project management jobs

[Britboy]

Just passed my PMP test last month before they switched to the harder one.🙂

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: athithi

Originally posted by: spidey07
Building a new plant for an auto manufacturer
New network for a state
Network build out for a carrier
Bridges/arenas and large structures

All of a sudden $500-600 doesn't seem too large if one PM can run a project that size 🙂 Thanks for the info.

Oh they have a lot of people working under them doing the "work" of "project management" - communication, budget, risk/issues, etc. But they do the heady critical path stuff and overall planning and risk analysis.

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: Britboy
Just passed my PMP test last month before they switched to the harder one.🙂

congrats!

I've heard it is pretty difficult.

 

[rookie1010]

spidey why do you say

The PMP seems to be mostly geared towards tech projects.

which one is btter, PMP or PRINCE2?

is PRINCE2 the european version of PMP?

 

[boggsie]

Originally posted by: spidey07

Originally posted by: Future Shock
The PMI is the single best way to become a certified project management professional. An alternative (if young enough) is simply to work for a large consulting firm and finally make manager - at one point Andersen Consulting alone probably produced 10-15% of all project managers in IT. The large firms live and die by formal methodology, and they teach it (some well, some less), and your work experience will be the equivalent of certification or degree.

More tactically - LEARN MICROSOFT PROJECT. Inside out. All of it. Get three books on it, and understand them all. Understand estimates, actuals, duration driven, effort driven...the whole kit and kaboodle. Actually, understand half of it and you probably exceed most practicing project managers: there is a heck of a lot of complexity there. Few people that I have met can really tap into that software and make it do complicated stuff easily - and it does have the power to do that. Be that type of person, and you will get staffed in junior project management roles, and then learn project management as you do it. Not the best way, and very dependant upon who is actually leading the projects that you are learning on, but relatively painless and cheap...

BTW - I disagree with the above comments about PM work drying up. In fact, PM work is one of the few good responses career-wise to off-shoring - someone has to manage the offshore contracts and projects, and that person is themselves not offshored...

Future Shock

Good post and I agree completely.

Formal project management methodology is super hot right now and it takes a good amount of training/education to "get" it.

Not only that the great thing about project management is you get other people to do the work. You're just managing it, pushing it forward and documenting it.

MS Project is a necessary tool to need to master but in other places "real" project management tools are put in place.

Agreed; remember though, the PMP can also be achieved through memorization and recall - you don't actually have to ascribe to the principles in order to have passed the test. I've known a couple of PMP's that didn't really understand the difference between a GANTT chart, a WBS and a 'real' Project Plan.

 

[rookie1010]

hey boggsie,
what is the difference between a GANTT chart, a WBS and a 'real' Project Plan

 

[Treyshadow]

True, A PMP can...

I passed mine just under a year ago. I can identify with those who knew project manamement before they received their PMP. Currently there are lots of Project managers without the PMP. It is just like IT folks without the qualifying certification. They can do the work, just don't have the paper. I promise though, the company I work for uses my project skills to the fullest. Large scale Information technology implementations are our specialty, and I can see several PMs charging over 200 an hour. Though they may not see all those funds.

The PMP is a worthy certification, but just like all certifications, many can get it with pure memorization.

Oh, and it depends on your industry whether PM jobs are "drying up". I have found there is more work than you can do if you are a good PM.

 

[dirtboy]

Trump, Martha Stewart?

 

[boggsie]

Originally posted by: rookie1010
hey boggsie,
what is the difference between a GANTT chart, a WBS and a 'real' Project Plan

Google is your friend.

http://www.ganttchart.com/

http://www.criticaltools.com/wbsmain.htm

Defining a 'real' project plan has to have some context. If you are going by PMI and the PMP guideline/standard, then you would reference the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) and find that, among others, your Project Plan needs to include sections that cover the management of: Scope, Time, Cost, Quality, Human Resources, Communications, Risk and Procurement.

I go to the trouble of making this point, because there are so many that I have run into that have some skill with Microsoft Project, can produce a GANTT chart and, therefore, believe they have the skills set of a Project Manager. I hope it doesn't sound like sour grapes, because it isn't.

If you go this route, don't let the mediocrity of others in the field, water down your personal level of excellence. Yes, you'll catch some flack for being a stickler for details, but it will show that you take your work seriously.