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Project Manager

Project Management is tricky to define, but essentially it involves the entire planning, execution and evaluation of a particular project. We are all project managers of our own lives -- from familiy finances to household projects.

Project managers focus on efficiently implementing plans and projects for a company. They may be consultants or work full-time for a company or firm. Teamwork, organizational abilities, and communication skills are key for project managers.

Students who study project management will learn basic business concepts and advanced concepts relating to project planning and management. Team management (working with different groups on one goal), accounting/cost control, and business writing and communications will be explored in depth – essentially, you'll learn how to be a professional team leader.

Sometimes project management is worked into fields besides business. For example, architecture and engineering firms need project managers. In fact, concepts in project management can be useful for almost anyone, from a teacher to a hospital administrator to an event coordinator.

Training

Project managers hold at least a bachelor's degree, usually in business administration and management, or occasionally in communications, computer science, or even the liberal arts.. Many project managers go on to earn an MBA, even if they don't have a bachelor's degree in business.

Salary

Because it's applicable to so many fields, project management graduates can work in almost any sector. Salaries vary widely depending on the industry - from IT projects to consturction. One common function of project managers is cost estimation – compiling data into a report of anticipated costs of, say, a construction project. Cost estimators earn an average of $60,320. Senior project managers can earn over $100,000.

Schools offering project management degrees >>