Project management

[Feelingsensitive]

I have been a SAHM for the last few years and am now thinking of returning to work. My job prior to DCs was science based and involved managing lots of projects and people to some extent. DH thinks I would be well placed for project management. ANyone any idea how I could get into this type of work? Does it lend itself to part time work?
I realise I would have to start at the bottom but just don't know where. Do project managers have to specialise in different fields. For example, DH works in IT but I have no experience in that. Thanks.

I am a project manager who works in engineering.

In my experience project managers in my industry (aerospace manfacturing) come from another route - start off as engineers or procurement professionals. That's what I did, am an engineer and moved sideways into procurement projects. I manage large scale outsourcing and rationaloisation projects.

Also within IT the project mamnagers who work here were previously IT professionals. I think you do need to have a degree of technical knowledge if you are going to project manage a job, and would imagine that this would apply in all industries.

What did you do before? Could you go back to that?

I have worked in IT project management for 15 years and so have my husband, and we both now manage project managers for large corporates - so I know quite a bit about this.

There are typically 2 routes to get to it - IT professional,like the pp said (my husband!) and just general management (me). Both require qualifications these days: PRINCE2 is a must and a good start. I would say that if you worked in a large IT company they would support you becoming say proejct analyst or project support and then worked your way up from there. It is an easier route.

As far as part time is concerned the honest answer is no, it's not at all a family friendly career. I know very few women who have gone down this route with a family and who work part time - max part time I have come across is 4 days. IT Project management tends to be quite male dominated and very long hours - there is always the odd exception but that tends to be the norm. Having said, if that's what you want to do, it's definitely worth a shot and if you want any more info please feel free to ask.

Emy

ps there are a lot of project managers with no technical knowledge and this is fine - most projects have technical team leaders who do all the technical leadership and you are looking after commercials and other more general management stuff, such as relationship with the customer, project planning etc etc

Thank you so much.Given there is little chance of pt work I may well have to reconsider that option for now. My previous career was quite good for PT work and perhaps could lead to PM work later on so I may start there. Just feel its time to start looking for work as I think I need to get back into the world of earning.

I used to be a project manager but since having children have decided to move into Project Office roles as I found that being a PM really didn't lend itself to part time working. I found I needed to be in the office every day that my team were otherwise things ground to a halt and/or decisions that I didn't agree with were being made in my absence. Have now got a job with less money and responsibility but it suits my life with small children.

Interesting. HF and NG -A re you boith working within IT?

I have mostly worked in IT but am currently working on the business side of a massive change project for a bank. I am Prince qualified which is pretty essential if you want to work as a PM

It sounds like maybe the best thing for you to do would be to get back into what you previously did and then perhaps investigate moving into PM at a later date. I have just started work again after a 2 year break and found getting someone to employ me was hard enough even though I have a strong cv and am more than qualified for the jobs I was applying for. I plan on doing these more junior roles for a couple of years and then perhaps working back up to doing project management.

Good luck and I hope you find something interesting to do. I was scared and feeling guilty about starting work again but am feeling more positive about it and am glad that I have made the leap. The longer you leave it then the harder it must get to find someone willing to offer you something good.

I think it depends on the industry. I work in publishing, which I guess has more women than some other sectors. Before I had the DCs I worked as a PM, and they asked me to consider giong back p-t after my ML (I'd already decided to go freelance). I now do mostly more editorial work, but you could certainly do it p/t I think, and remotely in many cases.

However, it is a fairly specialised field that I work in, and the PRINCE2 qualification is not a requirement, which I believe it is in many fields, as emy mentioned above, so this may not be typical.

Thanks all. Nulgirl I think you may be right about it being harder the longer you leave it. I have found a job in my old area which I will apply for. I can then decide from there where to go. Was hoping for a change but maybe thats being a bit optomistic whilst the children are so young.

I'm a senior project manager in the finance industry and I don't have the technical knowledge as that's what the guys on the tram are for. However, I have only been back at work for a year after having my DS who is now 2 and while I was off I was thinking of going back part time but having worked with other PMs who are part time I have to say I don;t think it works very well. I ended up going back full time due to financial reasons.

I hope you get something that suits you and your family.

In my experience (local govt) the PRINCE2 route is more of a requirement for IT roles. It would make a useful grounding in PM techniques, but can be quite inflexible in its application to non-IT projects. I use a simplified version which is tailored to our specific business requirements.

I am part-time, but have been in the role for several years and re-negotiated my contact. I do make myself available on my days off though, on the phone or email, because, as nulgirl said, it's in my interest to keep the project moving along in your absence.

I work for the NHS as a programme manager, basically it means I manage lots of projects. I work PT and personally think PM lends itself very well to PT working. If you are a PT PM, you have to be very organised and good at planning, but then once you're in the swing of it, it's fine.

I'm PRINCE2 qualified which is useful, but not essential. Tell us more about your previous line of work - I know women who work for pharma or co-ordinating research trials etc. for unis, frequently PT. I would not consider working for one of the big consultancy firms as that is very family unfriendly and requires working away a lot.

I work with some PM who have limited healthcare knowledge and it really shows tbh. I have a pretty good clinical and a very good healthcare systems knowledge and that's what really makes it work. The ability to manage people (directly and indirectly, up and down) is essential I'd say.

Hi there - I am a FT PM, have just gone back to work earlier this month after my 2nd maternity leave. I work in the Telecoms industry and have done so for 15 years, all FT although much more of a challenge now with 2 little ones.

I would agree with other posters that it's difficult to sustain PM on a PT basis as there is always something going on every day and you need to stay on top of it. For myself I don't think I'd do the job properly on a PT basis, and am not aware of any PT-PM in my industry. I am PMP-certified, it's a qualification similar to PRINCE2 which is more IT-based, though thinking of getting PRINCE as well just to have this on my CV (would like baby to sleep through night though before I start studying evenings..). Note the PMP is fairly recent, I did do the role before being certified but there is a real push now to ensure people have passed the exam.

The positive side is that I've been in my role for a number of years, handle it well and so do have some flexibility in making the odd visit to the doctor, late dropoff etc, as I can adjust my schedule to a certain extent. On the other hand it's practically guaranteed that sooner or later the day of a big meeting you'll have a sick child and will have to scramble (or more likely send apologies/reschedule). I do find myself working late fairly regularly to catch up on things. I managed the juggle ok for one year after my first matleave, so hoping I can carry on!

Good luck, there's no perfect solution is there...