Is it time to rethink your PM career path?
From the The Money Files Blog
by Elizabeth Harrin
A blog that looks at all aspects of project and program finances from budgets, estimating and accounting to getting a pay rise and managing contracts.
Written by Elizabeth Harrin from RebelsGuideToPM.com.
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Date
There’s something about spring that makes me want to rethink everything – maybe it’s the fact that everything seems to be renewed, I know this is not an original thought!
What it means for us at work is that I am hearing a lot of people talking about taking a moment to think about their career. Especially for those of us who are slightly older, we don’t want to end up with career drift instead of career choice. We want career moves to be meaningful and part of a rounded picture for the direction we want to take, instead of simply floating into the next role because it’s offered.
Staying busy is good, but not at the expense of ending up somewhere you never expected to go.
But it’s difficult to ‘plan’ your career
The trouble with career reassessment exercises, or even a simple reflection on a Friday night with your favourite drink, is that the project management culture values resilience and ‘pushing through’. We are the doers, the people who drive change and get things done. Yes, there is of course space for lessons learned and reflection in the role, but there is a worry about appearing uncommitted if you are actively talking about career reflection and whether or not you are in the right place. It’s the conversation we need to have outside of our immediate line management team or colleagues because you never know, it might not come to anything.
Also, I think in project management there is a lack of clear alternative paths. Unless you are up for taking larger and more strategically important (and therefore stressful projects), where do you go?
What’s right for you?
Think about these questions:
What work energises me now? What work drains me? Where am I adding the most value?
And then think about your skills: What skills am I underusing? What do I want
less of?
The GROW Model is a good starting point as well. It stands for:
- Goal
- Reality (i.e. your current situation)
- Options (to get from current situation to your goal)
- Will (as in, what will you do now?)
I know a lot of people are low-level job hunting for a portion of their time and if the perfect job came up, they’d jump ship. So you need to know what you are looking for in case it falls in your lap.
Where could you go?
There are lots of job titles now that are PM-adjacent including:
- Delivery specialist
- PMO / portfolio roles
- Product-adjacent work
- Change and transformation
- Coaching and mentoring
You can look for roles that cover any of those aspects, or you might choose to go into an operational or line job.
Chat to your mentor
If you have a mentor, this is exactly the kind of thing your mentoring relationship is for. You should be able to talk to them informally, in confidence, about what you are thinking with regards to your current role. And any future role you might have in mind.
They are not decision-makers in your life, but they will have an interesting perspective and can probably share some of their own thoughts from their career choices.
If you don’t have a mentor, there are probably colleagues you trust, or friends or family members you could discuss with, or even type your thoughts into ChatGPT or Copilot (but take the output with a pinch of salt!).
Career reflection is something we should all be doing because time passes quickly, and you want to steer your ship in the right direction for you. Don’t get me wrong, that direction is likely to change over time, but it’s better to have a loose plan than no plan at all. And project managers are great at planning, right?
Posted on: April 13, 2026 08:00 AM |
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Comments (4)
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Kwiyuh Michael Wepngong
Community Champion
Financial Management Specialist | US Peace Corps
Yaounde, Centre, Cameroon
Thank you for sharing this Elizabeth. I am mid-career and currently seeking my next job opportunity. Having done some project management work in the past, I don't know if that is the path forward due to the high stress it comes with. Looking for adjacent roles.
SANTOSH BADGUJAR
CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER| Accumax Lab Devices
Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India
Career drift is one of the most silent career risks. I've seen many talented PMs get so absorbed in delivery that they never pause to ask whether the direction aligns with their long-term vision. Moving into a COO role required me to actively design my career path — not just accept what was offered. The best time to rethink your path is before you're forced to, not after a redundancy or burnout. This post is a timely prompt for every PM.
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