IT Project Management V.S. Technical Roles

[IndyColtsFan]

i'd say just go take the test. it's not that difficult and i think you'd really not rather read the pmbok again my question is now that i got out of the pmo and into storage, whether i should bother taking some classes to fill out enough pdu's to renew in a few years or to let it lapse.

Well, I'll have to reread the PMBOK again at this stage. I need to sit down and fill out that damn application and see if it gets accepted before I spend any more effort studying for it.

EDIT: Oh, and take the PDUs if your company will pay for them. Better than having to take the test again.

 

[xSauronx]

So I'm kind of at a crossroads in my career. I'm more than 6 years deep now doing .NET, Database and system engineering. I'm in the 6-figure range. I'm a technical lead for 2 projects. I"m kind of at the point where I have the ability or the permission to distribute work, GANNT charts, report on project status (upper management) etc...

I believe if I keep myself as a technical person (developer, programmer, sys arch, soft eng) my pay will eventually bottom out. I'm thinking if I get into IT project managment (PMP), the pay should be higher. The respect seems to be much better, since you learn how to communicate better with "human beings" and play a bigger role in the project. However, is the salary of a PMP > "techie". I guess I"m asking does a PMP cert project manager make more then most technical persons.

from who? management? that i might believe. probably not the case with techie colleagues.

 

[yllus]

how many companies have permanent PM's on staff?

I've worked at a software development company of about 50 employees that had one permanently staffed. At the media company I now work at with about 300 employees, we have 6 project managers working full time hours.

I tend to think as a software developer I can command better salaries than project managers can, but maybe I'm delusional. More to my concern is the rather out of control age discrimination in the development space. I'm hoping that levels off as we all age.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

I tend to think as a software developer I can command better salaries than project managers can, but maybe I'm delusional. More to my concern is the rather out of control age discrimination in the development space. I'm hoping that levels off as we all age.

That's one of my big concerns as well. I'll be 42 this year and am worried I'm going to be in trouble if I lose my job in the next few years unless I do something like project management.

 

[SMOGZINN]

I was a top level IT PM for several major oil companies. In my best year I made just shy of 300k. The amount of money you can make is limited only by your ability and willingness to kill yourself for the job.

But make no mistake, to be any good at it you will be killing yourself. For the top end earners the hours are brutal. In that best year I worked every day of the year, with out a single day off, and never less then 8 hours, most days was closer to 18 hours. Because I was coordinating worldwide projects I worked early morning, mid afternoon and late night. I would have a nap mid-morning starting about 9am, and then be up by noon for a meeting. I would work though the day, mostly meetings with upper management, then get dinner (often as part of a dinner meeting) then take a nap at about 9pm, only to be up again for teleconference meetings with Asia and Australia around 1am.

After a year of this I decided that I needed a week off for some R&R. When I came back the head PMP called me into his office to inform me that it would be held against me if I continued to insist on taking my vacation time.

I quit on the spot. I was heavily recruited by other companies (and had been for awhile) so I started a new job the next week, but they were no better. Same sort of brutal hours, same corporate culture of ‘if you have a life we are not squeezing you hard enough.’

So eventually, I quit it all. I now make a whole lot less money, but work 11am-9:30pm 4 days a week and leave my work at the office. I’m happier then I’ve been in a decade.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

So eventually, I quit it all. I now make a whole lot less money, but work 11am-9:30pm 4 days a week and leave my work at the office. I’m happier then I’ve been in a decade.

There's a lot to be said for that. Money isn't everything and sometimes, I think I should just STFU and be content with my job (I make good money and have awesome benefits and perks) and ride it to retirement while enjoying some hobbies.

 

[Ns1]

After a year of this I decided that I needed a week off for some R&R. When I came back the head PMP called me into his office to inform me that it would be held against me if I continued to insist on taking my vacation time.

what a terrible company to work for.

 

[DAGTA]

SMOGZINN made some good points. I'm not working 18 hour days, but I do regularly put in 50 or 60 hour weeks, I'm on call 24/7/365, and it can be very stressful.

However, if you do get your PMP, you can always go back to being a developer if you don't like it.

