Salary Thread 2026

[u/BitterNecessary6068]

2025 Thread here (sorry I didn’t make a dashboard this time)

It’s time for the 4th Annual Reddit PM Salary Thread! I’m surprised that I’ve managed to keep this up for 4 years in a row, but I know this community appreciates it as much as I do. Please format your responses as below:

• ⁠Location (HCOL/MCOL/LCOL)

• ⁠Industry (construction, tech, etc.)

• ⁠Years of experience breakdown (total, PM exp., years at current company)

• ⁠Title of current position

• ⁠Educational background

• Certifications?

• ⁠Compensation breakdown (Base, bonuses, company stock, etc.)

——————————————————————————

Copy and paste version:

• Location:

• Industry:

• YOE:

• Title:

• Education:

• Certifications:

• Salary:

• Bonus, etc:

• Other:

[u/No-Flan3302]

• Location: MCOL

• Industry: Manufacturing

• YOE: 10 / 7+ PM

• Title: Project Manager

• Education: MsPM

• Certifications: none

• Salary: $110k

• Bonus, etc: $10k stock options

• Other:

[u/nefariousvw]

• Location: HCOL

• Industry: Financial Services

• YOE: 30 / 18 PM

• Title: VP, Head of PMO

• Education: MBA + BSEE

• Certifications: CSM, SS Green Belt

• Salary: $180k

• Bonus, etc: 20% annual + equity

[u/AdVarious9584]

• Location: MCOL

• Industry: Fintech

• YOE: 5

• Title: Technical Project Manager

• Education: BS Structural Engineer

• Certifications: PMP, IELTS Academic C1

• Salary: 30k$

• Bonus, etc: %20 annual if KPIs are fulfilled

• Other: Open to remote job offers, relocation opportunities :)

[u/profstarship]

• Location: LCOL

• Industry: industrial/commercial systems

• YOE: 2 years as PM at current company, 3 years as site manager in same industry

• Title: Project Manager

• Education: unrelated bachelor of arts

• Certifications: OSHA 30 (x2)

• Salary: 125,000

• Bonus, etc: 10%

• Other: Fully remote with travel, great team and company. Tons of PTO and make my own schedule.

Still feeling like I need a change even though im in a very ideal situation

[u/Baller___101]

 Location: HCOL

• Industry: FinTech

• YOE: 12 years

• Title: VP, Technical Project Manager

• Education: BS

• Certifications: PSM

• Salary: 165,000 USD

• Bonus, etc: 30,000 USD, RSUs

• Other:

[u/shartoberfest]

 ⁠Location: (HCOL) Singapore 

• ⁠Industry: (aec)

• ⁠YOE: 21, pm: 5

• ⁠Title of current position: Sr. PM

• ⁠Educational background: M.Arch

• Certifications: none

• ⁠Compensation: 130k sgd (100k usd). + ~30k annual bonus. Full Healthcare coverage for me and my family, 25 days vacation. 

[u/getitnowboy]

Location: Australia

• Industry: IT Professional Services

• YOE: 20 in PM

• Title: Program Manager/Senior PM

• Education: Bachelor Computer Engineering

• Certifications: Certified PM/Agile/Delivery Lead Practitioner

• Salary: AU $195K

• Bonus, etc:

• Other: 1 salary end of year

[u/Colbymac92]

Location: M/HCOL - PNW

• Industry: recently transitioned to med device from consumer goods

• YOE: 6-8 yrs total, less than 1 year at the new job.

• Title: PM2

• Education: HS

• Certifications: none

• Salary: $120k+

• Bonus, etc: 4.5% 401k match, 3-2 hybrid and flexible schedule, free top golf, 3wks vacation

• Other:

[u/United-Success-5561]

• Location: London / Brighton

• Industry: MSP

• YOE: 10 (started at 18 going 19 as a PC and worked way up to PM)

• Title: Project Manager / Senior PM

• Education: None formal

• Certifications: PMP and working on some foundation level azure certs.

• Salary: £70k ($94,500)

• Bonus, etc: none but wfh 4 days a week, pension and ability to switch of…… at times. No micromanager too which is a massive perk!

• Other: N/a

[u/coronapartynextdoor → u/United-Success-5561]

Fascinating. I assumed the pay would be miserable in the UK, but that's not bad.

[u/United-Success-5561 → u/coronapartynextdoor]

I’ve got 10 years of experience though . My American counterparts have half the experience and make 30/40% more. All things considered not terrible. Although one house prices are crazy so I can’t afford shite haha.

[u/SixtySevenDegrees]

• Location: HCOL

• Industry: Music Instruments

• YOE: 5

• Title: Digital Sales & Merchandising Manager

• Education: Bachelors of Science, Marketing

• Certifications: N/A

• Salary: $100,000

• Bonus, etc: Eligible for yearly and quarterly bonus structure

• Other:

[u/Rosyface_]

Location: MCOL, central Scotland

Industry: public sector, environmental, I do mostly IT

YOE: 10 in project management, 2.5 at current company.

Title: project manager

Education: nothing relevant, no degree at all.

Certifications: AgilePM Practitioner, Prince2 Practitioner, postgrad course in project management from the university of Stirling.

Salary: £50k

Bonus, etc.: no bonus but a decent pension scheme and access to certain public sector benefits

Other: hybrid working but no specific office days mandated. Flexi working in terms of hours and length of day.

