To ask for your project managment salaries?

[Careeradviceplease123]

I am starting a new role on Monday as an entry level project manager for a government project.

I was wondering what type of project management roles people have (tech/business change etc), how you got there, how salaries compare between industries, what type of qualifications would be best for me to get, do you enjoy your role etc.

Or any other project manmagment knowledge you have!

Sorry if this is cheeky, I just find peoples career paths really interesting - I hope this is the start of a career for me, I feel like I have only had jobs so far.

I’d be interested to know how much technical/project specific knowledge most people here who are PMs need - eg if you’re managing a systems project do you need much IT knowledge? I know one PP said understanding the context of the project is good.

Thank you for all your responses!

Thank you for responding, I was looking at transitioning into IT/Tech project management later on (my current role is not technical). From what I have seen SQL seems quite popular? Also, would i need any technical skills, I only have experience in R/Python.

IT PM here, higher education sector. Took a bit of a scenic route through research and then acted up when the project manager I was working for unexpectedly left. I'm on £42k, FT, fairly good work-life balance and currently on a hybrid arrangement with 2-3 days at home and 2-3 days in the office.
I didn't have any IT background when I started in this role 7 years ago and still don't. I do have PRINCE2, APM and MSP professional qualifications but the most important thing has been learning from experience.
For whose asking previously about IT project management, I'd say you need to understand software lifecycle if you want to work in that area but soft skills are absolutely crucial as is understanding of the project management tools.

@coffeemonster28

what PM tools, Coffee? Trello, stack, GitHub, etc?

Should have been clearer - didn't mean just software but it does help if you understand JIRA or Azure DevOps but they are not that difficult to pick up. It's more things like the actual PM tools and techniques like stakeholder/risk management, scheduling, issue management. And excellent communication skills especially if you are in a situation when implementing technical solutions that nobody wants or when you have to translate between IT and non-IT departments which may mean navigating a lot of politics.

£60k - I do not have any Project Management qualifications. However, I work in a very niche industry (tech) and have done the role of the consultants I manage on a project and worked in the industry for 30 odd years. I have a lot of domain knowledge which helps.

Out of interest what are the necessary qualifications to be a PM and what is the cost? Thanks

I earn at the lower end of 6 figures in Financial Services. I have many years of experience and went the classic route of Business Analyst to Project Manager to Programme Manager. I've worked as a contractor, as a perm employee and within consulting (at a senior level) and I've worked within both the business and IT, in multiple countries (some long term, some short term).

I have strong domain knowledge in a lot of areas but I can be asked to work in any area by my employer (so from asset management to investment banking to HR to Risk to IT etc) so I have to learn fast and think on my feet. And show no fear. My role can vary from turning around/remediating struggling projects/programmes to setting them up from scratch to supporting my internal clients in whatever madness they're experiencing at the time. Currently in IT managing a very high profile programme in the investment bank with stakeholders and participants across the globe. So I get hit with early morning calls with Asia and evening calls with the US. Sounds glamorous. It's not.

As a previous poster said, soft skills are key especially stakeholder management. My clients are usually demanding, stressed and don't suffer fools. Some people I need to work with are an absolute bloody nightmare and very unpleasant. Other people are nice but useless. And everything in between. Timelines are tight (deadlines are often already missed when I inherit them), budgets slashed and the politics is ridiculous. To move up the career ladder in this field, you need to be very politically savvy. It's a minefield and you need to tread carefully whilst delivering at pace. Much of my time is spent troubleshooting and/or manoeuvring people (some would call it manipulation but with good intentions!) I love the actual mechanics of project / programme management and find delivering very satisfying. But OMG the politics, the personal agendas, the unrealistic expectations/budgets/timelines can be exhausting. And whilst doing all of that, all your stakeholders are judging you and your critics (and there are always critics, especially as you get more senior/get into more high profile roles) are waiting for you to put a foot wrong and they will jump on it. Yes, the money is decent but it comes at a cost in terms of work/life balance and/or your sanity. I do it because I'm very good at what I do. And enough people I respect (even some of those nightmare difficult people!) tell me I'm very good. And deep down I still want to make a difference. I enjoy succeeding at something people who came before me failed at. I need to get over it really and try and find a job with less pressure, less demands and more joy! (And yes, I'm off work today which is why I have time to be on MN writing this).

I'm a project manager on £60k. I have Prince 2,APM and Scrum certificates. Wfh.love my job and my company.