I'm also considering where I want to go. I was a .Net developer for 6 years and have been a PM for the past 3. The PMP does open doors and gets you contacts on LinkedIN. It's worth the time and cost investment if you have any interest in it.

 

[brianmanahan]

inb4

inb4 zeze?

 

[rchiu]

at the end of the day, it's what you enjoy doing that matters. PM and technical roles are 2 very different path. If you don't enjoy one or the other role, and you don't feel your personality will fit and be successful in that role, won't matter if that path has better pay.

Pick what you enjoy, and you will probably be more successful in that path. If you expand your technical skill into business/functional area, you can be highly paid solution architect without doing any PM stuff.

Freaking hell, that reminds me I gotta to take the damn pmp exam by Aug before the eligibility expires....

 

[Markbnj]

That's one of my big concerns as well. I'll be 42 this year and am worried I'm going to be in trouble if I lose my job in the next few years unless I do something like project management.

I wouldn't worry too much about that. I'm 51 and still working as a developer and architect, as well as leading project teams. I don't think it's really about age. Rather, it takes a lot of time to stay up on the latest technology when you're doing engineering. As people get older, have kids, more responsibilities, etc., it gets a lot harder to put the time in. I used to program 15 hours a day at work and at home when I was in my 20's. That just doesn't happen anymore. I think a lot of guys just get tired of the ceaseless change in the development end, and eventually they move to managing projects to get off the merry go 'round.

 

[steppinthrax]

I was a top level IT PM for several major oil companies. In my best year I made just shy of 300k. The amount of money you can make is limited only by your ability and willingness to kill yourself for the job.

But make no mistake, to be any good at it you will be killing yourself. For the top end earners the hours are brutal. In that best year I worked every day of the year, with out a single day off, and never less then 8 hours, most days was closer to 18 hours. Because I was coordinating worldwide projects I worked early morning, mid afternoon and late night. I would have a nap mid-morning starting about 9am, and then be up by noon for a meeting. I would work though the day, mostly meetings with upper management, then get dinner (often as part of a dinner meeting) then take a nap at about 9pm, only to be up again for teleconference meetings with Asia and Australia around 1am.

After a year of this I decided that I needed a week off for some R&R. When I came back the head PMP called me into his office to inform me that it would be held against me if I continued to insist on taking my vacation time.

I quit on the spot. I was heavily recruited by other companies (and had been for awhile) so I started a new job the next week, but they were no better. Same sort of brutal hours, same corporate culture of ‘if you have a life we are not squeezing you hard enough.’

So eventually, I quit it all. I now make a whole lot less money, but work 11am-9:30pm 4 days a week and leave my work at the office. I’m happier then I’ve been in a decade.

I would kill people for 300K

 

[brianmanahan]

I would kill people for 300K

the fact that you would kill for any amount of money is terrible

 

[steppinthrax]

There's a lot to be said for that. Money isn't everything and sometimes, I think I should just STFU and be content with my job (I make good money and have awesome benefits and perks) and ride it to retirement while enjoying some hobbies.

I don't understand people who say money isn't everything. Let's do a little experiment.

1. Keep your next paycheck in a shoe-box (and every paycheck thereafter).
2. When you are on the street, foreclosed, bad credit and everything repossessed, then tell me money isn't everything .

 

[Doppel]

I would kill people for 300K

I wouldn't. I read that and it sounded like sh*t. It sounds like he literally sold a year of his life. It's not worth it--he figured that out, take that wisdom

 

[Doppel]

I don't understand people who say money isn't everything. Let's do a little experiment.

1. Keep your next paycheck in a shoe-box (and every paycheck thereafter).
2. When you are on the street, foreclosed, bad credit and everything repossessed, then tell me money isn't everything .

It's only everything when you're dirt poor. Once you are comfortably middle class more money does little to increase happiness, but can definitely increase the time you spend chasing it. And you buy nicer stuff but everybody gets bored with things eventually.

On HGTV tonight a guy with a $600k bathroom. Looked impressive but it's so lame, it's just a bunch of sh*t. He'll die and it won't matter. It probably doesn't really matter now. I bet if his doctor told him he had cancer the last thing on his mind would be the silly sh*t he bought with his millions.

