Project manager is a very important position in any company focused on project work. This is a person managing the entire project, and thus coordinating all the most important activities. It is an extremely responsible role that requires the right skills and competencies. In this article, we have comprehensively analysed the position of project manager. We indicate what a project manager actually does, what competences he or she has and how much he or she actually earns.

 

What does a project manager do?

Project manager is a very complex role that involves combining many competences into a whole. Hard skills, such as project management, but also soft skills are important in this position. In this case, we are thinking, for example, of communication skills.

The project manager is the person who is responsible for popularly seeing the project through to completion, so it must take care of all project details at every stage of preparation and implementation. The real responsibilities of a project manager can be broken down into a number of key considerations – especially in the context of the team and the project. We have tried to list some of the most relevant responsibilities, which should introduce you to the role of PM.

 

The project manager’s project responsibilities:

• initiates the project
• constructs the entire project plan
• manages the course and execution of the project
• monitors key project indicators
• controls project risks
• plans project resources
• implements the project work tool

As you can see, this is full project management from project initiation, through the entire implementation process, to resource management in terms of skills or delegation. In the case of project duties, specialist knowledge of project management is often needed.

Knowledge of project methodologies can be a great support, allowing to run the entire project in a methodologically defined structure. Let us also remember that project management is nowadays strongly facilitated by technology, i.e. project management software. This is another of the aspects that a project manager should fulfil, i.e. ensure that the right tool is implemented to support the work.

 

The project manager’s responsibilities towards the team:

• selects the team in relation to competencies
• sets objectives for the whole team
• distributes tasks among project participants
• organises meetings and discusses implementation
• sets work priorities
• motivates the team
• provides the right tools for the work

Team management is a very important skill, crucial in the role of PM. This is the person who is responsible for building the entire project team, so in this case it will also be very important to select the right skills. If you manage to identify the project resources, you need to allocate individual tasks, set deadlines and, above all, keep an eye on the day-to-day implementation of the project.

Large projects are often an implementation spread over years, with hundreds of tasks to be completed. Keeping track of every deadline and small activity can be a real challenge. This challenge usually falls to the role of the project manager, as well as the full organisation of the work. It is the project manager who has to take care of the environment for teamwork.

 

Project manager and reports, figures and finances.

The work of a project manager is very often based on a lot of figures and indicators that have to be analysed on an ongoing basis. The project manager is the link between the project sphere and the business sphere. It goes without saying that every project has a business background and involves money being invested. Controlling the entire process also falls under the project manager’s responsibility.

It must be a person a who is fluent in financial values, who can create or generate clever reports, and who works with a lot of different figures. This way, she will always know how to plan the work and how much of the budget has already been used in relation to the costs incurred on the project.

Remember that project manager is the person who manages the project, whereas if we move to the business plane, there are also sponsors and stakeholders in the project. This requires continuous reporting on the ongoing project progress, which will also be in the role of the project manager. It is very important that generating such reports is not a tedious and onerous chore. It is therefore worth equipping oneself with specialised technology that will greatly support the entire process of data analysis and report generation.

 

Should the project manager take care of implementing a Project Management Software?

This is a very common and modern question. A few years ago, it probably wouldn’t have been asked, because systems for project work were a total novelty. Nowadays, project management software is a natural tool for any project manager. It is the project manager who will be responsible for choosing the right tool to facilitate the work of the managers, but also of the entire team.

Nowadays, the project programme is not only a support for the project manager, but also a complete environment for the team. This is where we have the entire project plan, the time schedule view, and all tasks separated.

What’s more, the tool supports our team communication and creates a full project history. So if there is feedback, a message or an opinion, the employee does it for the delegated task level. The programme will also always indicate specific deadlines and remind you of those duties that have already been delayed. Not so long ago, project work took place without such programmes, but nowadays… it is hard to imagine this kind of return to the past.

So if technology can be a great support to the project manager and the whole team, this should definitely be used. It is up to the project manager to determine his or her project needs, and to do a solid market research. Without a doubt, there is a lot of choice nowadays, so you can hit on a tool that will be strongly close to your needs.

When choosing, pay attention to the intuitiveness of this programme – it is one thing to have access to all the required functions, it is another to make the tool enjoyable to use and easy to work with. This will be the working environment for your team, so you also need to take care of the implementation process, as well as training all employees against the capabilities of the entire programme. One of the recommended programmes is a 100% Polish solution, IC Project.

Programme implementation process itself is absolutely not on the project manager’s side. This is very easily handed over to the system developer or your company’s IT department. The project manager’s role in implementing the programme ends with the selection of the programme and the ongoing monitoring of the correctness of the implementation of the entire system. Technical issues are definitely left to those who are dedicated to this. The project manager has many responsibilities, but technical IT skills are not required.

 

How much does a project manager earn?

