Pamela RobbStrategic Program/Project Leader| E2M Project Management PartnersSterling, Va, United States
I have been managing programs and projects for nonprofits for more than 10 years. I have my PMP and I'm very active in PMI. I helped found a virtual community and have recently added speaker to my set of skills.
I was laid off from my Project Portfolio Management position back in June 2010. Since then I have been trying to break into other areas of PM (like IT which is prevalent in my area) but with very little success. It seems I need to be the SME as well.
My question is, how does one get around this catch 22? I am an experienced PM but not so experienced in "IT PM". My projects always had an IT component (don't they all?!) but the scope of my projects were much broader.
I know there are a lot of poor PMs out there but that's in any profession. Why on earth would I want to have so much expertise in one area (i.e. I'm the SME) and then turn around and try and manage projects? If I'm an SME, I would think I would want to be doing the actual work of the SME; not dealing with how do I get my stakeholders to agree on the scope of the project or how do I get my senior leadership's support or any number of the project management parts of the project...
Would anyone care to comment? I am being forced (because I like to eat and drink well, pay my bills, travel, and live a decent life...) to go into business for myselt and return to working with nonprofits. This is not necessarily a bad thing but I do feel pigeon-holed. I would really like to broaden my horizons but it seems as if that "isn't allowed" in this current environment...
Would love to hear your comments. Saving Changes...
