How to get started as a PM?

Submitted by Grabula on Tue, 08/26/2014 - 07:00

Hey all, I'm considering getting into project management and I've been doing some research. Looking into PMI's certifications it seems you need something like a minimum of 1500 hours of PM experience and/or so many PDU's before you can take any of the exams.

Before I get into my questions a little about me. I've been in the IT industry for close to 20 yrs, technical support, network administration etc. A few years ago I was hired into a project that was just spinning up. Because the PM had very little time I ended up stepping up and running training as best I could - and with his input. After the first couple of days an observing manager in the organization said they were going to recognize me for the work I'd done and that turned into managing the group when the PM moved on to another project. This is my only experience with any sort of PM work but I really enjoyed it. I excelled in the military and managed to make rank at an almost unheard of speed and generally I'm self driven and always looking for opportunity.

Now I'm currently attending college and am a semester away from my associates then moving on to my BA and ultimately my Master's. I'm starting to look at what I want to do for my Bachelor's and I'm thinking Business Management with a focus on Project Management.

That said, how does one go about getting into the Project management field? What are some suggested paths and what would be my first step on the road to becoming a PM?

Thanks in Advance

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alexmcduffie

Tue, 08/26/2014 - 20:51

Well you do not need to hold the title Project Manager in order to be a project manager. A close friend of mind is director of marketing and she runs projects all the time. Long as you have someone who can say you are performing project management then you are okay.

Here is what you need in terms of applying follow the link

http://pmhigherlearning.com/pmp-or-capm-exam/

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admin

Wed, 08/27/2014 - 03:49

You are already on the right path as you are trying to get Business management degree to get in to Project Management. The question to ask is , whether you want to get into Project Management or General management

If you have 4500 hours of experience in any phase of Project life cycle where you were either initiating, planning, executing, monitoring or closing the project, you can go for PMP Certification. It has good recognition in the industry and recognizes your PM Skills to prospective employers.

In India we do not necessarily need a degree to get into PM stream. We can start as developers and the graduate into Project managers over 10-15 years. We only need to show to our bosses that we are inclined towards becoming PM and ask for "On-the-Job" Opportunities.

I am not sure if similar arrangement exists in your organization, for 20 years experience, it should be pretty easy to get into Management, assuming you would have required Core/Behavioral skills to become PM.