IT Project Manager

Education and Training: Bachelor’s degree in a business or computer-related field
Average Salary: $112,210 annually
Job Outlook: Excellent

An IT Project manager is responsible for supervising the company’s development, security, and maintenance of various computer and information network systems. They need to set and meet deadlines while facilitating communication between the teams. They not only have to schedule and assign the tasks, but also have to effectively uncover hidden disputes or concerns that staff members may be reluctant to share. An IT project manager should be able to adjust to sudden setbacks and have a game plan for when things go wrong. Common duties of an IT Project Manager are as follows:

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• To analyze and document all processes and workflows
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• To assign the work responsibilities to project team members
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• To keep their employees well-versed on all technological changes occurring in their organization
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• To properly store company data, make backups, and archive company records
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• To identify, assess, and minimize project risks for the successful project completion
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• To track the progress of special projects
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• To identify the latest trends and technologies available in the market in order to keep their IT status updated
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• To develop requirements, funds, and schedules for their firm’s IT projects
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• To improve the information security of an organization

Education and Training Requirements

The basic requirement to be an IT project manager is a bachelor’s degree in a business or computer-related field. Completing a Master’s degree or different courses in business or computer-related fields will be very helpful. To be an IT project manager, one needs to have exceptional analytical and problem solving skills, team managing skills, strong oral and written communication skills, and should have the ability to communicate complex technical concepts. They must continue to work on their skills through training courses to update themselves with constantly evolving technologies.

Getting the Job

As employment for IT project managers is expected to grow faster than the average, candidates with required qualifications, advanced technical knowledge, and required skills will easily get the job. To get this job a broad range of skills are required. They must possess fine leadership and communication skills. They must be patient and have good presentation skills in order to explain technical subjects to people without technical expertise, for example clients or managers of other departments.

Job Prospects, Employment Outlook and Career Development

With ever-increasing technological advancement in this global workplace, requirements for IT project managers is projected to increase and is predicted to be faster than average for all professions. Job prospects for qualified project managers should be excellent. The candidates with specialized technical knowledge and strong business skills will have the best job prospects. Employment of IT Project managers is expected to grow fast because in order to remain competitive, firms will keep on installing the latest sophisticated computer networks and will have a need to troubleshoot problems when they occur.
The IT project managers with the required qualifications and work experience, might be promoted to the chief technology officer position and then to chief information officer.

Working Conditions and Environment

IT project managers usually work in clean and comfortable offices. They normally have to work late evenings and weekends in order to meet the deadlines or solve unexpected problems. As they spend significant time using computers, they are susceptible to eyestrain, back discomfort, and hand and wrist problems.

Salary and Benefits

Salaries of IT project managers vary based on the area of expertise, experience, education, level of responsibility, the geographic location, size, and industry of the employer. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics median annual salaries of these IT project managers in May 2008 were $112,210 and the middle 50 percent earned between $88,240 and $141,890.

Where to Go for More Information

Association for Computing Machinery
1515 Broadway
New York, NY 10036
(212) 626-0500
http://www.acm.org

IEEE Computer Society
1730 Massachusetts Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20036
(202) 371-0101
http://www.computer.org

Institute for Certification of Computing Professionals
2350 Devon Ave., Ste. 115
Des Plaines, IL 60018
(847) 2899-4227
http://www.iccp.org

Society for Information Management
401 N. Michigan Ave.
Chicago, IL 60611
(312) 527-6734
http://www.simnet.org