How to start your Project Management career in Waterford - Pitman Training Career Plan Q & A Series

Have you got strong organisations skills? Are you a good communicator and influencer? Do you enjoy working with people? Does the idea of starting afresh on each new project appeal and motivate you? If so, a career in project management could be very well suited to you. As the economy is growing stronger month on month in 2018, project management is fast becoming a key area with excellent employment opportunities and growth.

Project management is essential in all companies and will vary in its job description from one organisation to another and depending on the industry. As every project a business carries out is unique, they can vary from small scale, right through to more complex and diverse involving multiple teams and locations.

Project management skills are also needed across various positions aside from the actual Project Manager role such as Program Manager, Program Planner, Planning Manager to many leading and managerial roles such as Management, Team Leader, Personal Assistant, Executive Assistant, Office Manager or even as a Virtual Assistant.

Q Do you need a degree for a Project Management role?

A While a university degree is not required, professional project management certification is a must and certainly a Diploma qualification is not only advantageous but would give you a competitive edge over other candidates in the same jobs market. Training options available in Waterford such as this are the Project Management Diploma or Management Diploma as offered by Pitman Training in Waterford or single courses such as PRINCE2 Foundation, PRINCE2 Practitioner and Project Management Fundamentals.

Q What type of salary could you expect?

A According to Payscale.ie the current average salary range in Ireland for Project Managers starts from €30K right up to €80K after about 10 years experience and depending on the industry. High salaries can be expected within this field. The current average salary for a Waterford project manager is €48K.

Q What does your average day look like?

A An average day will depend of course on the current project in hand and the project manager’s day could be spent on any part of the project life cycle. The project lifecycle looks something like this: Planning Project resources, and team members/stakeholders, time management for each project task duration to ensure the project deadlines will be met, budget plan and active spend, project reporting and feedback, managing issues and risks, measuring progress, reporting and documentation.

Q What is demand in the Waterford jobs market currently like for Project Management jobs?

A There are a number of roles currently advertised with indeed.com for Waterford project and programme managers in the Pharma, Construction and Tech sectors. The outlook is good, with various exciting opportunities from junior level to more experienced candidates being sought. Many role profiles look for specific project management certification.

Q What is the opportunity for Career Progression?

A Starting off early career roles could stem from a more administrative based role to take the form of project assistant and co-ordinator or project management support, then moving on to roles such as Project Leader, Implementation Manager which in turn could lead up to Management Consultant, Programme Manager Portfolio Manager, Head or Director of Projects to Chief Operations Officer.

Pitman Training offer over 400 flexible learning, full and part-time Waterford courses in a wide range of subjects from IT, Tech training courses, Programming to Web Design, Management courses, Digital Marketing, Accounting, Event Management, Office Skills, Medical Secretarial and Legal Secretary training.

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