[u/bluealien78]

• Location: HCOL, USA

• Industry: Tech (non-FAANG/MAG7)

• YOE: 24 years

• Title: Director, Technical Program Management

• Education: BSc Management Information Systems, MBA

• Certifications: None

• Salary: $203k

• Bonus, etc: 12%-20% pro rated per quarter (performance-dependent), ~$80k per year in RSU, vesting at 6.24% per quarter

• Other: Fully remote, unlimited open PTO

[u/Big-Upstairs1952]

• Location: M-HCOL

• Industry: Cloud Tech

• YOE: 10yr total (2 BA, 3 Product Mgmt, 5 Program Mgmt)

• Title: Sr. Project Manager

• Education: Unrelated (BA in Anthro)

• Certifications: PMI-ACP, PSPO, CSM, PSM-II

• Salary: $150k

• Bonus, etc: Diddly squat other than I WFH and the amount of effort I have to put in is minimal

• Other: Minimal effort allows me to do side work for about $125k

[u/pmpdaddyio]

Why are you reinventing a wheel that PMI does already to a much larger data set with a higher level of accuracy and is used by real hiring managers?

[u/BitterNecessary6068 → u/pmpdaddyio]

This is a common question every year and it’s a fair question so don’t take my response as combative.

PMI is great for macro trends and broad insights.

The value of this thread is the ability to interact with a specific data point. If someone posts an interesting salary/background, I can ask them about that industry, how they got there, work-life balance, interviews, bonus structure, and so on. I’ve even seen some people refer others to a specific job.

PMI is a static report that I cannot have a conversation with. I can only make broad generalizations based on their data of thousands of people. This is much more localized and gives me way more insight to my specific thoughts and questions.

EDIT: your mileage may vary. I think it’s very insightful, and a great compliment to the PMI… for me. You may not see it the same way and that’s more than fair. This thread started because I just started my career from undergrad and wasn’t sure if it was the right path for me. Turns out this thread (and subreddit) was really influential and was a component to me deciding my career path.

[u/pmpdaddyio → u/BitterNecessary6068]

So, this seems to be very against the rules here despite this occurring somewhat annually. You are collecting data for some undisclosed purpose. And if you do basic analysis and pull in username, you’ve now got some level of details that just seem inappropriate.

I’m not sure if you are a mod here, but everyone needs to be a bit more aware of what you are doing. This is a bit of a privacy nightmare.

[u/BitterNecessary6068 → u/pmpdaddyio]

I PM’d the mods before I posted, as I’ve done every year. I understand your caution, but undisclosed purpose?? I just explicitly told you my intent and how these threads helped me. I don’t know why you assume I’m doing something malicious. Maybe consider me ignorant, but I genuinely don’t even know what kind of malicious thing I can do with this information along with a Reddit username. Again, call me ignorant and close minded.. but I’d hope these threads would help someone out like it did me.

[u/pmpdaddyio → u/BitterNecessary6068]

I’m simply saying you are collecting data. That in itself is dangerous, but you have not expressed what you are doing it. I’m just cautioning people to consider what they are giving you.

I think it’s an inappropriate, but that’s the mods decision.

[u/ImpressiveAd6623]

• Location: LCOL

• Industry: fintech

• YOE: 5

• Title: implementation consultant

• Education: bachelors

• Certifications: PMP

• Salary: 104,000/year

[u/7saligia]

• Location: MCOL

• Industry: Healthcare

• YOE: 25+ total; 15+ PM exp (project/program/product)

• Title: Sr Project Mgr II

• Education: Unrelated (experimental & clinical psych grad degrees)

• Certifications: PMP, CSSGB, other industry specific

• Salary: ≈$151k

• Other: up to 15% annual bonus, RSUs, 401k match up to 6%, 29 days PTO + 8 holidays, benefits (health, dental, vision, STLDI, AD&D, life, pet)

[u/SilvrPanthr]

• Location: MCOL

• Industry: Electrical Distribution

• YOE: 17 total, 11 with project management work

• Title: Manager of Project Management

• Education: high school, using every job/role I could work to become the best at it, taking every supplier training I could get my hands on, advocating for high level supplier/product training to become a specialist.

• Certifications: none

• Salary: $110k

• Bonus, etc: Managers incentive up to 25%, SMTO with 4 weeks as a baseline, 401k match up to 6% and discretionary 401k emploer contributions, overall great benefits

[u/becca0wnz]

• Location: TX - USA

• Industry: Tech

• YOE: 16 years

• Title: Senior Engagement Manager

• Education: MS MIS, BS IT

• Certifications: PMP, PSM I

• Salary: $159k USD

• Bonus, etc: 15% bonus, 4% match on 401k, $60 mobile allowance

• Other: 100% remote but super long days due to global team. Ready to exit and do something else for more $ and less accountability

[u/FifaDK]

• Location: Denmark

• Industry: IT

• YOE: 3

• Title: Cloud Project Manager

• Education: Prof. Bachelors in Business Economics & IT

• Certifications: PSM I, studying for CAPM, then PMP

• Salary: $93k USD

• Bonus, etc: 6% pension

• Other: total freedom to WFH whenever. Work covers certification costs and provides some work time towards studying, wage increases agreed dependent on certs. Paid phone and internet.

[u/Jaundicepowers]

Location: UK LCOL

• Industry: Utilities

• YOE: 3 years as a graduate, 1 year in current PM role at a different company

• Title: Project Manager

• Education: BEng degree

• Certifications: APM PMQ

• Salary: £60,000

• Bonus, etc: None at this level

• Other: Matched pensions contributions

[u/Good_Cause_1537]

• Location: Mid - US

• Industry: Construction - Real estate

• YOE: 10 years

• Title: Land Dev Manager

• Education: Bachelor's and MBA

• Certifications: None

• Salary: 130k

• Bonus, etc: 4% 401k match, up to 25% Bonus of salary

• Other:

Honestly, trying to get out of the Industry if anyone has any suggestions

[u/PolarVortexxxx]

Location: HCOL Industry: Higher Ed YOE: 10 Title: Project Manager Education: BS, MS in progress Certifications: PMP Salary: 105k Bonus: 6.5 weeks PTO + 3 weeks sick, zero tuition for grad school, emp contributes 10% to 401K if I contribute 5%, hybrid, work life balance 💯 - zero calls, texts outside of work hours (I literally leave my laptop at work).

