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/11 min read

What is Project Management?

Immerse yourself in the booming field of Project Management, which is expected to create around 22 million jobs by 2027. Enter a lucrative profession boasting an average salary of $115,000 per year with opportunities across diverse industries.

Key Insights

  • Project Management involves meticulous coordination of all project aspects from inception to completion, requiring both soft and technical skills.
  • With an expected rise of 33% in the field, Project Managers can anticipate significant career opportunities, creating around 22 million jobs by 2027.
  • Project Managers earn an average salary of around $115,000 per year, more than double the national average across all occupations.
  • The Project Management Institute (PMI) has defined Project Management as a professional field and developed the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) to guide aspiring Project Managers.
  • Project Management originated postwar, with megaprojects like NASA's Apollo program and the construction of the U.S. interstate highway system demonstrating its essential role.
  • Project Management is a versatile career path, with opportunities across industries, and can be pursued through diverse learning paths, including self-guided education, on-the-job training, mentorship, certification, and traditional degree programs.

Project Management is the field of managing all aspects of a project from start to finish. A Project Manager plans, budgets, and leads their team to complete projects on time and under budget. In this overview, you’ll learn more about what Project Management is, what it can do, who uses it, and how to learn it to determine how to add this skill to your professional toolbox.

Project Management as a career path is booming, with 22 million Project Manager jobs projected to be created by 2027. Project Managers earn lucrative salaries. The average salary for a Project Manager is around $115,000 per year. That is more than double the average salary of $52,000 across all occupations.

Project Management is the science of successfully managing projects, including planning, organizing, supervising, directing, and completing. Project Managers ensure that a project is completed on time and under budget. Some Project Managers are employed by companies, while others work as freelancers or consultants whom clients hire to oversee specific projects.

It is a profession that requires various skills, including soft and technical skills and specialized industry knowledge. Regardless of industry, Project Managers are responsible for managing what is known as “The Project Life Cycle, ” which has five stages: project initiation, project planning, project execution, project monitoring, and project closure.

A Project Manager is responsible for developing a project plan to establish goals and deadlines, assigning tasks to team members, motivating team members to meet deadlines, risk management, communicating with upper management and team members, and resource management. Experts in Project Management estimate that around 90% of a Project Manager’s time is spent communicating.

The Project Management Institute (PMI) has defined Project Management as a professional field. They developed the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) to define the best practices and processes of Project Managers more clearly. Knowledge of PMBOK and experience are critical tools for aspiring Project Managers.

What Can You Do with Project Management?

There are no limits on what can be done with Project Management skills. Project Management is a versatile career path as Project Managers are needed in every industry and in various roles. You could continue to work in the same industry even after completing your training in Project Management.

Some Project Managers work for companies on specific projects or as part of a project team. Some Project Managers work as freelancers or consultants who assist clients on specific projects.

Project Management is a high-demand career path because the Project Management Institute (PMI) predicts that Project Management will increase by 33%, with 22 million new Project Manager jobs created by 2027. A significant number of Senior Project Managers are expected to retire, leading to even more job openings for those with training in Project Management.

Many of the essential skills in Project Management are soft skills, including communication, leadership, management ability, time management, delegation, conflict resolution, and multitasking. Project Management experts estimate that around 90% of a Project Manager’s time is spent communicating. Aspiring Project Managers should have impeccable communication skills and well-developed leadership skills.

Project Managers often specialize in a particular industry such as IT, healthcare, or construction. Skills already acquired in these industries could be combined with Project Management training for a new career within your industry.

How Do You Learn Project Management? How Much Does It Cost?

Harvard Business Review reports that “skills-based hiring is on the rise.” Project Management is a skills-based career path, meaning aspiring Project Managers do not need a degree. More entry-level Project Manager positions require Microsoft Office proficiency than a four-year degree.

Professional certifications and Project Management education are highly sought after in this field. The Project Management Institute (PMI) offers two professional certifications in Project Management. The Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) is for entry-level and aspiring Project Managers, while the Project Management Professional (PMP) certification is for more experienced Project Managers.

People interested in launching a new career in Project Management should consider training in Project Management and then seeking CAPM certification. A prerequisite to taking the CAPM Exam is 23 hours of education. A great way of acquiring these required hours is by taking a course in Project Management. For example, Noble Desktop offers a Project Management Bootcamp, which offers both beginner and advanced knowledge of PMBOK and is a significant first step toward professional certification in Project Management.

What Are the Benefits of Learning Project Management?

CNBC ranks Project Management in the top five most in-demand non-technical skills. Project Management is a hot career path expected to increase by 33% over the next five years, with over 22 million new Project Manager jobs expected to be added by 2027. There is currently a significant talent gap within Project Management as the number of Project Manager jobs continues to outpace the number of people with the appropriate training.

Forbes has called Project Management “a great way to get a tech salary without tech training.”

It’s a very lucrative career path: Project Managers earn an average salary of around $116,000 annually. That’s more than double the average salary of $52,000 across all occupations. Project Managers who specialize in an industry such as IT or Oil and Gas can earn even higher salaries.

