Apparently I am a project manager, but I don’t feel like one
Discussion
I’m a 26 year old software consultant and I work for a small software company, I've been told I will be promoted to project manager when we start the 2015/2016 budget; I don’t doubt this.
In the mean time I've just been given my first project worth €110k and I’m very happy with my progression having joined the company straight out of university in 2011. The only problem is I have received no training in project management, nor have any of my colleagues for that matter (all of which are older than me and have been with the company much longer).
We all just run on gut feeling, common sense, and a bunch of excel documents that we’ve mustered up ourselves. It’s a complete shambles to be honest and although we deliver results against all odds none of us feel remotely qualified to call ourselves project managers, which brings to neatly to the point that I am looking for a new job (for all the usual reasons).
Searching the job sites for software consultant/project management roles shows most to require various qualifications such as PRINCE2 etc., in addition to 5+ years’ experience which I don’t have.
My employer won’t send anyone on an external training course despite the vast majority of us asking, so I’m going to have to do this myself.
I just feel a bit stuck really. I’ve got the nous, attitude, technical, and customer facing skills to excel at my job but on the paper credentials and length of experience are lacking.
This post is more of a rant, but I am half hoping for some useful advice.
Thanks kindly.
In the mean time I've just been given my first project worth €110k and I’m very happy with my progression having joined the company straight out of university in 2011. The only problem is I have received no training in project management, nor have any of my colleagues for that matter (all of which are older than me and have been with the company much longer).
We all just run on gut feeling, common sense, and a bunch of excel documents that we’ve mustered up ourselves. It’s a complete shambles to be honest and although we deliver results against all odds none of us feel remotely qualified to call ourselves project managers, which brings to neatly to the point that I am looking for a new job (for all the usual reasons).
Searching the job sites for software consultant/project management roles shows most to require various qualifications such as PRINCE2 etc., in addition to 5+ years’ experience which I don’t have.
My employer won’t send anyone on an external training course despite the vast majority of us asking, so I’m going to have to do this myself.
I just feel a bit stuck really. I’ve got the nous, attitude, technical, and customer facing skills to excel at my job but on the paper credentials and length of experience are lacking.
This post is more of a rant, but I am half hoping for some useful advice.
Thanks kindly.
Thanks for all of the replies.
While I agree I need to be proactive outside of work, I was mainly asking about how I transition into an identical role at a new employer with my current lack of experience.
Upon reflection I think the best course of action is to grit my teeth, get the accreditations in my own time and gain real PM experience from my existing employer.
While I agree I need to be proactive outside of work, I was mainly asking about how I transition into an identical role at a new employer with my current lack of experience.
Upon reflection I think the best course of action is to grit my teeth, get the accreditations in my own time and gain real PM experience from my existing employer.
Gassing Station | Jobs & Employment Matters | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff