What is Project Management?

Here we’ll review what project management is and why it’s such an important role.

As part of this discussion, we’ll also explain what project managers do, how to become a project manager, and why you should consider getting your degree in Project Management online from CSU Global.

Virtually every modern organization needs project managers, as they’re the individuals responsible for helping businesses, teams, and projects stay on track, on time, and on budget by managing resources and overcoming problems.

Project managers are tasked with delivering successful results for the projects they oversee, no matter what kind of delays, resource shortages, or unexpected problems those projects run into; part of their job is being able to adjust strategies effectively and proactively.

The role of project manager has certainly evolved over the years, and modern project managers do far more than simply send emails or check off boxes on task lists; instead, they’re involved in strategic planning, including project selection, and they’re also likely to be in charge of choosing when, where, and how to utilize organizational resources in order to generate effective and efficient outcomes.

If you’ve got great organizational skills and you enjoy working with others, you like identifying opportunities, solving complex problems, and implementing solutions, then you may find project management to be the ideal career.

After you’ve learned more about project management, please fill out our information request form to receive additional details about our online Bachelor’s Degree in Project Management, or our online Master’s Degree program in Project Management. If you’re ready to get started, submit your application today.

What Do Project Managers Actually Do?

While almost everyone has heard of project management, and many have even worked with project managers, few seem to truly comprehend what the position actually entails.

A project managers’ job is to first create an effective project plan, including a risk management plan to accommodate unknowns via a change control system and ensure a successful delivery of the project’s product or service.

Some of the most common tasks that project managers are asked to oversee include:

• Monitor and control all elements of project execution, ensuring that resources are being utilized both effectively and efficiently.
• Helping with critical decisions about staffing and resource allocation to make sure that projects have the resources needed to meet expectations.
• Developing detailed project plans, including project costs (budget) through project lifecycle.
• Managing resources effectively to ensure that projects get completed on time and within budget.

As you can imagine, project managers are busy people, but this is just a brief, summary list of the many responsibilities that they’re asked to handle on a daily basis.

Is Project Management a Good Career?

Yes, project management is an excellent potential career option for anyone who is detail-oriented, organized, and interested in helping lead projects and teams to deliver successful results.

Demand for project managers is strong, and shows no signs of wavering, especially thanks to changes in the modern economy and the product development cycle, including:

• A shorter life cycle for products and services.
• Technological advancements and an explosion in knowledge across virtually every field, vertical, and industry.
• Adoption of the triple bottom line philosophy (planet, people, prosperity).
• Increasing activity in mergers, acquisitions, and corporate downsizing.
• Far more customer focus across all economic sectors.
• A tendency for small projects to represent larger organizational problems.

Project management skills tend to be mostly translatable across projects and even industries, so another advantage to becoming a project manager is that once you’ve developed the knowledge and expertise needed to be effective, you should be able to get a job working for any kind of company operating in any field, sector or industry.

Whether you want to work in construction or tech, at a public, private, government, for-profit company or non-profit organization, there’s a great chance that you’ll be able to find a role as a project manager, since virtually every organization in every field has a need for this work.

Do I Need a Degree to Become a Project Manager?

It’s certainly possible to get a job in project management without a degree in the field, but that’s not necessarily the ideal way to enter the industry.

Instead, we recommend studying project management best practices in an academic setting so that you can develop the skills, abilities and foundational knowledge needed to provide real value as a professional project manager.

Getting your degree in project management is an excellent way to increase the chances that you can and will succeed in the field, and to signal to organizations that you’re capable of bringing them value from day one.

This factor is especially important in a field like project management, where hiring managers know that they’re staffing for mission critical work—selecting and initiating the right project is of utmost importance, and then keeping projects successfully on track—which could make getting a job in the field without a degree far more difficult than you might have imagined.

The question becomes, then, which project management degree should you get? The good news is that either a Bachelor’s or Master’s Degree in Project Management is likely to bring you tremendous value, and the even better news is that both of these programs are available at CSU Global.

Which Project Management Degree Should I Get? A Bachelor’s or Master’s?

You should enroll in the program that best meets your professional needs. While anyone with a bachelor’s degree is welcome to apply for the master’s program, no prior project management experience or education is required.

Whichever program you do decide to enroll in, you’ll be well on your way to developing the knowledge and skills needed to establish a successful career as a professional project manager.

Why? Because both of our programs were designed to provide training that delivers real-world utility in the form of skills and knowledge that is relevant for the workplace.

Should I Get My Degree in Project Management Online?

If you already have family or work responsibilities and you need to balance them with educational pursuits, then getting your project management degree online may be the perfect solution for balancing your busy schedule.

CSU Global’s 100% online degrees in Project Management were designed to provide flexibility for busy professionals, ensuring that they’ll be able to continue delivering on their promises to family members and employers, while still having time to pursue new educational credentials.

Our programs provide excellent flexibility by offering:

• No set class times or physical locations.
• Monthly class starts.
• Accelerated eight-week courses.

Anyone with work or family responsibilities who is looking to earn new academic credentials, develop new skills and abilities, and improve their leadership potential will want to consider getting their Project Management degree online with us.

Why Should I Consider Studying with CSU Global?

If you do choose to study project management, then you should consider doing it with CSU Global for each of the following reasons:

• Both our B.S. and M.S. programs in Project Management are regionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.
• Both programs are also accredited by the Project Management Institute (PMI)’s Global Accreditation Center (GAC) for Project Management Education Programs, which sanctions and verifies the quality of the program and course material, as well as its compliance with project management standards. GAC accreditation facilitates the process of submitting educational hours needed for PMI certification.
• Our Bachelor’s Program in Project Management was ranked the #1 Best Online Bachelor’s Degree in Project Management by Top Management Degrees, and one year after graduation, our Bachelor’s program alumni report earning a median annual salary of $78,333, which is 20% higher than the national average for all bachelor’s degree holders.
• Our Master’s Program in Project Management was ranked #7 Best Online Master’s program in Project Management by Online Course Report, and one year after graduation, our Master’s program alumni report earning a median annual salary that is 16% higher than the national average for all master’s degree holders.

We also offer competitive tuition rates and a Tuition Guarantee to ensure your rate won’t increase as long as you remain enrolled as a student, which protects you from the tuition rate hikes that are common at other schools.

To get additional details about our fully accredited, 100% online degrees in Project Management, please give us a call at (800) 462-7845, or fill out our Information Request Form.

Ready to get started today? Apply now!