Project Management is a skills-based job in which experience and certification are prioritized over more traditional education. Regardless of your education level, you can become a professional Project Manager by training in Project Management. You can also become a specialized Project Manager within the industry where you already work. For example, if you’re in healthcare, you can train to become a Healthcare Project Manager, which may result in an even higher salary.

Read more about why you should learn project management.

Project Management Careers

Project Managers are needed in every industry, and more companies are recognizing the growing demand for them. The Project Management Institute (PMI) predicts that the demand for Project Managers will continue to increase, with over 22 million new Project Management jobs projected to be created by 2027. Manufacturing and Construction, Information Services, Finance and Insurance, Management and Professional Services, Utilities, and Oil and Gas are expected to add the most Project Management jobs. There will also be a significant number of Senior Project Managers retiring, particularly in the Aerospace and Defense industries.

Salaries for Project Managers also vary by industry. The average salary for a Project Manager in any industry is more than twice the national average at around $115,000 a year. However, Project Managers who work in particular industries earn even more. For example, the average salary for an IT Project Manager is around $125,000. Project Managers in the Oil and Gas Industry currently make the highest average salary at over $150,000 per year.

Specializing your Project Management career in a particular industry may also require you to acquire additional training. For example, a Construction Project Manager might want to train in AutoCAD. Or, a Software Project Manager might need familiarity with programming languages and software development methodologies.

How to Learn Project Management

One of the fastest ways to launch a new career as a Project Manager is by learning Project Management methodologies. There are several options to consider when deciding which Project Management education path is right for you.

Northeastern University’s program in Project Management describes a “customized, non-traditional” approach to Project Management education, including self-guided education, on-the-job training, mentorship, and certification. One recommended path to becoming a professional Project Manager is taking Project Management classes and pursuing PMI’s entry-level Certified Associate in Project Management.

Live classes, either in-person or live online, are the best method for studying Project Management. Because the course is live, you’ll be able to ask questions and interact with your instructor and classmates in real-time. Noble Desktop is a business, design, and coding school that offers live in-person and live online Project Management courses and bootcamps. A PMP-Certified professional Project Manager teaches all of Noble Desktop’s Project Management courses. They also offer a free retake option, allowing graduates to retake the course for up to one year to refresh their skills or further prepare for certification.

Self-paced study is another option, especially for those who already have a career, since it allows you to learn in your spare time. However, self-paced Project Management courses lack the interaction and mentorship that comes from having a live instructor.

Read the full guide on how to learn project management.

A Brief History of Project Management

Project Management is now used in almost every industry. Its origins are typically connected to post-war megaprojects such as NASA and the Apollo space program, the Manhattan Project, and the building of the U.S. interstate highway system. Project Management methodologies were required to complete such massive projects.

In the late 1960s, both the International Project Management Association (IPMA) and the Project Management Institute (PMI) were founded. Until the development of computers, professionals most commonly used Project Management skills in the engineering, defense, and construction industries.

The rise of computers and software development also contributed to Project Management becoming more codified as a field. In 1986, PMI released the first version of the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) through their professional journal, the Project Management Journal. PMI’s professional certifications were released shortly after and have since become the gold standard in Project Management certification.

More recently, colleges and universities began to offer degrees in Project Management. Companies also began recognizing the need for Project Managers, leading to exponential job growth using Project Management skills.

Comparable Fields

Some career fields such as product management and Scrum methodologies, overlap with project management.

Product management is similar to project management, except that Product Managers manage the lifecycle of a product instead of a project. Product Managers must have many of the same skills as Project Managers, including leadership, task delegation, and excellent communication skills.

Project Managers also have a lot in common with Scrum Masters, who manage projects using the Scrum methodology. The Scrum methodology is a project management approach created for software development. One key difference between a Project Manager and a Scrum Master is that the Scrum Master works primarily as a coach, helping individual team members complete assigned tasks instead of managing the project as a whole.

Learn Project Management with Hands-on Training at Noble Desktop

Noble Desktop is a coding, design, and business school based in NYC. They offer courses on various topics, including project management courses and bootcamps, both live online and at their state-of-the-art campus in Midtown Manhattan. All of their classes feature small class sizes and are taught by instructors who are experts in their respective industries. PMP-certified professional Project Managers teach all their project management courses. Graduates can retake their course for up to one year for free to continue developing their knowledge and refresh their skills.

Noble Desktop’s Project Management Bootcamp provides hands-on instruction in the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) theories and methodologies needed to get hired as an entry-level Project Manager. Students receive hands-on, project-based training in topics that include the five phases of project management, creating project proposals, and working with a project team. Graduates receive a verified digital certificate of completion to help them get hired as an entry-level Project Manager. This bootcamp is also recommended for those planning to pursue either a CAPM or a PMP Certification. Both certifications require formal project management education, which this bootcamp provides.

Graduates seeking professional certification should consider Noble Desktop’s CAPM Certification Bootcamp, which guides students through PMI’s entry-level Certified Associate in Project Management Certification Exam. This four-day bootcamp includes 35 hours of hands-on instruction, live project-based training, an exam prep guide, a video curriculum, and lessons taught by a PMP-certified Project Manager, along with a digital certificate of completion.