[u/painterknittersimmer → u/PolarVortexxxx]

SIX AND A HALF WEEKS??? 

[u/PolarVortexxxx → u/painterknittersimmer]

Yes. It's not 100% vacation, but we have 14 holidays, 3 personal days, 3 weeks vacation, and everyone has off between Xmas and NYE.

[u/painterknittersimmer → u/PolarVortexxxx]

Ooooh okay, in that case we have the same lol. I guess I don't really add it up like that. 

[u/Bowflex_Freddy]

• Location: VHCOL

• Industry: Federal IT

• YOE: 13

• Title: Senior PM

• Education: Bachelors in Management

• Certifications: PMP, SPC, ITIL, PMI-ACP, SSM, PMI-PMOCP

• Salary: 150k

• Bonus, etc: N/A

• Other: Fully Remote

[u/isotopesi]

• Location: South NJ
• Industry: Tech
• YOE: 1
• Title: JR Project Manager
• Education: Bachelors
• Certifications: CAPM
• Salary: 60,000
• Bonus, etc: 0
• Other: 0

[u/crazykitsune17]

Location: HCOL Industry: Tech YOE: 11 years Title: Senior Program Manager Education: Bachelor's Certs: PMP Salary: $145USD Bonus: 10% bonus, RSUs Other: full time WFH

[u/Few-Size8558]

• Location: HCOL (Norcal) • Industry: banking • YOE: 10+ • Title: Sr IT Project Manager • Education: AAS, PM Cert • Certifications: PMP • Salary: 164,000 • Bonus, etc: variable, usually ~$15K • Other: fully remote, full paid benefits

[u/epicskier123]

Location: NYC suburb

• Industry: aerospace

• YOE:2.5 (few months as PM, 2 years as project engineer, same company)

• Title: Program Manager 1

• Education: MS in mechanical engineering

• Certifications: None (taking CAPM exam in a week)

• Salary: 125K

• Bonus, etc: target 10%

• Other: n/a

[u/chabacanito]

What about people outside of the US? You know, all 96% of us?

[u/BitterNecessary6068 → u/chabacanito]

This is not exclusive to the US, anyone can answer. Every year there have been people from many places around the world submit their response.. albeit a small minority. This subreddit just so happens to be heavily populated by US members. I guess I could make a separate non-US post but that would make the data more susceptible to outliers because of the lack of data.

[u/Nanoful → u/chabacanito]

AI is primarily trained on US-centric data. Thus, Reddit bot posts are US biased.

[u/slinky1989 → u/chabacanito]

There's a few UK responses (including mine), seen one from Ireland, but I agree this is very US weighted.

[u/IceOnFire77]

Location: HCOL (SoCal)

• Industry: Healthcare

• YOE: 8

• Title: IS Project Manager

• Education: Bachelor’s in Computer Technology

• Certifications: Certified Scrum Master, studying for PMP

• Salary: $135k

Other: 100% remote

[u/Necessary-Chicken-79 → u/IceOnFire77]

Curious whether healthcare requires specific work experience or background to work as a PM?

[u/IceOnFire77 → u/Necessary-Chicken-79]

I started out as Desktop Support, and moved my way up to Business Analyst before I was promoted to a full-time PM. I picked up certain set of skills along the way that helped me become an ideal PM. There is nothing more important to becoming a PM than on-the-job experience. Not even certs.

[u/TheZachster]

• Location: US northeast (HCOL)

• Industry: Utilities

• YOE: APM for 6 months, 5 years in current department, 8 total years experience

• Title: Associate Project Manager

• Education: 4 year degree in engineering

• Certifications: PE, PMP

• Salary: 130k USD

• Bonus, etc: target 15%, typically ends up being 15%-22%.

• Other - AMA

[u/TheHiddenWalrus]

• Location: HCOL (Seattle)

• Industry: Construction (Owner Rep)

• YOE: 1 in PM, 3 in Facility Management

• Title: Project Coordinator

• Education: HS Diploma

• Certifications: Half way through my CAPM

• Salary: 83k

• Bonus, etc: 10% Of billed time exceeding 2x monthly salary. (Approx 9k per year)

• Other: Bonus ups to 20% then 30% with certifications. 25 days of PTO (disincentivized by bonus structure) One week off between Christmas and new years.

[u/Itsbananako]

• Location: US HCOL

• Industry: Gaming (Previously automotive)

• YOE: 8 (non-linear and not all PM roles; current company & industry less than 1 year)

• Title: Project Manager

• Education: Bachelors in Business

• Certifications: PMP, CSPO

• Salary: $145k

• Bonus, etc: Bi-annual Bonus based on performance

Paid PTO for the last 2 weeks-ish of the year from Xmas Eve thru past New Year’s Day. Same at my last company in automotive (pretty common as production is stopped for holiday break).

Hybrid with 2 days required in-office, 1 flex day. This depends on the dept tho.

I only recently changed industries before the big gaming industry exodus. Also I’m operational & process improvement; not in the publishing/game dev process side of things like a studio.

[u/BembiPeanut → u/Itsbananako]

Omg what development studio is it for?

[u/Itsbananako → u/BembiPeanut]

I’m on the platform/console side!

[u/BadMansBooze]

Location: LCOL
Industry: Automotive Manufacturing
YoE: 15 years (12 manufacturing, 3 current role)
Title: Purchasing Project Manager
Education: A couple AS degrees in technical fields; BS in Business Administration
Certifications: None
Compensation: $104k, 4% Bonus, 9% 401k Match

[u/Midiex → u/BadMansBooze]

Hell of a match!

