Project management: Golden opportunity or career trap?

by Alan Joch

March 29, 2001 —

If the thought of hunting down one more software bug or busting up yet another network bottleneck has you bored out of your mind, relax. You may be experiencing the natural desire to take your technical skills to a higher, and perhaps more lucrative, level.

For a growing number of experienced software and hardware experts, the answer to IT doldrums is becoming a project manager, a person who supervises teams of employees that represent a mix of IT and business departments. Technology in one way or another permeates almost every new initiative a company may have, whether it's a desire by marketing to uncover new sales opportunities or a cost-cutting attempt by shipping to improve scheduling, and companies routinely look for an IT voice on steering committees.

Someone who brings technical experience plus an understanding and ability to work with nontechnical staff can often move into a position of increased power and compensation by acting as the point person for new projects. In return, by taking on even an ad hoc project management role, programmers and hardware gurus can rise above the IT-department crowd and perhaps find a steppingstone to an executive job.

Nowadays, project managers are compensated better than ever before, according to the latest salary survey conducted by the Project Management Institute (PMI), a professional association in Newtown Square, Penn. The mean compensation for project managers in the United States is now $87,807, although managers in the Far West fare much better, with mean salaries of almost $103,600. Overall, those who have received project management certification through formal college classes or from professional associations earn about $5,000 a year more than those without certifications.

Higher salaries reflect greater responsibilities, too. More than half of the survey's respondents managed budgets ranging from $100,000 to $1 million. The largest percentages of those surveyed said they managed three projects at a time and about a dozen people in total.

Nevertheless, not everyone with technical expertise is cut out for this demanding position. "To be a project manager, you need a little of the riverboat gambler in you," says Thomas McCabe, chair of the PMI's e-business interest group and a consultant at KCI (formerly KPMG Consulting), Stamford, Conn. In the e-business world, project managers often work on pioneering initiatives where success may come only after a lot of trial and error. "It's an environment where failure isn't really failure, but a wonderful opportunity to learn," he explains.

Other qualifications include intangibles like the ability to communicate with the business people, says Raj Kapur, vice president at the Center for Project Management, a consulting firm in San Ramon, Calif. "Business people often don't understand the implications, from a technical level, of what they're asking for, given the company's computing infrastructure and networking bandwidth. A project manager needs to negotiate, to say 'Let's talk about what we can do.'"

Consultants also warn technical workers that not every project managing job is an opportunity for success. One downside uncovered in the PMI survey relates to the ad hoc nature of project management: Only 23 percent of those surveyed said their company offered a clearly defined career path for experienced project managers. Another 45 percent said advancement opportunities were informal or unstated. The result: once they've become project managers, some find themselves locked in the role.

Other problems arise when a technical person receives greater responsibilities without any additional training. Fortunately, some large organizations, including AT&T, IBM, and Nortel, are now offering internal training using experienced project managers as mentors or paying for certification classes.

Because stumbling blocks may lurk under the surface of any "opportunity," experts suggest that technical people look out for these common red flags.

Make sure the project is important to the company's future. "If the project is just seen as a good idea or sponsored by committee, I would push back," says Matt Light, research director for Gartner Group, Stamford, Conn. "If there's a sense that it's a second priority, I would wait until the next offer came along."
Compare deadlines and resources. As early as possible, a potential manager should assess how much effort and money will be needed to meet the project's goals. If possible, compare the resource requirements with similar projects already completed at the company. "If the deadline and resource commitment don't match up to your objective assessment, wait," Light advises.
Don't get trapped by a lot of "new stuff." If the job depends on installing one new software application or testing tool, for example, you may not face undue hidden challenges, Light says. "However, if someone says, 'We'll be developing new business processes with new partners,' the project will be riskier." In those cases, be sure the implementation team will get the expertise and training it needs to reduce the risk of the unknown.

Not every opportunity is a step forward in a technologist's career, but with the right mind-set, training, and resources, becoming a project point person can lead the way to a better work-life.

Additional resources

Project management: An ITworld.com special report

ITworld.com