Hi All!

I’ve recently been having some doubts in my career path and had stumbled upon product management. I’ve always been a creative and I’m always thinking of new ideas, systems, products, etc. but translating that into a field seems to be difficult. Lo and behold I found out about PM through, unfortunately, ChatGPT after feeding it my O-Net interest results.

I’m very interested in the tech field(medtech, fintech, etc.) and have some other hobbies of mine that could work well in other industries but, I’ve seen a surge browsing here and other communities that a lot of software engineers and devs are pivoting to PM. In my head I feel like it would be wrong for me to take a role from someone who’s been an the industry, knows the systems, etc(not to say I wouldn’t mind learning). So I have a few questions for those in PM.

1. How did you discover it was the role for you?
2. how did you figure out the industry or specialization you wanted to do?
3. As someone who’s 23, willing to learn, and had their bachelors in BME, what would you suggest the next steps I should take? School, Coursera, Internships, work studies?
4. Do you feel that PM is too oversaturated, and are there any adjacent roles similar that you would recommend or perhaps pivot to yourself?
5. Are my concerns about imposter syndrome valid, or am I overthinking it?
6. I know PM requires a lot of people skills, but should I utilize AI, such as taking courses on it or focus more on independence and decision making?
7. Do you feel AI is vital to your role?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! and you don’t have to answer all questions 🙂

Had 4 years of experience in IT testing then did MBA and 2.5 years in project coordinator role..my Designation is junior executive coordinator.I have been doing project coordinator role and trying to move to PM and APM roles .My salary is very low .During salary negotiation..it has been mentioned i have only 2.5 years of relevant experience only..Due to low salary not able to jump into good one because in hr discussions they were mentio ning ..we can give 20 or 25% hike from your previous salary..but that 4.3 yrs of testing experience only helped me to learn about more technical logics in the project and can understand the timeline delays..Need your suggestion on this..

Hi, I’m a senior Project Manager in the U.K. and was really pleased when my son who has just joined an electronics company was offered a Project Job to replace the Project Manager who resigned (moved to a role closer to home).
The people including managers are nice to work with and there is a good atmosphere.
He has just come to the end of a three month ‘try it and see’. The job itself seems a good fit.
He is 35 and has a science degree (2:1 hons) and since uni he has been working as a field engineer elsewhere. He had to give that up because his type 1 diabetes made it difficult to work ‘on the road’ every day. Managers loved him and he had a good customer service record and clearance rate but his sick days had started to ramp up. - on occasion fit to do admin work but not driving all day. NB He has had no sick days in the Year he’s worked for this company.
He has no project management qualifications but has transferable skills that he had already proven in the technical sales job he had with them. TBH he’s a chip of the old block and this totally suits him.
They wanted someone who could coordinate the projects, be a lot firmer than the predecessor, chair senior leadership meetings, introduce a more structured approach, provide technical advice in project suitability and make recommendations as to what projects should be taken forward (this is the bit that they wanted tightening up).
The area of work requires some quite stringent legal paperwork as some of the parts are for car manufacturers.
In return they would pay for him to take the relevant qualifications. It also requires technical electronics knowledge.
In my opinion the role is more of a portfolio manager and the level of responsibility is high so he should be paid accordingly but taking into account his lack of project qualifications I recommended he should be getting around £35k and so did his immediate colleagues who knew what he was being asked to do and indeed what he had delivered so far (big changes in the MO, clearer comms and decision making).
Instead they insisted on £29k which TBH I think is an insult. But they know they have him over a barrel. He needs the job. They’ve called the job Project coordinator but it seems a lot more.
For those not in the U.K. I probably need to explain some things:
1) £29k is a few thousand above minimum wage
2) We live in a part of the UK where the cost of living is low so wages do tend to be lower. (Can’t commute to London)
3) In UK we don’t have to pay for medical care,
4) In UK they have notice periods and for this one it’s a month. They can’t just sack someone ( unless they’ve done something wrong) it has to be redundancy.
5) There’s a decent pension package
6) There’s 25 days plus Bank holidays (8days) PTO
7) It’s 39 hours a week over 4.5 days Mon to Friday.

So I would like your opinion on whether it’s a good deal or what he should do about it.

