findings, they provide actionable recommendations to executives. Because this may involve sensitive issues and conflict of opinions, project and process managers must be concise and tactful, as well as assertive and transparent. They also must ensure effective and timely decision making regarding their audit recommendations.
Senior Project Manager
One of the most coveted jobs in project management is senior project manager. These experienced professionals manage all aspects of simultaneous projects from inception to conclusion. In a technical industry, they must assemble and supervise multidisciplinary technical teams and coordinate with departmental managers. Therefore, they must have a strong technical background in order to successfully troubleshoot ongoing problems that will arise during the development of complex technical systems. They are expected to chair weekly project review meetings and maintain communication with committees and contractors. They will oversee the development of departmental plans, budgets, schedules, objectives, policies and procedures.
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There are many more interesting jobs in project management available, such as a project management specialist, analyst and director.