Wednesday, March 7, 2012

How to Become a Project Manager

Project managers can work just about anywhere, from multimedia to construction and beyond. If you want to make a lot of money bossing other people around, this could be a great venue for you. Sure, project managers do a lot more than "boss people around," but they are primarily paid to keep everyone around them in check at all times. If you think that you have the leadership and management skills it takes to keep a multimedia project on track, you need to look into becoming a project manager in the future. Here are some tips to help you get started in this exciting career as soon as possible.

Education in Project Management

Technically, you do not need a formal education to work in project management. If you know enough about multimedia to just lead people, you can start your career. If, however, you want to learn how to effectively manage your time and resources during a project, you may look into getting a project management degree. This may be an actual degree in project management, or it may be something like a business administration degree with an emphasis in project management. Some of the courses you might take along the way include:

  • Accounting and Finance
  • Advanced Cost Management
  • Advanced Program Management
  • Applied Managerial Statistics
  • Business Systems Analysis
  • Change Management
  • Contracts and Procurement
  • Developing a Business Perspective
  • Ethics and Enterprise
  • Fundamentals of E-Business
  • Fundamentals of Finance and Accounting
  • Fundamentals of Human Resource Management
  • Fundamentals of Management and Leadership
  • Fundamentals of Marketing and Sales
  • Fundamentals of Organizational Communication
  • Human Resources and Communication in Projects
  • Introduction to Project Management
  • Leadership and Organizational Behavior
  • Legal and Ethical Dimensions of Business
  • Managing Organizational Change
  • Managing Project Risk
  • Managing Quality
  • Marketing Management
  • Motivating Project Teams
  • Project Cost and Schedule Control
  • Project Management Systems
  • Total Quality Management

If you are interested in this kind of training, you can look for schools in your local area that may be able to provide you with the education. If you can't find anything there, you can always look to the internet for help as well. There are tons of schools online that offer business degrees, and they should be able to provide you with an option to become an effective project manager.

Certification in Project Management

Some clients like to work with people who are actually certified in project management. You do not have to get a certification, but this will definitely help you get better paying jobs in the future. The certification requirements for your area may be different than those in another state, so you will have to do some research as to what you need to do. Then you can go about whatever the examination process is to get your state certification.

Salary Ranges in Project Management

Now we're getting down to the fun stuff: how much money you can make as a project manager. Multimedia projects are somewhat hard to predict pay rates for because of the sheer changes in scale. One person may make significantly more than another because he or she is working on a larger project. Common pay rates by degree include:

  • Associate's Degree: $40,772 - $106,809
  • Bachelor of Science in Computer Science: $57,158 - $120,983
  • Bachelor of Science in Management Information Systems: $55,231 - $111,192
  • Master of Business Administration: $54,918 - $121,765

If you think that this sounds like the career for you, click on another tab in your web browser and start looking for a school to attend. In no time at all, you should have all the education you need to lead a multimedia project to success.

3 comments:

  1. That’s a very comprehensive list. Believe me, it could get more complicated than that. I have always felt that I belong in the project management world. As a young adult, I loved organizing mini projects for my family and friends. And up to now, as a project manager by profession, I still love planning my to-do lists, follow up with people and check on the progress of my tasks.

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