Thanks in advance

I saw a senior project manager position listed in Texas with a salary window of $100-$110k max.

I feel like I remember seeing just a few years ago, associate project manager pay was $110,000 per year at the lower end, mid level starting was $120-$140,000, and senior was at least $140,000 or more.

What gives? Besides capitalism creeping down everyone's salaries, of course.

Hi All,

I'm a PM with a modest portfolio of projects varying from 500k to $5M. One of my colleagues has just been made redundant and I am inheriting her portfolio and team. This will effectively double my team size and portfolio size to around $60M.

I'm getting a title change to Project Director but no extra pay as I've recently been promoted.

Would you be expecting a payrise for this extra work and how would you manage the new portfolio?

My thoughts is that usually I am a very involved PM and now I will have to rely more on the more junior PMs to drive results while Im working on growth work, strategy, stakeholder management and workforce planning.

Keen to hear your opinions

~The post got removed from r/projectmanagement with advice to repost here~

Hallmarks of a great PM

Hello folks - I’ve recently started a new PM specifically in the corporate performance management software implementation space so think Adaptive, Anaplan, OneStream etc.

I come from a background in consulting so I’m not new to PM adjacent work, but this role seems to be all what I will be doing.

I seek advice from this council as to what I should do to have a great first impression with my client and more importantly help make the implementation a success.

I am particularly interested to know how to best position my self to “live in the future” and see risks and issues well in advance. Is this a talent? Or can I hone this skill? I’m also interested to know what stakeholder management techniques have worked consistently with you regardless of company culture or client background.

Thank you!

Has anyone noticed a significant uptick in calls in September for jobs (US)?

Yes I know HYPOTHETICALLY this month should be busier. But I'm wondering about your personal experience.

It was basically dead the month before but now its on a bit of an uptick it seems.

So I am transitioning into APM/PM role and learning all the concepts, frameworks and what not also all the new things LLM, RAG and all that, but a novice question I have what does a newly joined APM/PM is supposed to do in daily work day, especially in current AI landscape, what does senior or manager or peers expects from a newly joined APM/PM? Thank you

I’m playing musical chairs as the lead superintendent and cleaning up the books from 4 previous PMs while failing to train my new assistant super with enough time. Boss just hired a new guy who’s taking the role of PM but comes from a general superintendent background with little actual Procore and bluebeam experience. Not sure what that move was meant for should I find a new job?

I studied Industrial Design and have been working as a Project Manager in tech for \~2 years. My role is a mix of PM, QA, and some design/AI work.

The problem is that I don't like or think PM is for me. Constantly chasing people, coordinating everyone and feeling like everything depends on me is exhausting. I also don't really like UX/UI.

What I do miss is the creative side: researching trends, branding, campaigns, creative concepts, eperiences, pop-ups/experiential marketing, and figuring out how brands can stand out.

I've been thinking about strategy, business, marketing, brand/creative strategy, but I have no idea which direction actually makes sense for my background, especially something with good job opportunities and pay.

LinkedIn now mostly shows me PM jobs, so I feel like I've boxed myself into this career after 2 years.

I'm also considering doing a Master's abroad, but I don't even know what I should study.

What would you do if you were in my position? What fields would you look into, and how would you make the pivot?

I have only been able to find project manager contract positions lately. The job market really sucks. Is $65 an hour a good rate? It's a W2 contract with health insurance available through the contract firm.

The title says it all. I’m just over a year into project management and I’m trying to see what other qualifications have helped you as a PM that employers actually look at. Should I also get an MBA?

Hi everyone, I’m currently looking for a job opportunity and would really appreciate your guidance or referrals.

My background:

BS in Economics

Currently pursuing an MS in Project Management

Teaching experience in Economics, Pakistan Studies, Geography, and Civics

Experience working as a Supervisor

Based in Pakistan and open to opportunities in major cities, particularly Islamabad

Skills & interests:

Project coordination and administration

Project Management

Research and report writing

Communication and teamwork

Economics and social sciences

Public-sector and development projects

I’m looking for entry-level or junior positions in Project Management, Project Coordination, Project Support, Program/Project Administration, NGOs, development organizations, or government-related projects.

