The Sensible Guide to a Career in Project Management in 2015

by Te Wu

Project management has been growing rapidly for the past decades. Yet, until now, aspiring and practicing project managers struggle to find a relevant and timely guide on planning and developing careers in project management. In this comprehensive guide, the book provides the latest information on the state of the profession. In addition, the author proposed a career ladder with seven major steps as professionals start at the beginning and reaching the executive role, a stretch of twenty or more years. This book contains five chapters. Below is a summary of the topics and the key questions addressed in the book.Chapter 1: IntroductionThe first chapter provides an introduction to project management, as well as program and portfolio management. It addresses these five What are projects, programs, and portfolios?B. What is project, program, and portfolio management?C. Why project management?D. How are projects different than operations?E. Is project management a science or an art?Chapter 2: Career in Project ManagementThis chapter presents the challenges and opportunities of managing projects and whether it is the right profession for you. This chapter focuses on these three What are the challenges of project management?B. What are the rewards of being a project manager?C. Is project management right for you?Chapter 3: Project Management InstituteProject Management Institute (PMI) is the world’s largest project management professional organization dedicated to the advancement of the project management profession. For practitioners, it is a vital organization, not only for network and learning, but also for career development. PMI currently offers eight certifications designed for project professionals of all levels. Questions addressed in this chapter are as What are PMI’s certifications?B. What are the qualifications for each certification? Which one should you pursue?C. What do you need to do to maintain certifications?D. Are there other project management standards and certifications?Chapter 4: Project Management Career LadderThis chapter presents a general project management career ladder at three broad levels across seven titles. In addition, the chapter outlines 25 essential skills organized into three skills groups. Finally, I have included my thoughts on the skills, qualifications, and career development and certification strategies. The four questions discussed in this chapter are as What does the project management career ladder look like?B. What are the core skills required to be an effective project managers?C. How does these skills map to the career ladder?D. Are there the core skills and qualification guidelines?Chapter 5: War StoriesSynthesizing the content and strategies from the first four chapters, this chapter takes a different approach – storytelling. By presenting four stories from four individuals who are at different level of the project management profession, I hope to highlight selective project management concerns.

218 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 18, 2015