Looking for job/career suggestions - help me start pivoting
April 18, 2018 2:02 AM Subscribe
I'm not sure about the long term prospects of my current job and I wanted to know what others options I might have. What kinds of jobs can a PM skillset get you?
I currently work as a project analyst at a big financial services company in a program management office (PMO). For #reasons I don't think continuing my employment in this company will lead to any career growth or upward mobility. Let's just say they've outright lied to other colleagues about promotions and have been playing favorites. This won't change. I have stayed for a long time (~5 years) because I'm the loyal comfortable type who does their work on time and otherwise stays quiet. I have learned how an IT organization essentially runs their business so that's been a positive. I'm planning on getting my pmp hopefully by the end of the year. At this point I consider myself to be a experienced/mid-level.
So I need some advice/suggestions. I'm pretty sure I'm no longer interested in being a technology project manager of any sort anymore. Even though I wasn't an execution PM for a significant amount of time (I've only ever been assigned to 2 release due to staff shortage on the execution team and that lasted about 6 months) I still don't think even being a PMO PM is something I want to keep doing. It seems that if you're a PM (of value) then it's only as a construction or IT/software delivery PM. So if I need to get another job exactly like the one I have now or similar to it, I know how to.
So what can I do with a PM skillset that isn't in technology or construction? How else can I pivot with my PM skillset? You may say that all industries need PMs but right now it seems like all industries are only looking for technology PMs. So, any ideas of what to look for/research? Ideally it pays a decent amount of money. I currently make around 68k (in the DMV area which doesn't go far if you're also trying to save money and need to live alone due to mental health concerns). My undergrad degree was in Management so no specialized knowledge of anything other than businesses. Are there any industries I may be overlooking? This won't get solved overnight and I'm only just starting so any relevant ideas/suggestions/advice would be welcome!
I currently work as a project analyst at a big financial services company in a program management office (PMO). For #reasons I don't think continuing my employment in this company will lead to any career growth or upward mobility. Let's just say they've outright lied to other colleagues about promotions and have been playing favorites. This won't change. I have stayed for a long time (~5 years) because I'm the loyal comfortable type who does their work on time and otherwise stays quiet. I have learned how an IT organization essentially runs their business so that's been a positive. I'm planning on getting my pmp hopefully by the end of the year. At this point I consider myself to be a experienced/mid-level.
So I need some advice/suggestions. I'm pretty sure I'm no longer interested in being a technology project manager of any sort anymore. Even though I wasn't an execution PM for a significant amount of time (I've only ever been assigned to 2 release due to staff shortage on the execution team and that lasted about 6 months) I still don't think even being a PMO PM is something I want to keep doing. It seems that if you're a PM (of value) then it's only as a construction or IT/software delivery PM. So if I need to get another job exactly like the one I have now or similar to it, I know how to.
So what can I do with a PM skillset that isn't in technology or construction? How else can I pivot with my PM skillset? You may say that all industries need PMs but right now it seems like all industries are only looking for technology PMs. So, any ideas of what to look for/research? Ideally it pays a decent amount of money. I currently make around 68k (in the DMV area which doesn't go far if you're also trying to save money and need to live alone due to mental health concerns). My undergrad degree was in Management so no specialized knowledge of anything other than businesses. Are there any industries I may be overlooking? This won't get solved overnight and I'm only just starting so any relevant ideas/suggestions/advice would be welcome!
Municipal governments need a lot of PM skills - you do a little less nuts and bolts PM work (although in areas like planning or public works you might use full PMBOK skills) and a lot more more policy, procedure, risk and change management. PM skill sets are rare in my own government and immensely valuable.
posted by notorious medium at 9:09 AM on April 18, 2018
posted by notorious medium at 9:09 AM on April 18, 2018
It might help if you can share why you're looking to pivot, it's not clear in my read of the question. Do you just want to broaden your search or were you unsatisfied with your job in other ways?
2 industries that come to mind are product development and media/marketing make fairly extensive use of project management. Also technology is such a sufficiently large field that it's a very different job from IT at a financial institution, to a startup creating an app, to a agency making some online videos.
Also explore not just the PMI but other methodologies to get a read, e.g. Scrum Alliance which is a little more contemporary and has been able to embed itself in industries that traditionally didn't strongly adhere or engage PMI-principles and PMP-certified candidates.
posted by artificialard at 10:23 AM on April 18, 2018
2 industries that come to mind are product development and media/marketing make fairly extensive use of project management. Also technology is such a sufficiently large field that it's a very different job from IT at a financial institution, to a startup creating an app, to a agency making some online videos.
Also explore not just the PMI but other methodologies to get a read, e.g. Scrum Alliance which is a little more contemporary and has been able to embed itself in industries that traditionally didn't strongly adhere or engage PMI-principles and PMP-certified candidates.
posted by artificialard at 10:23 AM on April 18, 2018
Potential area to research: associations (Chicago, DC being two cities where they are clustered) often have a program manager role and being familiar with technology is a plus in many with online offerings
posted by typecloud at 2:33 PM on April 18, 2018
posted by typecloud at 2:33 PM on April 18, 2018
This thread is closed to new comments.
While there are PM (project/program manager) positions available working at client sites on contracts, there is also a decent demand for people with PM mindsets who can work on proposals. Your mix of IT experience and business study could make you a good candidate to work on those. In addition to the base pay, many companies will also pay a "capture bonus" to the proposal team when they win a contract.
If you're open to traveling, companies that win a contract will often send someone to the new client site to be a transition PM. Get boots on the ground, onboard new key employees on the contract, help sort through the front-line employees and figure out who you can retain and how to crosswalk them over to your company's proposed structure.
The schedule can get intense during the proposal-writing stage leading up to the deadline, including some nights and weekends, but you can usually anticipate those a few weeks out especially if you have a good proposal manager running the process. Maybe at some point you're interested in being a proposal manager-- it uses that PM skillset, but will also require some knowledge/experience in proposals. If you're interested in learning on your own, the big framework people cite is Shipley, and I believe a lot of people offer Shipley training around the DMV.
posted by scarnato at 6:50 AM on April 18, 2018