Project Manager Career Path

Starting a career as a project manager requires understanding the key steps, skills, and experiences needed for success.

In this article, we will outline the typical journey for project managers, covering educational requirements, entry-level positions, potential advancements, and long-term opportunities.

Without further ado, let’s get into it!

TL;DR

A project manager is a professional who plans, coordinates, executes, and closes company projects. From projects ranging from building software to implementing a marketing strategy to building a physical structure, project managers lead the projects from start to finish.
A project manager communicates with the stakeholders about the company’s project. A project manager plans the project, evaluates what is needed to get the project done, draws up the plan or a roadmap to get the job done, vets it thoroughly for any loophole or roadblock, presents it to the stakeholders, and gets their approval to execute the project.
Generally, according to Glassdoor, the estimated total pay for a Project Manager is $97,666 per year, with an average salary of $67,135 per year.
Project management is a career where you can see a clear path on the career ladder as your years of experience and your skills and expertise increase. Here is a typical project management career path starting from the entry-level role:
1. Junior/Assistant Project Manager
2. Project Manager
3. Senior Project Manager
4. Director of Project Management
5. VP of Operations
Although it is not mandatory, most companies put a degree in business, management, or information technology in their job description, and having any of these degrees can give you a competitive edge. However, if you do not have the above degrees, you can take certification courses from reputed sites such as Coursera and Google and add them to your portfolio.
Tools are an essential part of project management, as the right tools can make your work easier and more effective. Here are the best tools for project managers:
1. Best tool for project management for SaaS product teams (Userpilot)
2. Best Tool for Project Roadmapping (Asana)
3. Best tool for team coordination (Jira)
4. Best tool for small project management teams (Basecamp)
5. Best for Project Overview and Visibility (Workzone)
Looking into tools for project managers? Userpilot is an all-in-one product platform with engagement features and powerful analytics capabilities. Book a demo to see it in action!

What is a project manager?

A project manager is a professional who plans, coordinates, executes and closes company projects. From projects ranging from building software to implementing a marketing strategy to building a physical structure, project managers lead the projects from start to finish.

Stakeholders communicate the project’s goal to the project manager alongside the budget while the project manager gets the job done.

What does a project manager do?

A project manager communicates with the stakeholders about the company’s project. A project manager plans the project, evaluates what is needed to get the project done, draws up the plan or a roadmap to get the job done, vets it thoroughly for any loophole or roadblock, presents it to the stakeholders, and gets their approval to execute the project.

A project manager is a project lead on whose shoulders lies the success or failure of the project. It requires leading a team of other professionals and closely monitoring the project until it gets executed. After the project is done, the project manager puts the finishing touches on it and closes it.

Project manager’s main responsibilities

The project manager role is dynamic. They take the team involved in the project from start to finish. The success or failure of the project is also largely dependent on the project manager. Here is a detailed list of the main responsibilities and duties of a project manager:

Communicating with stakeholders and getting the vision they have for the project. This includes the intricacies of the project, the expected timeline, and the allocated budget.
Drafting out an outcome-based roadmap, the resources and manpower needed to get the job done.
Organizing the project team, communicating their roles to them, and keeping them motivated.
Analyzing potential risks and loopholes associated with the project and mitigating them early enough.
Monitoring the progress of everyone involved in the project and ensuring everyone stays motivated.
Acting as a quality assurance personnel and ensuring everyone is bringing in their A-game.
Constantly reporting the progress of the project to stakeholders to keep them informed and abreast of the latest developments.
Documenting the process and actions taken about the project.
Managing the project budget and ensuring good utilization of resources to get the best results.

Project manager salary

Generally, according to Glassdoor, the estimated total pay for a Project Manager is $97,666 per year, with an average salary of $67,135 per year.

There are quite several factors that affect your salary as a project manager. Some of these factors include your years of experience, location, and the industry in which you work. For instance, for years of experience, as you move up the career ladder, your income increases as well. Here is a breakdown of the project manager’s salary based on years of experience:

0-1 years: $76K – $127K per year
1-3 years: $86K – $145K per year
4-6 years: $94K – $163K per year
7-9 years: $98K – $170K per year
10-14 years: $108K – $187K per year
15+ years: $131K – $229K per year

Another crucial factor in your salary is your industry. A project manager is needed in all sectors, from construction to healthcare to information and technology. According to Glassdoor, these are the top-paying industries for a project manager and their median salaries:

Energy, mining, and utilities: $136,573 per year
Aerospace and defense: $122,857 per year
Construction, repair, and maintenance services: $121,038 per year

Your location also slightly affects your salary as a project manager because of the cost of living in different areas. Here is a breakdown of a project manager’s salary living in big cities in the United States:

San Francisco: $130K – $220K per year
New York: $118K – $206K per year
Boston: $117K – $203K per year
Washington DC: $114K – $198K per year
Chicago: $102K – $173K per year

Project management is a career where you can see a clear path on the career ladder as your years of experience and your skills and expertise increase. Here is a typical project management career path starting from the entry-level role:

Junior/Assistant Project Manager: This is the entry-level role in project management where you get to assist the project manager in coordinating and leading a project. In this role, you get to learn and gain hands-on experience in project management.
Project Manager: From being the assistant project manager, you get promoted to the project manager. By now, you have a few years of experience under your belt and have gained a lot of skills and knowledge to lead a project yourself.
Senior Project Manager: As a senior project manager, you will work on bigger projects or projects with longer timeframes. You will also coordinate a group of project managers under you to get the job done.
Director of Project Management: The Director of Project Management oversees all the company’s projects.
VP of Operations: The Vice President of Operations spearheads every project in the company. They guide the project managers under them on how to successfully manage a project.