This is probably one of the most important questions before making one of the key decisions in your life. The answer to this question will indicate whether it is really worth investing in yourself and developing multiple competences. Project manager can be very well paid, while this is obviously dependent on your experience. We can divide the earnings of a project manager into three positions:

• junior specialist
• specialist
• senior specialist

Junior specialist boasts earnings of around 2000 – 3500 EUR net, while for a specialist the value is slightly higher at around 3000 – 4500 EUR net. There is a significant difference with more experienced employees, so especially in the case of a senior specialist. An advanced project manager can count on around 4500-6500 Eur take-home.

 

What factors influence earnings?

All the above values are averaged, this is the median earnings. Typically, around 25% of project managers can expect to earn more than what the average indicates. Remember that the city or industry in which you work also matters. Larger cities usually mean more money. Recently, the IT industry has been extremely popular and boasts some of the best salaries. This translates into programmers, but also project managers.

Senior specialist at the top end can expect values in the region of  6500 EUR net take-home pay. Project management is a very fast-growing field of management and all trends indicate that it will be an increasingly well-paid profession. This is influenced by the greater need for project work in companies, as well as rising inflation. Of course, the second reason will not necessarily translate into real profits for the employee.

 

Project manager – how do you start education for this role?

Beginnings are always extremely difficult, so it is important to make the right decisions. If you want to become a project manager in the future, you need to take a strategic path for your career. The more skills and experience you are able to gain during your education, the better for your future job and thus your guaranteed earnings. For any project, an experienced project manager is a great asset.

Studying is a natural start for any profession you choose. At this point, you have a very large choice of courses for design work. You can choose the ones that are ideal for you in terms of content or location. Studying will guarantee you a lot of theoretical knowledge, but unfortunately a little less practice. So how do you get practice?

In this case, an internship in project management alongside experienced people working on projects would be a great option. It’s great if the internship is paid, but don’t expect make a killing. Above all, you need to see your internship as the best investment in yourself.

Sometimes even a free internship is a good option, if the knowledge you gain is worth it. Doing an internship is not only your first work experience, but also a big argument for your – for now still rather empty – CV. Remember that you are not of much value to the company at an early stage of your education, so it is important to squeeze as much as possible out of your internship with the company.

 

How can you help yourself with your education?

Nowadays, you have many opportunities to gain additional theoretical knowledge. There are many additional courses available on the web, which should strengthen your competences. There is a lot of free knowledge available, while this will be a pure addition to the theoretical basics. Sometimes it is worth considering paid knowledge, which can make a big and positive argument for your future career. Training is always a good option – it remains a matter of choosing the one that will really be of value. Knowing the project, its specifics from experienced people – is a good idea.

In the role of a project manager, knowledge of methodologies is very important, and this type of knowledge always comes with a specialised certification. If you want to learn about project methodologies in detail, go to our article. Without a doubt, a certified project manager is a great value in the market. It is worth taking care to choose the right methodology in which you can become a real specialist. You can do some certifications online, but there are also distinctions for which you require several years of experience with projects. If you are interested in a project management certificate, click and read how to get it.

After the times of the pandemic, offline events have returned to the living. This is another very interesting solution to gain knowledge from experienced practitioners and at the same time gain interesting contacts. Look out for project conferences or other events. Often a ticket is not an expensive investment, and you can meet interesting people, while gaining a lot of useful and proven knowledge. As you can see, the opportunities are many – try to invest in yourself and become a desirable project manager on the job market.

 

What does an employer require in job advertisements?

This is a very interesting topic because we can write about many competences, and in fact the job adverts for project manager will be an excellent answer to this question. Especially for the purpose of this article, we analyzed several job advertisements and from our analysis several key competences clarified themselves. These represent required conditions (must-have) as well as additional ones that can help in a potential job interview (nice-to-have).

Conditions that most often appear in job offers:

• experience in project management
• knowledge of creating and updating project documents
• very good interpersonal skills
• ability to react quickly to changes
• knowledge of the English language
• knowledge of project methodologies
• creativity and target orientation
• analytical skills
• experience of working with project management software

Of course, all the above conditions depend on the specifics of the work. We have tried to prepare a table of contents for you, which will allow you to draw a number of key conclusions. English language skills will depend on the projects that are carried out in the company. If the company operates on the Polish market, this will not necessarily be a key requirement in the recruitment process. If you want to find out more about the requirements, it will be enough to analyse a few offers for a project manager in the branch and specificity that particularly interests you. It will be the perfect solution!

 

Is it worth being a project manager?

Project manager is a very interesting and forward-looking role. It is certain that there is no boredom in this position. There is something going on all the time, and sometimes even too much. So if you like challenges, a changing environment and working on projects, it can be a great fit. Also keep in mind that a project manager is usually an open-minded person and can communicate on many levels. It can be very difficult for an introvert in this position and in that case it is probably better to look for a slightly different role for yourself. Project management is a very interesting job, but it is not for everyone. Confront your competences with the requirements.

Project is something that is at the forefront of every project manager’s mind. If you want to work with people, manage their work and at the same time be part of big projects, project manager will undoubtedly be the role for you. You may also want to read up on employee motivation straight away, as this may come in handy for you in the near future.