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Project Management Student Perspective Series#3- Specialization in the Project Management Field

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Stephen Robin Project Analyst Trainee| Ministry of Works and Transport Arima, Ari, Trinidad and Tobago
Can one be specialized in more than one field? Is it realistic by any means? Yes or No, please elaborate. For example, a project manager that has specializations in I.T, Oil&Gas, Marketing, and Procurement
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Rami Kaibni
Community Champion
Senior Projects Manager | Field & Marten Associates New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada
Stephen

Of course and these days it is more important than ever. It doesn't hurt if you specialize in one field but you also need to be a generalist "Being a jack of all trades but master of none".

RK
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Stéphane Parent Self Employed / Semi-retired| Leader Maker Prince Edward Island, Canada
The beauty of IT is that it is needed in Oil & Gas, Marketing, Procurement, . . . .

In my case I have IT experience in health care, manufacturing and government fields.

When I used to manage database administrators, my staff was divided into associates (no specialization), specialists (one specialization, i.e. Oracle) and senior specialists (more than one specialization, i.e., Oracle and/or MS SQL and/or IBM DB2). The same perspective can be applied to project management.

Pro Tip: Don't try to build multiple specializations all at once; build one specialization then build an additional one, . . .
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1 reply by Stephen Robin
Jan 21, 2022 12:18 PM
Stephen Robin
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A very interesting field of thought. I.T is integrated into many industries. I.T seems like a way to branch across multiple fields.
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Keith Novak Tukwila, Wa, United States
Additional specialties often come from projects that involve multiple knowledge domains.

A civil engineer that designs an airport runway has to learn a lot about aviation operations. End-user training for a software project may require developing new knowledge in professional education.

It is quite common for the big challenges of a project to be outside the prime technical domain. Unless you can find an expert in both the prime technology (e.g. Oil & Gas) and introducing a new technology (e.g. procurement software deployment) the PM is probably going to learn a lot about one or the other to be successful. That new knowledge may then open doors to other jobs where your knowledge and experience grows further.
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1 reply by Stephen Robin
Jan 21, 2022 12:22 PM
Stephen Robin
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Working in multiple domains could in a sense force the project manager to evolve and upgrade their knowledge base. This may lead to upskilling and certifications whenever required as their career progresses.
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Stephen Robin Project Analyst Trainee| Ministry of Works and Transport Arima, Ari, Trinidad and Tobago
Jan 20, 2022 12:21 PM
Replying to Stéphane Parent
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The beauty of IT is that it is needed in Oil & Gas, Marketing, Procurement, . . . .

In my case I have IT experience in health care, manufacturing and government fields.

When I used to manage database administrators, my staff was divided into associates (no specialization), specialists (one specialization, i.e. Oracle) and senior specialists (more than one specialization, i.e., Oracle and/or MS SQL and/or IBM DB2). The same perspective can be applied to project management.

Pro Tip: Don't try to build multiple specializations all at once; build one specialization then build an additional one, . . .
A very interesting field of thought. I.T is integrated into many industries. I.T seems like a way to branch across multiple fields.
avatar
Stephen Robin Project Analyst Trainee| Ministry of Works and Transport Arima, Ari, Trinidad and Tobago
Jan 20, 2022 2:34 PM
Replying to Keith Novak
...
Additional specialties often come from projects that involve multiple knowledge domains.

A civil engineer that designs an airport runway has to learn a lot about aviation operations. End-user training for a software project may require developing new knowledge in professional education.

It is quite common for the big challenges of a project to be outside the prime technical domain. Unless you can find an expert in both the prime technology (e.g. Oil & Gas) and introducing a new technology (e.g. procurement software deployment) the PM is probably going to learn a lot about one or the other to be successful. That new knowledge may then open doors to other jobs where your knowledge and experience grows further.
Working in multiple domains could in a sense force the project manager to evolve and upgrade their knowledge base. This may lead to upskilling and certifications whenever required as their career progresses.

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