Is Project Management still worth pursuing?

[Anonymous]

I run a team of project managers for my business unit. They manage the highest profile projects in our division - usually the most complex ones with many different teams involved and super high stakes for my company if things go wrong. We have product managers and analysts working on these projects and they are able to focus on their specialties while my team keeps the trains moving, connects dots and manages stakeholders. They really understand what is going on; they are not order takers - they really add value and efficiency by getting everyone out of their silos. No one on this team has a PMP. They have MBAs and/or military experience or many years of experience getting big stuff done.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I run a team of project managers for my business unit. They manage the highest profile projects in our division - usually the most complex ones with many different teams involved and super high stakes for my company if things go wrong. We have product managers and analysts working on these projects and they are able to focus on their specialties while my team keeps the trains moving, connects dots and manages stakeholders. They really understand what is going on; they are not order takers - they really add value and efficiency by getting everyone out of their silos. No one on this team has a PMP. They have MBAs and/or military experience or many years of experience getting big stuff done.

oh don't get me started on "military experience"

[Anonymous]

Yeah obviously there's a need to manage projects. The difference is, most of the professional services firms are filled with so-called project managers and they maybe only had 1-2 years doing any actual work and don't understand what they're managing. In fact, they are allergic to the idea. Anyone performing work is just doing transactional labor and they may as well be AI or robots.

[Anonymous]

I've worked in the private sectors for many years.

I've worked with some great PM and not so great ones. I don't think the PMP certification means anything. I think it's about what types of projects you've managed.

The project I am on just went live, and it wasn't managed well. It's a mess. The person managing the project is a tech person. The previous project I was on (a different system for the same purpose) was managed by someone I had worked with before, a non tech person, and that project was managed very well. They do have a PMP but I don't think that is what made her a good PM.

[Anonymous]

I don't think PMP is worth it. PM experience is worthwhile.

[Anonymous]

OP your question is very broad. Project management of what? I’m an engineer with 25 years worth of engineering, construction and project management experience. The project I’m running now is over $1B. I don’t have a PMP. Not needed. An engineering degree and experience are valuable. Good planners and schedulers with actual experience in the work they’re planning are valuable. People just doing power BI reports - not so much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't think PMP is worth it. PM experience is worthwhile.

PMP certification especially renewal fees are an absolute valueless scam.

[Anonymous]

I fell into PM, and it can be a pretty high-stress job. There are definitely certain personality types that thrive in this role than others. Basically, are you someone who's always thinking ahead and can figure out what to do with no direction?

As for the value of PMs, sure, projects can get done without PMs, but they won't run as smoothly, and will most likely end up being delivered late.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is Project Management still worth pursuing? Hows the demand?

Depends. What are you doing that AI or H1B cannot do?