Careers in Project Management

If you want to utilise your leadership and management skills to lead projects and have them successfully completed on time and within budget, a career in project management may be the perfect choice. In this guide to careers in project management, you will discover what to expect in your new role, the skills for success, some useful industry insights and how to qualify with a course from Foundation Education. 

What to Expect from a Career in Project Management

Careers in project management mean you must be up for a challenge, able to think outside the box to problem solve and lead a team towards a unified goal. From project planning to managing the team responsible for the project’s delivery, a project manager will coordinate all the many moving parts that ensure the project’s success. You can find employment in a variety of industries that involve project management including construction, healthcare, engineering and tech.

No matter industry you choose, there are duties and responsibilities that are universal in project management, including:

• Hiring and managing the project team

• Managing project progress and delegating tasks

• Leading project planning meetings

• Supervising project documentation

• Documenting, managing and reporting risks

• Preparing and delivering reports to senior leaders

• Optimising processes and team productivity.

To learn more about what to expect from a career in business and management, check out these informative articles:

• What Do Project Managers Do?

• The Best Industries for Project Management Professionals

Essential Skills

To have a successful career in project management requires an adaptable mind and an ability to work well under pressure. While these are the fundamentals, below are some of the essential skills that will future-proof your project management career. They include:

Financial Management – to forecast your cash flow as well as monitor profit and loss

Communication – to effectively negotiate with suppliers, potential investors, customers and employees

Leadership – to motivate your staff in order to get the best out of them and improve productivity

Critical Thinking – to be proactive and use problem solving skills to navigate through complicated situations

Time Management – to help identify which tasks to delegate when the need arises

Adaptability – to easily adjust to evolving technology, trends, businesses and demographics.

Project Management Industry Insights

The project management industry allows you to find employment as a project manager that is industry specific, otherwise known as a specialist manager. According to Labour Market Insights, the employment projections for specialist managers is expected to increase by 17.5% (or 11,200 jobs) by 2026. That is a growth from 64,200 specialist managers employed in 2021 to an expected 75,500 by 2026.

Your Project Management Career Starts Here

For the full list of nationally recognised qualifications, view our project management courses.

Project Manager

The various duties of a Project Manager include:

• Plan, organise and supervise projects from conception to completion

• Identify the overall objectives and prioritise tasks

• Delegate tasks to appropriate team members

Courses

BSB50820 Diploma of Project Management

Project Team Leader

The various duties of a Project Team Leader include:

• Develop team schedules and assist in onboarding and training new team members

• Maintain frequent communication and provide updates on goal progress

• Provide feedback on employee performance

Courses

BSB50820 Diploma of Project Management