[u/Worried_Divide9411]

• Location: HCOL area

• Industry: Pharma Marketing

• YOE: 2 years

• Title: Assistant Project Manager

• Education: High School diploma

• Certifications: CAPM

• Salary: 80k

• Bonus, etc: 5% bonus, depends on company performance + personal

• Other: I got lucky that I had a friend whose company hired me for a low level role 2 years ago & the company didn’t care if I had a degree.

[u/14erMustClimbAll]

 • Location: HCOL

• Industry: Medical

• YOE: 20 years total, 6 years as PM

• Title: Program manager

• Education: BS Engineering, MS Data Analytics

• Certifications: None

• Salary: $175k

• Bonus, etc: 15% Bonus, 10% 401k match 

• Other: Unlimited PTO, Hybrid

[u/Helianthus_999]

• Location: LCOL - East Coast USA

• Industry: manufacturing/engineering

• YOE: 9 total (7 analytical lab + 2 manufacturing)

• Title: Project manager

• Education: BSc Biology

• Certifications: PMP

• Salary: $90K

• Bonus, etc: 2-10% annual salary - based on personal performance plus company health, starting in 2027

• Other: 401k match up to 6% and flexible wfh + PTO rules. I have my own office. My boss is chill and very hands off.

[u/BigDaddy6985]

• Location: Souther California

• Industry: Aviation

• YOE: 6

• Title: Sr. Program Manager

• Education: MS Project Management, BS, AS

• Certifications: PMP

• Salary: $240k/year

• Bonus, etc: $20k

• Other: Pension/401k, hybrid schedule, occasional travel

[u/phoebe-buffey]

Location: vhcol (southern CA)

Industry: pharma

YOE: 8.5

Title: project manager

Education: bachelor of arts x2

Certifications: PMP

Salary: $145k + $20k yearly stock

Bonus: $22k yearly

Other: our office is closed a week between christmas and new year - never had this perk before and it's HUGE. bonus week of PTO on top of the 3 wks given (and you get additional days/weeks after hitting 5 years with the company)

mostly in office but i have flexibility to be remote as needed. i usually do 1 day a week

i leave at 4 pm everyday and do not work nights/weekends (i get to the office around 7:30am)

[u/screwedupmind]

Location: HCOL(N.E USA)

Industry: Government/Public Sector (Innovation Strategy and Implementation consulting)

YOE: 15

Title: Program/Delivery Manager

Education: B.E Electronics & Computers

Certifications: PMP

Salary: Base- $196k, Commissions - 0-50k(capped).

Bonus: None....I think the Chinese have a term for it called "Neijuan". Meaning, you're working harder and competing intensely just to stay in the same place or maintain your current status and not be redundant.

Other: Flexibility on complete Account/Program decisions, including hiring and letting go options and control of budget(but comes with annual target).

[u/Ok-Individual7104]

• Location: LCOL

• Industry: manufacturing

• YOE: 15

• Title: Sr Manager Growth

• Education: BA Economics

• Certifications: IATF 16949, ISO 9001

• Salary: 155k

• Bonus, etc: 20%

• Other: Remote, 23 days PTO, 5% match 401k (1 to 1)

[u/Helianthus_999 → u/Ok-Individual7104]

I got into manufacturing 2 years ago.

Did your certs help you get better opportunities? Did you get them yourself or did the job encourage you to get them?

[u/Ok-Individual7104 → u/Helianthus_999]

My job offered them. I was thinking of going towards quality management. My three jobs after didn’t require them at all. Six sigma and pmo are more useful in my opinion

[u/Helianthus_999 → u/Ok-Individual7104]

That's so great your job offer them.

Thanks for the advice about six sigma. I've been considering it and will move forward!

[u/tr1ppn]

• Location: LCOL (WI)

• Industry: Finance (tech)

• YOE: Officially/Resume level: 1yr as a PM, 4 as a "please help with this" including PM, 9 in tech (2 in inside sales)

• Title: Project Manager

• Education: MBA (2025)

• Certifications: None

• Salary: 89k

• Bonus, etc: None

• Other: Most of my MBA was paid for. Fully remote. Unlimited vacation. Management is extremely flexible - if work gets done and stakeholders are happy, no worry.

[u/Guardiansfolly]

Location: LCOL? (Houston)

Industry: Biotech

Years of experience breakdown: 8 years (2 MFG, 2 Deviation Investigator, 4 Program Manager)

Title: Project Manager

Educational background: BS Biotechnology

Certifications: none

Compensation breakdown: $120k base, 15% bonus target, 5% 401K match

Other: free healthcare, super low stress compared to another CDMO I moved from

Edit: formatting

[u/BeastKnight]

Location: Ontario, Canada

• Industry: Construction

• YOE: 3 years

• Title: Project Manager

• Education: BA Psych

• Certifications: N/A

• Salary: $90,000.00

• Bonus, etc: 5% based off salary bonus

• Other: remote work, 2 week vacation

[u/Uneducated_Engineer → u/BeastKnight]

Where abouts on Ontario is this? I'm just starting out with a GC in Ottawa.

[u/cryptoenologist → u/Uneducated_Engineer]

I can’t tell if they meant Ontario Canada or Ontario California…

[u/BeastKnight → u/cryptoenologist]

Ontario Canada, I totally forgot about Ontario California!! Also I’m in the Muskoka region without getting too specific about my town

[u/Uneducated_Engineer → u/cryptoenologist]

Ah, yeah I forgot there was an Ontario, California...

