Project manager

As a project manager, you'll be responsible for planning and organising projects, ensuring they are delivered on time, within budget and to specified requirements. You'll need to determine a schedule, with deadlines, and monitor progress throughout the project. You will also delegate tasks to your team, identify and manage risks and communicate with clients and stakeholders. Ultimately, you're responsible for completing the work in line with the plan and will often report progress to senior managers.

You could also be known as:

• assistant project manager
• business change manager
• delivery manager
• junior/senior project manager
• project coordinator
• project lead
• project officer.

Types of project management roles

You can specialise in one sector, or work across a variety of sectors, such as:

• construction
• energy and utilities
• engineering
• finance/IT
• healthcare
• marketing
• public sector, including law enforcement - such as for the police or government, working on projects concerned with counter-terrorism, national security and intelligence.

What does a project manager do?

As a project manager, you'll need to:

• follow a standard process, according to your employer or client needs, and as defined by a professional project management organisation, such as the APM (Association for Project Management), the governmental Project Delivery Capability Framework (PDCF), PeopleCert / AXELOS (which manages the PRINCE2 project management methodology) and the PMI (Project Management Institute)
• initiate the project, determine feasibility and work out budgets, teams and resources
• effectively plan in accordance with client needs, including setting goals and objectives, defining roles and producing schedules and timelines for tasks, including project milestones. Tools, such as Gantt charts, are used to create a visual project plan
• select, lead and motivate your project team from both internal and external stakeholder organisations
• manage the project, which includes leading and coordinating the project team aligned with the schedule, and keeping the project within budget.
• carry out monitoring and control activities to track project progress
• identify, analyse and manage risks using tools such as a risk register, probability-impact matrix and/or risk management software
• implement any necessary changes throughout the process
• report regularly to management and the client
• close the project - this includes evaluating successes and challenges, recorded in a 'lessons learned' document to enhance learning for subsequent projects.

Project manager salaries

• Starting salaries for junior project managers are typically between £30,000 and £38,000, depending on the sector. For example, project management roles in the energy and utilities or IT sectors generally pay more than in the public sector or healthcare.
• Experienced project managers can expect to earn between £45,000 and £80,000, with senior project managers sometimes earning more than £100,000.
• Freelance project managers will negotiate a daily rate for the duration of each contract. Daily rates vary considerably, determined by several factors, typically falling between £350 (entry level) and £750 (senior level and/or specialist sector) a day.

Project managers typically receive a benefits package from their employer. This sometimes includes a car or car allowance for roles that require, for example, travel to client sites.

UK salaries for project managers vary significantly, depending on the sector, project complexity and experience level.

Income figures are intended as a guide only.

Typical hours worked by a project manager

You can expect to work normal business hours Monday to Friday, but this will vary for each sector. You may be expected to work additional hours to meet deadlines and paid overtime is unlikely.

Working hours will vary if you are working freelance, and short-term contracts for the duration of specific projects are available.

It's common for UK project manager roles to offer some work-from-home (WFH) options, though the split between office and WFH varies considerably. Some travel to visit clients and attend project team meetings should be expected, though the amount of travel required also varies.

How do you become a project manager?

You can get into project management with a degree in any subject, with typical degrees for project management including business administration, engineering and computer science. However, studying towards a foundation degree, HND or degree in business or project management will provide practical knowledge about the commercial aspects of projects.

Postgraduate study in project management will increase your understanding but is not a pre-requisite to employment. Search for postgraduate courses in project management.

Degrees accredited by the Association for Project Management (APM) are listed on their website.

As a new graduate, you're unlikely to go straight into a project manager role. On some graduate schemes, you may start off in a junior or assistant project manager position, with the opportunity to progress to management as you gain experience.

In some sectors, such as IT and engineering, your subject knowledge will be more important than a business or project management degree. You can move into project management from technical roles after gaining experience in a project team or in a supporting administrative role.

What skills does a project manager need?

You'll need to have:

• excellent organisation and time management skills, to plan the best use of people, time and resources
• strong interpersonal skills, to motivate and lead your project team and communicate with a range of stakeholders at all levels
• the ability to monitor and control budgets
• excellent communication and negotiation skills, to manage expectations
• the ability to use your initiative and make decisions under pressure
• the capacity to use project management software, spreadsheets and databases
• technical knowledge related to the project may also be required.

Project management work experience

Work experience in managing resources, costs and people will help you to get into project management. Look for opportunities in supporting roles, such as administrator, coordinator and scheduling positions. From a supporting role, it's possible to undertake professional qualifications to progress into management.

Ask your university or search company websites for placement, internship or vacation work opportunities that will enable you to develop project skills. You can also develop project skills by joining extracurricular clubs and societies or by completing a project with an international organisation such as Aid Camps International or VSO (Voluntary Service Overseas).

You can join a professional body, such as the APM or the PMI, as a student member. This can provide you with opportunities to network with other professionals, keep your knowledge and skills up to date through training, events, news and publications and point you towards job opportunities.

Find out more about the different kinds of work experience and internships that are available.

Who employs project managers?

As a project manager, you can work in public sector organisations, private companies, charities and consultancies, and across virtually all sectors, including:

• architecture
• construction
• engineering
• finance
• IT
• manufacturing
• retail.

Larger organisations are more likely to employ permanent project managers in dedicated teams or Project Management Offices (PMOs), engaging self-employed project managers for specific requirements. In smaller organisations, it's common to be taken on in a freelance capacity. Some specialist project management consultancies have graduate entry schemes. Professional services outsourcing companies also provide project managers for short-term contracts. Permanent employment is more common for project manager roles in the UK, but there are a lot of freelance opportunities too, particularly as skills and experience develop.

You're most likely to progress into project management through support or technical roles on project teams. Since much project work is carried out in addition to the core day-to-day activities of a business, you can often work as a freelance project manager on a short-term contract. If you develop a niche area of expertise you may be approached with opportunities.

Look for job vacancies at:

• APM Careers Hub
• Project Management Institute Job Board
• Project Manager Jobs

What are the career and development prospects in project management?

Project management is a growth area with increasing opportunities for all manner of projects, and prevalence in almost all sectors. This means there are plenty of opportunities to develop a project management career.

You'll develop transferable skills that help you progress either in project management or other types of management. To boost your career prospects, you may want to join a professional body and undertake further qualifications to make sure your skills are up to date.

With greater experience in project management, you could progress to the role of programme manager, where you'd be responsible for a team of project managers and overseeing a collection of related projects.

At the next level you could progress to the role of a project management office (PMO) manager, where you'd focus on ensuring a consistent approach across all project work within the organisation.

Alternatively, you could apply your leadership skills and move into senior management roles, including head of department, director or chief executive. Taking professional qualifications before entering a project management role isn't always essential, as employers often provide training for new recruits. Training may cover the project management methodology applied by your employer, and/or by the client and it is common for project managers to develop knowledge and skills of more than one methodology as they develop their career. Common project management methodologies include PRINCE2, Agile and Waterfall. You can also gain professional qualifications through the

• APM (Association for Project Management)
• CMI (Chartered Management Institute)
• PMI (Project Management Institute).

Sector-specific organisations, such as The Chartered Institute for IT (BCS), offer professional qualifications that may be relevant to your area of work.

Keeping up to date with developments in technology, including new software applications and the continued development and application of AI, is important to stay current in project management.