The Worst of Times?

Brad Egeland is an IT/project management consultant and author with over 25 years of software development, management and project management experience leading initiatives in manufacturing, government contracting, gaming and hospitality, retail operations, aviation and airline, pharmaceutical, start-ups, healthcare, higher education, not-for-profit, high-tech, engineering and general IT.

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There’s no “It was the best of times…it was the worst of times.” It’s no secret that we are currently in some of the worst economic, business and hiring times that anyone has seen in 30-plus years…maybe more. And analysts are saying it’s going to continue.

The federal government just stated that unemployment will definitely remain above 9 percent nationally through 2012--and possibly beyond. That’s a long time, and a very dim outlook. In Las Vegas, where I’m located, unemployment has hit record highs. Nevada has dethroned Michigan as the state with the highest unemployment rate at 14.2 percent, and Las Vegas has hit its all-time high of 14.5 percent (though it’s not quite the leader in terms of metropolitan areas).

What does this mean for our project management organizations? If you’re lucky enough to be employed, you’re not likely to be looking for employment elsewhere. You can, but that can get you into trouble if your employer finds out--and it’s not very likely that you’re going to find something different or something better if you try.

Are corporations hiring? What salaries are being offered? And are corporations that are hiring really hiring? Are projects being funded and kicked off? The economy seems to be hitting project management in two key areas: Job loss/job …

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