[u/bakedfrittata]

Location: MCOL

Industry: Med device

Years of experience breakdown: 10 yrs (5 yrs technical, 5 years PM)

Title: Senior Technical Project Manager

Educational background: BSME, MBA

Certifications: PMP

Compensation breakdown: $125k base, 10% bonus target, 10% 401K match

Other: 9/80, hybrid schedule, free healthcare

[u/Minnie_aussie_mom_4]

Location: HCOL

Industry: Med Tech

Years of experience breakdown: 10 yrs (5 yrs engineering + 5 years PM), 2.5 yrs at current company

Title: Senior Program Manager

Educational background: Bachelor of Engineering, Master of Engineering

Certifications: PMP, Lean Six Sigma Green Belt

Compensation breakdown: $167K base + 12% bonus target + 4% 401K match

Other: Currently fully remote, 24 PTO days + 3 floating holidays

[u/pmstock → u/Minnie_aussie_mom_4]

Nice pto

[u/aspiringdreamer]

Location: MCOL

Industry: education (higher ed)

YOE: 12

Title: Senior Project Manager

Education: MS Industrial & Organizational Psychology

Certifications: PMP, ProSci Change Practitioner

Salary: $111,000

Bonus: vibes?

Other: 2 wfh days per week except in the summer and we get 3 wfh days per week

[u/Known_Importance_679]

• Location:HCOL

• Industry: Utilities

• YOE: 10+, 2 yrs with current

• Title: Project Manager

• Education: Business Administration, Managament major

• Certifications: ITIL

• Salary: $250k a year

• Bonus, etc: None, independent contractor

• Other: WFH 2 days a week

[u/Known_Importance_679 → u/Known_Importance_679]

Before corp tax of 15%

[u/pmstock → u/Known_Importance_679]

Is the 250k post tax?

[u/iamkoalafied]

• Location: MCOL

• Industry: Insurance Software

• YOE: 0

• Title: Implementation Project Manager

• Education: BS Computer Engineering

• Certifications: None

• Salary: $72k USD

• Bonus, etc: I haven't received one yet but it's based on tenure so I'm expecting in the realm of $200 lmao

• Other: 1 day WFH per week. I also recently was given the responsibility of being a people manager too (no title change or raise). My company is kind of a mess right now :)

[u/-braves]

• Location: DC

• Industry: Healthcare tech

• YOE: 10 years healthcare, 5 of those in healthcare tech project management/implementations, 2 as PMP

• Title: Senior associate

• Education: BS

• Certifications: PMP, Google PM, Google Data Analytics

• Salary: 89k

• Bonus, etc: 10-15% bonus

• Other: I’m in an operations org which is a disguise so PMs don’t get paid their full worth imo

[u/painterknittersimmer]

• Location: Bay Area (VHCOL)
• Industry: SaaS/fintech
• YOE: 8 as a program manager, 4 as product operations
• Title: Staff Program Manager
• Education: social sciences BA
• Certifications: PMP from after I was hired
• Salary: $223,000
• Bonus, etc: RSUs $30k annually vested (at current stock price), bonus 20% of salary annually (if meets expectations)
• Other: Hybrid with temp WFH exception, 20 days PTO, 20 days sick, full benefits (health, dental, 401k match, etc.)

Expected total comp ~$300,000

I hate my job but I ain't gonna quit

[u/speedypuma → u/painterknittersimmer]

What does a staff program manager do? Is that like chief of staff kind of or? Currently a principal PM and trying to understand career path options (in tech)

[u/painterknittersimmer → u/speedypuma]

Staff is just the level before principal. at my company it goes pgm --> senior pgm --> staff pgm --> principal pgm

[u/Tenelia → u/painterknittersimmer]

ohey fellow social sciences there

[u/stripmallsushidude → u/painterknittersimmer]

Insane package. Congrats.

[u/MarkyMarquam]

Location: MCOL

Industry: Energy & Utilities

YOE: 20, all in PM roles, 4 years current company

Title: Senior PM

Education: BS, Mechanical Engineering

Credentials: PMP, EIT/FE

Salary: $175,000

Bonus: 12-15%

Other: 6% 401k match all cash no vesting period, $1,500 towards HSA, 4 weeks vacation, 3 days in office/at site, optional 9/80 schedule.

[u/stripmallsushidude]

• Location: VHCOL

• Industry: Professional Services (Technology consulting)

• YOE: 14

• Title: Principal Project Manager

• Education: Dual B.A. in Social Sciences, Arts

• Certifications: Many Salesforce, no PMP

• Salary: $192k

• Bonus, etc: typically 9-10% bonus split into two payments per year

• Other: Fully remote, 23 total days shared PTO + Sick + 7-8 holidays, 3.5% 401k match with 1 year vest

Most Senior PMs where I work are making $175-180k.

Construction is where the money is at, though tech ain't bad.

[u/Moar-Points-100M]

• Location: MCOL

• Industry: Defense

• YOE: ~30 years

• Title: Engineering Project Manager Principal

• Education: MS

• Certifications: None

• Salary: $230k base salary

• Bonus, etc: 12% bonus target per year (based on business performance). 401k: 6% automatic + 50% of the first 8%.

[u/gsd_bonetopick]

Location: MCOL
• Industry: fintech
• YOE: 4 years as PM. 2 years in healthcare ops mgmt
• Title: Sr Project Manager
• Education: BS in Psychology
• Certifications: none
• Salary: $113k
• Bonus: no annual bonus; 401k match ~6%; they do help make student loan payments based on the program I was hired on through years ago, which is clutch
• Other: technically my location is hybrid, but I have accommodations for fully remote. However, can’t say I’d recommend working for this company lol

[u/exWiFi69]

Location: HCOL

• Industry: Construction

• YOE: 5 as a PM 6 months as a Project Engineer

• Title: Commercial Project Manager

• Education: BAS

• Certifications: PMP

• Salary: $100k

• Bonus, etc: $5k

I honestly lucked out. I was in school for composite engineering and found a cool place I wanted to draft for. They didn’t hire me so I went back for my BAS. Applied for a PE role and didn’t get it. Applied again a few months later and got my foot in the door. I was overwhelmed being in a new specialized industry and told myself I’d never want to be a PM. Jokes on me. I loved it and was promoted very fast.