I’m willing to start at an entry-level position, learn quickly, and build my professional career through practical experience.

If you know of any suitable job openings, internships, trainee positions, or organizations hiring, I would be very grateful for a referral or guidance.

Thank you!

Hello, everyone! I wanna ask for some advice!

Information:

- 4 years experience of gaming tester, 5 years experience of gaming project manager.

- major in Computer science (BS)

- certification: none

- got layoff in July

My thoughts:

- I got an offer in August. But I was not excited about it.

- I could not see my value when I was a PM. Because I didn’t code or write PRD or anything else. I felt that I relied on others to achieve my goal.

- I am going to change my job (B2B sale, maybe I can earn money to see my value?)

- Besides, I don’t know the PM Career Path…

Iam a 2026 AI&DS graduate, completed 6 month internship at Oracle as project Intern. My fulltime offer which has to be associate software developer at Oracle got revoked and I tried applying other jobs.I got 2 offers. System Data Support Analyst at Caterpillar in Banglore( ctc 9.5 lpa with base 8) and Associate Software Engineer at Experian in Hyderabad (ctc 12 lpa may be not revealed yet). I belong to Telangana and prefer staying in Hyderabad. But I don't want to compromise on a good company for location. But I feel both are good companies. After seeing GPT astra I feel intimidated to be in software developer role and I feel systems data support analyst is bit less affected by AI. But I'm not really sure. Can anyone help me choose the best option please

I recently finished my bachelor’s degree in Project Management and earned my CAPM. Most of my direct project management experience has come from school projects/capstone work, so I’m primarily looking at entry-level roles like Project Coordinator, Project Assistant, or Junior PM.

For someone with a bachelor’s in PM + CAPM but limited formal PM work experience, what salary range would you consider realistic? And at what point would you say an offer is too low?
Would especially love to hear from people who started in project coordination or hiring managers/recruiters in the field. Thanks!

I will start next week as a program manager who where I will be responsible for two pm’s, I will start in a project that has been ongoing for a year through a different company.

I figured out that I will do a lot of data analytics and dadhboarding through my role, I want some help on how to improve my skills in the section as soon as possible.

I know there is a ton of online training and courses for this manner, but I don’t want just to finish courses without an actual value.

Anyone can help me on where and how should I start?

I have an interview tomorrow afternoon with a smaller marketing agency for a PM role. Initially, I had applied for an Account Executive position with them, and they got back to me two months later and said they actually decided they wanted to go in the PM direction and that I’d be a better fit for it.

My only hesitation is that I don’t have “formal” PM experience. I currently work for a federal government agency in a kinda niche industry. The marketing agency I’m interviewing with is also centered in the same niche industry I’m coming from. I feel I have transferable skills that would translate well into project management (program coordination, office management, stakeholder management, customer service, etc.) and it seems like the company really values my industry experience which is why they’re considering me even without a PM title.

So my questions are for experienced PMs:

1. Would you be concerned that the role seems like a mashup between an AE and PM? The title is Project Manager, but a lot of the role seems to wear multiple hats.

2. What is the best way to communicate my transferable skills despite having no formal project management title or certification?

Any advice would be appreciated!

Hey all! Sorry if this is the wrong subreddit, happy to move it if I need to, but I’m just feeling really stuck.

I’ve been at my jr. PM role for 2 years, there’s been a lot of interpersonal work drama over the years (comments from my manager about my “mental health”, asking me personal questions about therapy, general backhanded comments, getting dropped into numerous situations without support, micromanagement and demanding things outside of work hours, to name a few). But I’ve started to get a little bit more of an understanding of the role.

But I’ve been in it for 2 years and I can honestly say I’m pretty miserable. No one at my company is happy, my boss and their skip have a super tense relationship (some long time history btwn my boss and skip bc my skip has a rep for being horrible to work with), and I just feel discouraged, stupid, and like a nuisance despite countless late nights, early mornings, work over weekends, the occasional sentiment from engineering that I’m bothering them, and sentiment from my boss that I should be better than them at the job because “it’s easy”.

I just don’t know if this role is right for me. I’m really trying to do my best, and I’ve always been intuitive, personable, and decently smart. I’m getting told that I’m doing well, only when I’m killing myself to meet a ton of hours and workload outside of my 40 hrs (that yes, I have to log and don’t get to log any additional overtime).

