Is project management a dead-end career

Is there a career path for community managers or is it a job that can serve as a stepping stone to more traditional corporate roles? That day always comes, and sooner than you expect it. I was a gray hair or two over 30 years old, working as a community manager at a promising startup called Funambol and deep into an intense MBA evening program. None of my classmates understood exactly where my role fit in the corporate value chain. Before finishing that MBA course, even I had a hard time understanding what a value chain is, let alone explaining how I were to put myself. Suffice to say that I had clear goals and knew every day where my efforts fit into the corporate goals.

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WATCH RELATED VIDEO: TOP SIGNS OF A DEAD-END JOB

Xerox Employee Reviews for Project Manager

Your boss is a curmudgeon, you can't seem to get ahead, and the idea of applying to yet another job in the social media marketing field or the accounting profession makes you cringe. A dead-end career feels a bit like you've used up all of your chips at the poker table, yet you still have to sit there and watch everyone enjoy the game.

Not fun. You might think there's a way to switch careers, but it's a daunting proposition. Head back to business school? Find a career coach? Join the foreign legion, whatever that is? I made a dramatic career shift in , and it was a brilliant move for me. I used to be a corporate management type, someone who spent entire days tweaking a project budget worksheet and dealing with vague HR dictums. When I left the corporate world, I had to be really intentional about my "rebound" and make smart decisions that helped me embrace the career change.

Here's what I did. Once you decide to switch careers, you basically have two options. They are both similar to what happens in basketball. A good rebound means you sail into the air, grab the ball, and race down the court.

It's smooth and graceful. A bad rebound makes a thud against the backboard. The difference is in how you develop new relationships with those in your new field.

They make everything smoother and easier; they provide the guidance you need. I remember early in my writing career how I'd linger after tech conferences and find people who were in my new field.

I picked their brains. I bought them a free sandwich. I was a bit of a spaz. It helped tremendously because there's this "go it alone" feeling you get when you start a new career and you have to find other people to support and encourage you. If you don't, you'll quickly lose traction.

A new career means a major change. I've written before about how you have to embrace and even pursue change , and that's incredibly important when you start out in a new career. Your new-found curiosity is a major asset. You might feel lost, but you have the wonderful advantage of being in a learner mode, which can be exciting and motivating.

A good rebound in another career will land with a thud when you let the change overwhelm you. When you see it as an opportunity to learn, it suddenly becomes a challenge-a reason to get up in the morning. It feels fluid and graceful. In my salad days, I literally accepted any gig. I just couldn't say no, because I was happy to learn anything. It was fun to figure out how Wi-Fi worked or make my own Website. That curiosity is what saved me from questioning the career change.

It still does, actually. Just in the last week, I had to learn about office ergonomics, the future of robotic virtual assistants, and read a book about phubbing.

I'm still in curiosity mode. One of the reasons people fail when they change a career is that they have an unrealistic expectation about getting quick promotions and collecting a bigger paycheck. Most career changes are lateral moves or even force you to start on a lower rung. That's OK. Go ahead and start at the bottom if you have to, but realize that you can pick up momentum as you learn more skills and figure out all of the intricacies of the new career. There's some cool science at work on this one.

Faced with new situations and new challenges, your brain will actually go into "overdrive" and work harder to figure things out. Part of the reason you felt stuck in that old career is that you were the victim of routine. You weren't getting exposed to new situations that prompted you to think differently. Whew, good thing you switched, right? I'm here to tell you the money will come. Hang in there. You are on a new upward swing. Top Stories. Top Videos. Getty Images. You've come to the end of your wits Sponsored Business Content.


Career Path for Business Analysts

A dead-end job is a job where there is little or no chance of career development and advancement into a better position. If an individual requires further education to progress within their firm that is difficult to obtain for any reason, this can result in the occupation being classified as a dead-end position. Dead-end work is usually regarded as unskilled and the phrase usually applies to those working as shelf stackers , cleaners , call center agents , clerks , or in other menial jobs where the pay is low, and the hours are long. Furthermore, positions not regarded as menial may nonetheless qualify as dead-end jobs and forms of underemployment. A specialized employee working in a small firm in an underdeveloped local market, for example, might have few opportunities for advancement within the company while simultaneously facing a dearth of opportunities outside it.

To help your career avoid a dead end, we talked with tech leaders to identify areas including project management skills and Scrum master.

The Secret to Being a Happy Project Manager

Go to company page Microsoft. Principal TPMs are rare, with strong engineering background or life-long career in project management. TPM is basically a project manager, with nowhere to grow past senior level other than eventually move to eng or PM and learn substantial technical or business skills. Go to company page Apple. Go to company page Amazon. Go to company page Amazon Eng. Go to company page Oracle.

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is project management a dead-end career

Because jobs continue to change, even after we take them. Sometimes, your job will evolve up to a point … and then stop. Death to the Stock Photo. In that case, your goal is to identify your personal skills gap — and fill it by adding the skills you need.

I want you and I to dig deeper into your career.

Why You Should Choose the Project Manager Career Path

Maybe you have several years of experience and have gotten pretty good at your job. There are no logical promotions, no new challenges to tackle, just more of the same old routine. What can you do to avoid being pigeonholed and continue making progress in terms of responsibility and pay? Listen carefully for signs that there are other opportunities to do valuable work and then capitalize on those opportunities. Those are all opportunities for you to branch out beyond your regular tasks and find valuable new ways to contribute. Think of them as side quests at your job—what are the optional things you can do that will give you new experience and help you stand out?

Is swapping MBA for MS project management worth it?

This is such a small word but there is a lot of promise in it. Value can also have interpretations depending on the lens that is used. From an accounting perspective, value equates to the monetary worth of an asset. Economists have a different perspective. To them, value is based on ownership. How much benefits and rights are arising from owning something.

One of the most attractive aspects for me with regards to choosing project management as career, is the ability work in different industries.

Product Management Is Dead

The IT industry is nothing if not dynamic. At the current rate of technology change, in fact, it may be the most — dare we say — disrupted function in the organization. However, it also means that some roles are undergoing more than just a shift.

How to Get Out of a Dead-End Job

Nothing could be further from the truth. Behind every great product manager is a great business analyst, whether they carry the title or not. With that simple division of responsibilities as the backdrop, the career path for business analysts is more fruitful than you might imagine. These skills transition more naturally into some roles than others.

Project management is a stable career choice.

10 Ways to Enhance Your Project Management Career

Your boss is a curmudgeon, you can't seem to get ahead, and the idea of applying to yet another job in the social media marketing field or the accounting profession makes you cringe. A dead-end career feels a bit like you've used up all of your chips at the poker table, yet you still have to sit there and watch everyone enjoy the game. Not fun. You might think there's a way to switch careers, but it's a daunting proposition. Head back to business school?

Is TPM a dead end?

Many companies use projects to structure the work. However, they do not really understand the benefits of project management. Nevertheless, projects are done successfully there.

Comments: 2
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  1. Tohn

    Sorry, not in one section .....

  2. Bricriu

    I not absolutely understand, what you mean?