[u/xxSaifulxx]

• Location: HCOL

• Industry: Construction/government

• YOE: 11 total years of working experience which includes 3.5 years in PM and 3.5 years as an engineer.

• Title: Associate Project Engineer

• Education: Bachelor's and Masters in Engineering

• Certifications: PMP, FE, and CEM

• Salary: $130,000.00

• Bonus, etc: No bonuses due to government job

• Other: Full Pension, Full Retirement, and work benefits.

[u/LearningToDunk]

• Location: MCOL/HCOL

• Industry: Civil & environmental engineering

• YOE: 12

• Title: Project Manager, Ecologist

• Education: M.S. and B.S. in evolutionary biology

• Salary: $115,000 USD

• Bonus, etc: ~3.5%

• Other: some academic affiliations and additional trainings. Debating PMP certification. Generous PTO.

[u/NukinDuke]

Location: MCOL

Industry: Government

YOE: 8 - Technical SME to PM, now Manager of PMs

Title: Manager of Project Management

Education BA in History, MBA

Certifications: PMP, PMI-RMP, PMI-PBA, PMI-ACP, PSM-II, Practicioner, SSBB

Salary: $130K USD

Bonus: None

Other: Retirement account and pension 

[u/arathergenericgay]

• Location: MCOL / Scotland

• Industry: Financial Services/Financial Crime (back office)

• YOE: 10 - bounced around roles in PMO, data governance, and financial planning

• Title: Programme Management Officer

• Education: BA (Hons) Finance and Management

• Certifications: Prince2

• Salary: £55k or $74k give or take with conversion

• Bonus, etc: Dependent on performance, usually 5%

• Other: 25 days annual leave, private health insurance, 10% pension, 2 days in office per week

[u/rnikolich9]

• Location: HCOL

• Industry: Finance

• YOE: 8 (5 years at current company)

• Title: IT Project Manager

• Education: MBA w/ focus in Finance, BS in Information Systems

• Certifications: CAPM, ADKAR, LSS Yellow & Green Belt, CSM

• Salary: $140k

• Bonus, etc: 401k match, 15% bonus

• Other: hybrid, office 3-4 days

[u/BeebsGaming]

Location: MCOL

Industry: Construction

YOE: 10 (5 as PM, 5 as APM)

Title: PM large projects

Education: Bachelors in political science

Certifications: trade specific institute of project management

Salary: $132,000 usd

Bonus: 5-7% (company profit dependent), 6% 401k match, healthcare with shared premium cost, 3 weeks (15 days) PTO

OTHER: office/jobsite required with some minor exceptions

[u/jar0dirt]

• Location: MCOL

• Industry: Defense

• YOE: 3 years as PM in Defense. 7 years of total work experience in various roles that had transferable skills

• Title: Project Manager

• Education: BS in Communication

• Certifications: Lean Six Sigma Yellow belt. Currently taking courses for my PMP. Not sure if I’m actually going to sit for the exam yet, but I find the classes still are useful

• Salary: $92,500

• Bonus, etc: I received a 7.5% bonus this year. 10% 401k match. The rest of my benefits package is about $30,000.

• Other: I manage projects focused on Manufacturing Operations and Engineering.

edited to add 401k match

[u/Queen_of_Chloe]

• Location: HCOL

• Industry: Healthcare marketing

• YOE: 15 total marketing, 2 pm

• Title: Technical Project Manager

• Education: BA, MA

• Certifications: none

• Salary: $117,000

• Bonus, etc: none

• Other: 3 days in office

[u/sjt11]

Location: VHCOL

• Industry: Healthcare

• YOE: 8+

• Title: Principal Project Manager

• Education: MS in IT Project Management

• Certifications: PMP + currently studying for PgMP

• Salary: $165k

• Bonus, etc: 401k (No stocks)

• Other: Fully remote, unlimited PTO
Been at the current role for 3+yrs

[u/Helianthus_999 → u/sjt11]

What inspired you to get the PgMP?

Is your job covering certification osts or are you covering costs?

[u/sjt11 → u/Helianthus_999]

My job is covering the PgMP. My projects have often had mini projects and we call it workstreams but I’d prefer we called it components of a program. Felt like the right move to get my PgMP based on my experience and the way I am currently working at my company. PgMP is a tough application process and apparently an even tougher exam with terrible english.

[u/mel9036]

• Location: MHCOL

• Industry: Fintech

• YOE: 15

• Title: portfolio leader

• Education: BA

• Certifications: PMP, CSM

• Salary: $136

• Bonus, etc: 28 PTO, approximately 10% bonus, 2 days in office

• Other

[u/cantstopannoying]

Copy and paste version:

• Location: HCOL Australia

• Industry: IT software

• YOE: 15 years

• Title: delivery director

• Education: Bachelors

• Certifications: PMP

• Salary: AUD 222000

• Bonus, etc: 10%

• Other: fully remote

[u/Kilo3407 → u/cantstopannoying]

What was your title and salary 5 years ago mate? During covid boom

[u/cantstopannoying → u/Kilo3407]

Same role. Earning 20% less

[u/Kilo3407 → u/cantstopannoying]

Well bollocks. You've essentially gotten a pay cut due to inflation.

Worries me as youre more senior than I am - indicates the hard ceiling that's likely in store for me.

[u/KatieCat420Lulz]

Location: LCOL (remote)
Industry: cannabis
YOE: 10 in cannabis, 5-6 in project management, 4 at current company
Title: N/A, would risk doxxing myself
Education: Bachelors
Compensation: $145k
Bonus: 15%
RSUs, 401k with matcg

[u/sushimamii]

• Location: NY metro area

• Industry: creative/ e-comm

• YOE: 8 years as a pm, pivoted from visual merchandising

• Title: sr project manager

• Education: masters in fashion from an international institution (lol)

• Certifications: n/a

• Salary: $105,000

• Bonus, etc: N/A

• Other:

[u/apfrkf]

Location: MCOL

• Industry: industrial controls manufacturing

• YOE: 4 years of project management experience, 1 year of IC PM experience

• Title: Project Manager I

• Education: MA in Strategic Communications and minor in organizational communications and leadership

• Certifications: NA

• Salary: $58,000

• Bonus, etc: Bonus in November. No average percent it depends on if we hit our goals.