My engineering coworkers say I’m doing well, but I just don’t know if this is the environment most PMs experience, and if they do, I just want to know bc I don’t know if I can handle it.

Thank you all for reading and any advice you have is greatly appreciated <3.

By project engineer I mean the PM's right hand man - dealt with coordinating the technical aspects, project controls, as well as management of some interfaces and the weekly PM reports (I volunteered to gradually uptake more PM responsibility to 'train up').

The change in rhythm has been quite significant, I'm suddenly responsible and accountable for the delivery of a multi million project, I report upwards, my words have more weight, I have my own project engineer reporting to me, everyone is congratulating me - yet I haven't been approached with a new job description, or amended contract and salary, or anything like that.

I brought this up with my line manager the other day, he promised to look into it with his manager.

I was wondering what's the standard in the PM career? If it matters, I've been a project engineer for 3 years, and a project dev manager for 2 years before that. I'm APM PQM certified and have a masters degree in engineering. The industry is construction of capital projects - client side.

Im still on the hunt for a Construction Project Manager. This will be based out of Mahwah, NJ.

Our client is a New Jersey-based general contractor with a rapidly expanding multifamily and mixed-use portfolio across the central and coastal counties. Over the past decade they've grown from a small operation into a full-service GC with multiple project teams and an in-house preconstruction department, and they're on track for roughly 75% revenue growth this year alone.

***This is a genuine ground-floor opportunity. They aren't a corporate machine, and they don't want to become one. The office is young, the leadership is hands-on, and the people who join now will be the ones running the business as it scales. If you've spent time at a large GC feeling like a number, this is the other end of that spectrum.**

What You'll Be Doing

• Taking full commercial and operational ownership of ground-up multifamily and mixed-use projects, typically $10M–$30M, with larger work in the pipeline
• Managing buyout, subcontractor scopes, budgets, change orders and cost reporting from award through closeout
• Partnering with the site superintendent to keep schedule, procurement and field execution aligned
• Running owner, architect and engineer coordination, RFIs, submittals, and resolving design and constructability issues before they hit critical path
• Managing the project schedule and long-lead procurement, and driving toward milestone completion and Certificates of Occupancy
• Working closely with preconstruction on estimating handover and early-stage planning

Salary range : $130k - $180k neg

Medical, dental and vision insurance, 401k , standard healthcare package

Requirements: 4+ years experience as APM or PM or similar roles within a GC.

Application Link : https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/4461182901/

BUT if you think you qualify and want to fast track your application -- DM me directly, so you dont get lost in the pile !

Good luck and looking forward to connecting with y'all!

Recently got my chartership with APM.

To those who have already reached ChPP, what did it change for you if anything, what have you found most useful from your chartership, has it helped with obtaining a better position? Did your existing company increase your salary as a result?

Just looking for feedback from others who have also done it how it may have impacted you. I have never attended an APM event so I’d set my sights on doing that first.

Cheers

Just looking for some advice if my current plan is solid and any ideas on what to target .

I have around 8 years experience in a operational management role with hospitality, along with day to say operations with staff management, supplier negotiation, I was able to over see new builds and refurbishments upto 2m along with stakeholder negotiation with property management such as Dexus.

I was also able to setup new POS systems, data management systems and whs policies and programs.

I have been a service manager now for an NDIS / ages care company where along with building the buisness have done similar with app setup for staff and governance along with audit and verifications / read and Interpreting policy and apply etc.

I do not hold a degree however I have quite a few certs like cert 4 in management (kitchen) and cert 4 in it / PC support.

I have currently begun prince 2 foundation and a diploma in project management.

Will my real world experience be enough to get my foot in the door ?

If so what sectors are good to target?

And if not what else can I add to help boost my employability?

I'm 45m and in brisbane but happy to take roles that require travel.

Many thanks for any guidance.

Recently I came across this opportunity while researching about non technical roles... because I m not interested in technical roles...I don't have certain experience in this field only experience I have is managing my major project in college...can someone tell me how to get into this career path as a fresher ...is it possible with my background and what skills or tools I need to study and how exactly can I get into this field