How to become a project manager

Although it is not mandatory, most companies put a degree in business, management, or information technology in their job description, and having any of these degrees can give you a competitive edge. However, if you do not have the above degrees, you can take certification courses from reputed sites such as Coursera and Google and add them to your portfolio.

While taking these courses, you can join project management communities on Slack, Facebook, LinkedIn, and other social media platforms to network with people and start applying for entry-level roles in your desired companies.

Best resources for project managers

There are several resources for project managers ranging from books to podcasts to webinars to blogs for project managers all over the internet. Here is a compilation of the best resources for project managers who are looking to grow in their careers:

Best books for project managers

Project Management Absolute Beginner’s Guide By Greg Horine: From planning a project to executing it and closing it, the book is an absolute guide for anyone looking to get started with project management.
The Lazy Project Manager by Peter Taylor: This book explains how you can be more productive and work smart rather than hard in executing your projects.
Project Management Case Studies By Harold Kerzner: The book contains over 100 case studies on project management from different industries and provides fundamental insights into project management.
Making Things Happen: Mastering Project Management By Scott Berkun: In this book, Microsoft project manager veteran Scott Berkun gave tips on how to lead a group of people effectively to get the job done, and it is a must-read for every project manager.
A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) by Project Management Institute: This comprehensive resource for project managers is a go-to guide for anyone looking for an in-depth book on project management. It covers project management extensively, providing case studies.

Best webinars for project managers

Project Management Institute Webinars: The Project Management Institute produces webinars on a wide range of topics related to project management. If you want to broaden your knowledge in project management, check out the webinar.
Brighttalk by TechTarget Webinars: Brighttalk by TechTarget webinar is another webinar that provides insights on the latest trends in project management.
PMO Advisory Webinars: The PMO Advisory webinar covers not just project management topics but how to navigate your career as a project manager.
HRDQU Webinars: HRDQU produces webinars around leadership in project management and is one you should check out to broaden your scope in leadership.
Alliance Training Project Management Webinars: Facilitated by expert instructors, the webinar is a guide to project management for project managers.

Best blogs for project managers

The Userpilot Blog: If you are a project manager for SaaS projects, the Userpilot blog contains a wealth of knowledge to make your project smooth and seamless.
The Project Management Blog: The project management blog is a comprehensive blog about project management that covers a variety of topics.
The PMStudent Blog: The PMStudent blog covers essential skills every project manager needs to master.
The Girl’s Guide to Project Management Blog: Founded by Elizabeth Harrin, the blog teaches the skills needed in project management.
The Project Management Basics Blog: In the blog are in-depth, comprehensive blog posts on how to be a better project manager.

Best podcasts for project managers

The Project Management Podcast By Cornelius Fichtner: The project management podcast by Cornelius is one of the podcasts every project manager should listen to as it covers the various topics in project management.
PMO Strategies by Laura Barnard: In this podcast, Laura invites project managers, and they discuss on essential things needed to take a project from start to success.
People And Projects Podcast by Andy Kaufman: The People and Projects podcast is a podcast around project management and how to lead a team to complete a project successfully.
Project Management Paradise: The podcast gathers insights from expert project managers worldwide and is a podcast every project manager should check out.
The Project Management Happy Hour Podcast: The project management happy hour podcast revolves around problems encountered in project management today and how to overcome them.

Best tools for project managers

Tools are an essential part of project management, as the right tools can make your work easier and more effective. Here are the best tools for project managers:

Best tool for project management for SaaS product teams (Userpilot): Userpilot is a product adoption tool that shows you insights into how users interact with your product, allowing you to make quality decisions that enhance your SaaS product projects.
Best Tool for Project Roadmapping (Asana): When planning your project and you want to draw roadmaps to keep the project on track, Asana is one of the best tools to draw the roadmap and monitor the progress of your project.
Best tool for team coordination (Jira): Jira is one of the best project management tools for keeping the team coordinated and activities centralized for effective tracking.
Best tool for small project management teams (Basecamp): If your project management team is lean, basecamp is a simple and easy-to-navigate tool for effective management.
Best for Project Overview and Visibility (Workzone): Workzone is the best tool when it comes to gaining project overview and visibility and helping you keep an eye on all the small projects assigned to each member of the team.

Conclusion

We hope our article has given you a good overview of the career path for project managers.

Whether you’re just starting out or looking to advance, the key is to stay curious, keep learning, and remain open to new opportunities along the way.

Looking into tools for project managers? Userpilot is an all-in-one product platform with engagement features and powerful analytics capabilities. Book a demo to see it in action!