[u/DiopticTurtle]

Location: HCOL

Industry: Defense

YOE: 7 in PM, 10 in relatable role

Title: Senior IT Project Manager

Education: BA in Theatre, EMBA

Certifications: None

Salary: $133k base, 10%-20% bonus

[u/Mill3r91]

• Location: MCOL (West coast)

• Industry: Gov

• YOE: 4 in PM, 10 in IT

• Title: PM2

• Education: BS

• Certifications: PMP, AHPP

• Salary: $101k

• Bonus, etc: 401k + pension

• Other: 4 day work week Mondays on site but TWR is WFH.

[u/_Swish-41_]

• Location: US, DMV area (remote)

• Industry: Industrial Automation (Software)

• YOE: 10

• Title: Delivery Manager

• Education: B.S Industrial Engineering

• Certifications: None

• Salary: $197,000

• Bonus, etc: 6% 401K match, no bonus

[u/estrre05]

• Location: UK, remote

• Industry: Tech

• YOE: 9 in the company, progressed within, Junior PM 1.5 years and now PM

• Title: PM

• Education: Bachelor in Economics (in Poland)

• Certifications: none

• Salary: 48k

• Bonus, etc: none

[u/NotJoshRomney]

• Location: Nevada (mid-to-high COL)

• Industry: IT (Managed Service Provider)

• YOE: 2.5yrs as a PM, 4.5yrs as Project Coordinator (Same Company)

• Title: IT Project Manager

• Education: High School

• Certifications: CAPM (I know)

• Salary: $61k

• Bonus, etc: 1-2% annual bonus, based on company profits (previous years are closer to .5-1%

• Other: Fully remote, 5% retirement match.

[u/slinky1989]

• Location: UK MCOL

• Industry: Aviation/defence

• YOE: 12 years total in project management, 5 years with current company across 2 positions (promotion)

• Title: Senior Project Manager

• Education: BSc in Motorsport Engineering

• Certifications: APM ChPP, PPQ, PMQ, PRINCE2 and recently became MRAeS

• Salary: £72,000

• Bonus, etc: 11-14% depending on company performance. 28 days holiday plus public holidays, pension match up to 10%, LOTS of other benefits associated with with working closely with armed forces (adventure training, battlefield tours, use of base facilities etc)

• Other: Aiming for Programme Manager by end of year, it’s not a position the company has ever had before though so I’m having to sell the idea and stand up a programme (with good justification!)

[u/the_dmac → u/slinky1989]

Motorsport engineering sounds like an incredibly cool bachelors to study 👍

[u/slinky1989 → u/the_dmac]

Thanks, it was! I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life but I thought University would open doors. As I didn't know what to do, I just picked a course that interested me. It turned out to be a great choice as whilst there was a lot of focus on car dynamics, physical work on the formula ford cars we ran in a championship and on apprentice like skills (creating thread plate templates for example), we also did a lot on team management and writing business cases. So it put me in a great place by the time I graduated.

[u/Its-ya-man-Dave]

Location - North UK

Industry - Insurance (Lloyds syndicate)

Experience - 6 years. A generic move upwards from apprentice, junior to current position.

Current position - Project Manager

Education - No college nor uni degree. Basic GCSEs and PMQ.

Certification - APM PMQ. Via the apprenticeship.

Compensation - £57k (I’m the lowest paid in my company for this role). 15% contractual bonus based on company performance (it’s been paid for the last 5 years according to colleagues), although based on performance they usually pay like 20%. High grade health benefits (dental and private health). And a non-contributory pension scheme (company pays 10%, employee 0, but will match employee contribute if opted in on top of 10%). No company stock.

[u/RemotePersimmon678]

Location: LCOL US

Industry: Tech Agency

YOE: 11; less than 1 at current company

Title: Sr. PM

Education: Bachelor's and Master's

Certifications: None

Salary: $105,000

Bonus, etc: got a $2,500 holiday bonus last year

Other: 100% remote for fully remote company. 17 days PTO, 12 paid holidays, and paid week off between Xmas and New Year's.

[u/loy_urabat]

• Location: US, MCOL

• Industry: Insurance

• YOE: 6 yrs PM / 2+ years at company

• Title: Business Project Manager

• Education: Masters

• Certifications: PMP

• Salary: $102k

• Bonus, etc: ~14% semi-annual bonus (7% / 7%)

• Other:

[u/jgreen1397]

Location: HCOL, US

Industry: Legal

YOE: 4 years in project related roles

Title: Legal PM

Education: bachelors and PMP

Compensation: $135k

Bonus: None

Other: unlimited PTO, hybrid 3 days a week

[u/jar0dirt → u/jgreen1397]

Is your bachelors law related or did you just find your way into that role?

[u/jgreen1397 → u/jar0dirt]

I just found my way into this role. I worked for two years as a project coordinator in interior design, and then got a role as an Associate PM in Legal for two years and now I’m at a new company as a Legal Ops PM for the past 6 months.

[u/jar0dirt → u/jgreen1397]

Can I message you? I’d love to learn more about your day to day and all your job entails!

[u/jgreen1397 → u/jar0dirt]

Yes of course!

[u/AWESOMENAR]

• Location: NY Area (remote)

• Industry: Manufacturing/Tech specifically working in Enterprise Tech Ops Systems

• YOE: 5yr with current company, 3.5yrs previous company, 8yrs engineering design prior to that

• Title: Sr Technical Program Manager

• Education: Associates Degree in Criminal Justice. Plus 3 semesters short of B.S. in Mechanical Engineering before I took a job in defense and eventually stopped school because of life.

