How to Become a Project Manager

Project Management is a lucrative and varied career and with demand high within the IT industry, more and more people are looking to Project Management as a viable career option. But how do you become a Project Manager?

Routes in to Project Management

As with most careers there are several routes in to Project Management, here we look at a few of the most common:

1. Move careers within your area of expertise

Project Management is a career choice that is rarely made from a young age, and as a result, many people find themselves moving in to

. This route is very common as it is the industry knowledge that makes a good project Manager a great one. This route still usually involves earning a university degree and can often require years of experience in your field prior to the conversion.

Although many people who go through this route tend to fall in to Project Management through company or business requirements, there are those who choose to make the career switch. If this describes you, it is a good idea to look in to Project Management training options to highlight your interest in your chosen career path and demonstrate your key skills and grasp of project management principals.

1. Through a University degree

Project management is expanding with growing demand and the breadth of industries that require Project Managers. As a result, more people are becoming aware of Project management as a career option much earlier on and educational institutes are adapting to accommodate. There is a new wave of pure Project Manager Degrees that are now available in UK Universities, as well as a number of related degree subjects that offer Project Management as either a specialism or module option. With this increase in access to Project management training, this route in to the role of a Project Manager is growing in popularity.

Ways to improve your chances of becoming a Project Manager

For those coming from industry experience and migrating across to a Project Manager role within the industry, as mentioned above, Project Management training is the main option. Training can either be for personal strengths, i.e. to hone up your key soft skills or resulting in qualifications to demonstrate your knowledge of project management methodologies – such as the Prince2 qualification, the internationally recognised standard for Project management.

For those who are looking to come from a qualifications or educational background, your chances of becoming a Project manager are greatly improved by getting as much project management experience as possible. This can be through university placements, volunteering or previous work experience.

Most employers are looking for a balance between the education and knowledge based side of project management and the development of key soft skills that determine whether you have what it takes to be an effective Project leader so it is important to highlight both of these in your Project Manager CV and Cover Letter.

Author
Helen Bayram