 

[TecHNooB]

I would kill people for 300K

last thing i expected based on how this thread was goin. i guess the guy you want advice from is

 

[steppinthrax]

It's only everything when you're dirt poor. Once you are comfortably middle class more money does little to increase happiness, but can definitely increase the time you spend chasing it. And you buy nicer stuff but everybody gets bored with things eventually.

On HGTV tonight a guy with a $600k bathroom. Looked impressive but it's so lame, it's just a bunch of sh*t. He'll die and it won't matter. It probably doesn't really matter now. I bet if his doctor told him he had cancer the last thing on his mind would be the silly sh*t he bought with his millions.

It's about social class status. When you sit down at the end of the day, you know your income is in the top bracket. The guy with the 600K bathroom had $600K to spend. I'm sure he will let his friends know in some subtle way during social gatherings.

 

[brianmanahan]

last thing i expected based on how this thread was goin. i guess the guy you want advice from is

lol you keep omitting the call-outs, the suspense is killing

 

[Capt Caveman]

It's about social class status. When you sit down at the end of the day, you know your income is in the top bracket. The guy with the 600K bathroom had $600K to spend. I'm sure he will let his friends know in some subtle way during social gatherings.

Wow, that's sad. I feel sorry for you.

 

[rchiu]

It's about social class status. When you sit down at the end of the day, you know your income is in the top bracket. The guy with the 600K bathroom had $600K to spend. I'm sure he will let his friends know in some subtle way during social gatherings.

well if you need to work 7 days a week, 15 hrs a day, you are not going to have any friend, social gathering, or see your 600k bathroom very much.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

It's about social class status. When you sit down at the end of the day, you know your income is in the top bracket. The guy with the 600K bathroom had $600K to spend. I'm sure he will let his friends know in some subtle way during social gatherings.

Honestly, it sounds like you need to grow up. This post, coupled with the previous two, tell me that your priorities are way out of whack. People whose sole focus in life is money are the ones that generally die lonely.

There are porn stars and drug dealers that make more money than you'll ever see. Does that make them "better" than anyone or higher social status?

I don't understand people who say money isn't everything. Let's do a little experiment.

1. Keep your next paycheck in a shoe-box (and every paycheck thereafter).
2. When you are on the street, foreclosed, bad credit and everything repossessed, then tell me money isn't everything .

Ok, and what difference does it make if you make $50K, $100K, or $600K? In the above example, all would be hurting eventually. When people make more money, they tend to spend more money. There are lots of people who make more money than me who are nowhere near the level of financial security I enjoy.

I didn't say money wasn't important -- I said it wasn't everything. You are entirely too focused on it. Go ahead, get a job where you work 18 hours a day, 7 days a week, with no time off. Come back in a year and tell us how you liked it.

 

[kranky]

SMOGZINN makes a very good point about the difficulty of being a PM on international projects. The need for good communication will absolutely impact your work hours. You can't do everything by email, so if you need to talk to people in the China office, you need to do it when they are in the office. That would be roughly 8PM to 5AM Eastern Time in the US.

You could practically name your price if you have these attributes:
- Certified PMP and of course PM skills
- Willing to travel internationally as much as necessary (in other words, a lot of travel)
- Able to speak English and one other language.

If you can do the above, it doesn't matter what industry you have experience in, you can get a great paying job.

 

[Elbryn]

Well, I'll have to reread the PMBOK again at this stage. I need to sit down and fill out that damn application and see if it gets accepted before I spend any more effort studying for it.

EDIT: Oh, and take the PDUs if your company will pay for them. Better than having to take the test again.

if i were still in the PMO i could probably get them paid for. now its just me and the emc subscription that get to huggle in the night. considering i had a couple years in to get my partway, it's probably worth it to pay some out of pocket and renew for the next 4 years then re-evaluate again..

 

[Elbryn]

well if you need to work 7 days a week, 15 hrs a day, you are not going to have any friend, social gathering, or see your 600k bathroom very much.

not to mention that 15 hours a week is 2.5 x the regular 40 hour week. your 300k is about the same per hour as someone making 120k. very respectable, that's for sure but you're killing yourself to do it.