How to: get into Project Management

Helping people get into a career in project management is something that e-Careers specialise in, and we have been specialising in it for the last six years. We offer high quality training and globally recognised qualifications in some of the world’s most popular methodologies.

At some point in your career, you will need to undertake one or many of these qualifications to get up-to-speed with the methodology, and it is a good starting point in your career, but it’s not the only way! It is estimated that there will be 87 million project management jobs by 2027, so the time to start your career is now!

Explore our top Project Management Courses

But, what are the other ways?

Firstly, you can get into project management with a degree subject – business or project management are obviously quite helpful, but if you want a more specific career path – engineering, IT, etc – a degree in the related subject is most useful. The good thing about a degree, is it’s a sure-fire way to build experience and the knowledge needed, especially in a focused subject area as many degrees require a work placement of some kind. The negative? The amount of time it takes to complete, and the money you’ll spend over those three years to achieve your degree.

Read our detailed Career Advice artilce on becoming a Project Manager. 

What are the alternatives?

Well, building experience never hurt anyone. An apprenticeship or similar route will help you to build the necessary experience and knowledge needed for a good foundation in the project management industry – if you impress them, they may even take you on full-time as part of the project and you can work your way up. Project Administrator, Project Co-ordinator and other Project Support roles are always a great way to work your way up through the ranks and prove your credibility.

This will also help you to develop your core project skills, including:

• Time management
• Organisation
• Communication
• Negotiation
• Risk management
• Leadership
• Team management

Internships are another helpful way, and if you can arrange to shadow an experienced Project Manager you can learn from them first-hand.

Project management qualifications

Any route you decide on, you will need to take further certifications as well. It’s always best to start quick out of the blocks and get a qualification first, but many Project Managers go into the industry then need to take a certification on the way – maybe to tie up an employment contract, or work in an environment they aren’t familiar with. Here's a story about starting in project management with no experience to show you one way of doing it.

The biggest methodologies are globally recognised and can help you to work anywhere in the world, these include PRINCE2®, Agile, Lean Six Sigma, MSP®, PMP® and more.

e-Careers offer project management qualifications in the world’s most recognised methodologies and in a delivery method to suit you. Browse our selection to see which one is most suited to your career.

Call us on +44 (0) 20 3198 7700 to speak to one of our Career Consultants today, to discuss your career goals or get started.