I am extremely new in the project management career path. So far I have completed my CAPM certification and the training for that and I am a enrolled at Strayer University for my bachelor's degree in Information Systems with a concentration on IT project management however I have no project related experience. I was hoping that some of you might have suggestions on what type of positions would available and reasonable to apply for to get some project experience while I continue to work on my degree? Saving Changes...
Mary:
You have lots of options to intern, volunteer or get a paid opportunity. Check with you college career office first, get involved with groups on campus and third check with your major concentration office for known or posted opportunities. Many colleges also have career day, career courses and more. Make the most of your colleges experience because you are paying for it and there are lots of of resources but expect to do some homework.
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1 reply by Mary Sherman
Feb 19, 2019 6:51 PM
Mary Sherman
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Thank you. I am going to reach out to my college campus and see if they have any suggestions as well.
Mary:
You have lots of options to intern, volunteer or get a paid opportunity. Check with you college career office first, get involved with groups on campus and third check with your major concentration office for known or posted opportunities. Many colleges also have career day, career courses and more. Make the most of your colleges experience because you are paying for it and there are lots of of resources but expect to do some homework.
Thank you. I am going to reach out to my college campus and see if they have any suggestions as well. Saving Changes...
Drew CraigSr. Agile & Product Coach| VanguardPhiladelphia, Pa, United States
What is your background? There have been similar threads and some, including myself, have entered through an analyst role.
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1 reply by Mary Sherman
Feb 19, 2019 10:48 PM
Mary Sherman
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Most of my experience is clerical and office management. I am currently a billing office supervisor for a medical facility and prior to that I was an assistant to the office manager there.
What is your background? There have been similar threads and some, including myself, have entered through an analyst role.
Most of my experience is clerical and office management. I am currently a billing office supervisor for a medical facility and prior to that I was an assistant to the office manager there. Saving Changes...
RAJESH K LProject Manager, PMP| Bharat Electronics, Bengaluru, IndiaBengaluru, Karnataka, India
Its a challenging situation. Suggest you enter as analyst / some other role which fits your experience into a project. Saving Changes...
Dhawal ShahPM Consultant| ElectronicMumbai, Maharashtra, India
There are different roles and sub-department sin IT projects as a whole.
The few, I have come across are IT- WIndows Team, Lotus Admin, IT- Network & Hardware Division & there may be many more.
Nowadays there are emerging fields with Data science, AI, DevOps, Cloud server management & alike.
I would like to advise you to go for some emerging IT technology so that you have the present scenario & you don't have to switch to other sort of technology right in the beginning.
Take some Intern project, if possible affiliated to your college.
Once you take in the first project, then you will come to know yourself the other options, besides your degree.
All the very best for your degree!! Saving Changes...
Sarah HeskethSenior Applications Analyst | DHL AviationUnited Kingdom
I’m in a similar boat. I’m currently employed as a Applications Analyst, I get to be involved in a lot of projects but always at a low level which mostly involves grunt work. I’ve started looking into Prjoect Management courses which I can do to improve my experience so I can get more involved with the projects going on.
I’m finding hard to make any real move from just being involved to actually leading projects though. Saving Changes...
Kai JoaquinSenior Engineer R&D| Owens CorningGranville, Oh, United States
Hello Mary!
There are many options and routes available to you, some of which have already been pointed out.
First, let me tell you a little about how my career path started out: Back in 2005, I graduated with a BA in Psychology, and had no idea what to do career-wise. I had a friend who was doing temporary IT work at Microsoft, and he recommended that I hop on board with his team, so I applied. I was hired on in 2006 as a Support Analyst, doing operations work supporting servers. However, there was a new tool being developed, which I volunteered to beta test, and wrote the training documentation for (project work!).
So, even with no project experience, and no IT experience, I was able get IT project work experience by taking advantage of my network. I really can't understate how important networking is to finding "secret" job openings! Let your friends know you're looking for a job, and ask if they have any contacts, and you may be surprised who they know!
That said, it sounds like you are doing all the right things (great job!), and looking to get project experience before you finish school is definitely the right step. Internships are always an option, but they can be very competitive. Consider volunteer opportunities, student organizations, or even noteworthy class projects. I don't have very much paid project management experience, but I was vice president of a student organization where I had to plan the departmental graduation--and all the fundraisers throughout the academic year to afford it! I was the team lead for a year long student design project where we had to secure funding, develop a prototype, and pitch a business plan. And I'm currently a volunteer with an organization where I develop the outreach programming and plan our participating in huge events. I have my resume up in my profile, feel free to see how I have that all presented.
You are free to be creative with how you get your project experience, and being creative may be the thing that helps you stand out in an applicant pool when you start applying for jobs! Good luck! Saving Changes...
Am a trained Quantity surveyor but i felt in love with project management and i started building my career in managment of projects....
PMP teaches best practice irrespective of the field you find yourself either construction, IT, etc. The application of the knowledge area as outined in the PMBOK would also guide you but the first thing i'll advise you to do is to register and belong to pmi community where you'd get the best of the guidance accordingly. However, you'd need need the approved 35hrs PMP certication to begin with, the sky is the begining afterwards Saving Changes...
