Turn uncertainty into opportunity with project management

Industries are shifting fast, and job security isn’t what it used to be. If you’re rethinking your career—whether due to a layoff, an unstable job market, or just the need for something more solid—project management is worth a look. It’s a field that spans industries, values experience, and rewards strong leadership.

CSU Global’s 100% online project management programs are designed for working professionals who need flexibility in their schedules. Undergraduate and graduate certificates can be completed in as little as 4-6 months, with courses aligned to the PMI Body of Knowledge to help prepare you for the PMP Certification exam.

In this Q&A, Susan Weese, DM, PgMP, PMP, Program Manager for Project, Operations, and Construction Management at CSU Global, shares insights on the core skills every project manager needs and how education can open new career opportunities.

Q: How can earning a project management degree or certification impact someone’s career? What doors can it open, and is it a worthwhile investment for seasoned professionals?

A: Many, if not most, project management theories were derived or borrowed from existing management theories or from theories found in other disciplines, such as leadership, engineering, quality, and operations. From a practice perspective, becoming an expert in project management requires a lot of time managing projects and learning from your experiences on the job. Project management is very much a contact sport, and its practitioners need to get out on the field and play. Effective project managers apply and integrate a plethora of skills and knowledge to plan and manage project work and deliver the defined and agreed-upon project outcome.

Earning an undergraduate or graduate degree, specialization, or certificate in project management at CSU Global provides both new and experienced project managers with the knowledge, tools, and skills to bring to their careers and to their project teams and stakeholders. It can be easy for project managers to get lost in the knowledge and forget that their end goal is to take that knowledge and make it work on their projects. All our project management programs focus on taking the wealth of project management that is out there and teaching our students how to customize and use what they know on their projects back at work. CSU Global’s project management program has been accredited by PMI GAC since 2017, which provides assurance to students and their employers about the quality, reputation, and relevance of their project management education from CSU Global and our program. After earning a general project management credential like the PMP, professionals can specialize further by pursuing certifications such as the PMI-ACP, which validates expertise in agile principles and practices.

“Project management is very much a contact sport, and its practitioners need to get out on the field and play.”
– Susan Weese, DM, PgMP, PMP

Q: What are the core skills every project manager should have, regardless of industry? Are there universal skills that form the foundation of effective project management?

A: Project managers wear many hats and juggle many roles across the project life cycle. In my experience, project managers with a balanced set of competencies across knowledge, performance, and interpersonal skills tend to excel in their roles. If a project manager has a good balance of skills, tools, and techniques, they should be able to manage a well-defined project effectively. In many organizations, the project manager works as the project management expert, facilitator, and enabler for their team versus being a technical worker on that team or directing the work for the team. I think this is very much the modern view of project management, which makes being a project manager a potentially great job.

Effective project managers are also experts at balancing the leadership and management aspects of a successful project manager. They can’t lose sight of the strategic vision and the business aspect of a project, yet they can’t get so lost in the vision that they render themselves ineffective at getting the job done in the day-to-day work world.

My favorite view of the required set of project manager competencies or core skills comes from the Project Management Institute and their 2017 Competency Development Framework, 3rd edition. PMI’s competency development framework breaks down the role into three areas: knowledge, performance, and personal skills. Knowledge competence focuses on the project manager’s knowledge of the project management discipline and the tools, techniques, and processes used to manage projects. Performance competence focuses on the practical experience of doing the project manager’s job with the full complement of project variables, including the defined project scope, the agreed-upon project budget, the project schedule, external vendors in the mix, project risks, project issues, and a plethora of project stakeholders to manage. PMI breaks down personal competencies into six specific categories: communicating, leading, managing, critical thinking, being practical, and acting professionally.

Q: What advice do you have for someone considering a career shift into project management? How can they prepare, and what steps should they take to get started?

A: Project management is an art and a science for its practitioners as they strive to meet project requirements to deliver a defined and agreed-upon project outcome. The science of project management is a contact sport of skills, knowledge, experience, tools, and technologies combined with technical and business expertise. The art of project management is all about people, focusing on engaging, involving, and influencing the stakeholders involved with the project team working completing the agreed upon scope of project work. Together, the art and science of project management target meeting the project requirements and delivering the defined project outcome within the project constraints of time, cost, quality, and scope.

I always think of project managers as the herding dogs of the organization, keeping everyone on track as the team heads towards a common project goal. Does this sound like something you might be interested in? Getting started in project management might involve trying the role of a project manager on for size, perhaps in a person’s current organization or at a local nonprofit where they volunteer their time. Take an introductory project management class and see what you think about the discipline and the work you would be doing. Attend a local PMI chapter meeting to network and ask the folks there about what they do as project managers in their workplace. There are many ways to test the waters and see what you think.

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If you’re facing career uncertainty, project management is a solid potential next step. It’s a field that values leadership, problem-solving, and adaptability—skills that transfer across industries and stand the test of time.

To dive deeper into how artificial intelligence is shaping the profession, check out a previous interview with Weese, “Is AI a Friend or Foe in Project Management?”