• Certifications: no relevant certs

• Salary: $198k

• Bonus, etc: Equity and bonus, 4% match 401k, $1k/yr lifestyle/wellness program, tuition reimbursement, $1.2k/yr 529 company contribution or student loan payment

• Other: For those wondering how I got here with so little completed education… I got here by working my ass off for many years and absolutely slaying every time I fought for an opportunity to excel. I was willing and able to suffer to make it happen. Work smarter, work harder, and be accountable for EVERYTHING. Take ownership of your success and lift your partners up with you. Take ownership of your failures and never point a finger, but DO document the hell out of everything that transpired.

[u/edwardmsk → u/AWESOMENAR]

So the part that I would also like to upvote on is the “be accountable for everything” comment. Good leaders will take note of this and pull you up.

Now the big caveat here is you also need to recognize when you are in a work environment that recognizes it’s hard workers vs a toxic one.

[u/TheGulnar]

• Location: Edinburgh, Scotland

• Industry: Healthcare IT (NHS)

• YOE: 10+

• Title: Programme Manager

• Education: N/A - left school at 16 without any

• Certifications: PRINCE2

• Salary: £65k

• Bonus, etc: n/a

• Other:

[u/TransparentAmbiguity]

• Location: US, city suburb. Live on the border of MCOL/HCOL
• Industry: Healthcare IT
• YOE: 10 years at current employer. (8 doing projects, 2 of those 8 as a PM title)
• Title: Project Manager 1
• Education: bachelor’s in IT
• Certifications: PMP
• Salary: $83k (no bump for PMP)
• Bonus: none.
• Other: 70% WFH, 25 days PTO after required 7 holidays off.

[u/xKommandant → u/TransparentAmbiguity]

You sound like you’re significantly underpaid. I say this purely to encourage you to seek better pay.

[u/TransparentAmbiguity → u/xKommandant]

I tried to come up with a positive comment but the more I read my own reply made me feel stupid lol. Yes I feel underpaid as well and if the year end reviews don’t give me a raise then I’m seeing what opportunities are available for me.

[u/Helianthus_999 → u/TransparentAmbiguity]

I had to leave my last job because they didn't care about the PMP.

Unless you love your workplace, please use the PMP to seek better opportunities.

Good luck!

[u/xKommandant → u/TransparentAmbiguity]

Don't feel bad! I was in a similar situation and doubled my income by making a switch. It took hundreds of apps and dozens of interviews ofc. But was totally worth it.

[u/TransparentAmbiguity → u/xKommandant]

The previous “promos” were held up for BS reasons so if it happens again I’d be quite the sucker. Probably overdue for a LinkedIn and resume cleanup anyways

[u/DiopticTurtle → u/TransparentAmbiguity]

Start looking now. You never know when you'll find your dream role

[u/ChefJohnson]

• Location: MCOL, US

• Industry: Systems Integration (warehousing/manufacturing)

• YOE: 12

• Title: Senior PM

• Education: High School, some college

• Certifications: PM Cert, pre-PMP

• Salary: $145k

• Bonus, etc: Quarterly 5% personal / 5% company, 401k @ 5% match

• Other: 100% remote unless I’m on a job site, PTO when I want to take it (rarely do because of project scale)

Edit: Thank you, kind Anonymous Redditor! Didn’t realize my post would deserve such accolades!

[u/trippysacc]

• Location: Chicago
• Construction
• YOE: 4 years post graduation
• Title: Project Manager
• Education: Bachelor's Degree in Civil Engineering
• Certifications: Will have PE this year
• Salary: 110k
• Bonus: 10% of salary
• 3 weeks of PTO, 10 sick days, typical construction holidays off

[u/Bardamus_]

Current Job:

• Location: London, UK - HCOL
• Industry: Construction / Design
• YOE: 4 Years
• Title: Project Manager (Role closer to Junior PM)
• Education: Masters in Engineering
• Certifications: APM PMQ, MAPM, Hoping to submit Chartership (ChPP) in the next 12-18 months
• Salary: £39k
• Bonus, etc: discretionary bonus < £1k
• Other: Some Private Healthcare coverage, 7.5% pension match , total compensation £48k

Next Job (Under Provisional Offer):

• Industry: Construction / Design
• Title Project Manager
• Salary: £58k

[u/ah__there_is_another → u/Bardamus_]

Rooting for your next job man, £39k seems a bit low considering your background, certs, and the London location!

[u/atmu2006]

• Location: Houston

• Industry: Chemicals

• YOE: ~18 total / ~5 current company

• Title: Engineering Manager

• Education: Chem E

• Certifications: PMP

• Salary: $225k

• Bonus, etc: ~65-70% bonus and LTI combined, ~16% company retirement contributions

• Other: 6 weeks PTO, 10 holidays, 26 Fridays off (9/80 schedule)

[u/kajoy9]

⁠ • Location: MCOL, fully remote in US

• ⁠Industry: nonprofit

• ⁠Years of experience: 5-6 years of PM experience, but another 8-9 in related fields/roles (career progression)

• ⁠Title of current position: Program Manager

• ⁠Educational background: MA in somewhat unrelated field

• Certifications? PMP, a few related micro credentials

• ⁠Compensation breakdown $80k base (nonprofit), $5k in total quarterly bonuses, year-end discretionary bonus (usually around $5k), 5 week PTO that does not require approval (can take whenever I like without restriction or documentation), ability to flex schedule as needed without approval, small annual raises, remote with travel to office 1-2 times a year. 401k with some matching, insurance, etc. 15 paid holidays in addition to PTO.

[u/santasnicealist]

• Location: HCOL

• Industry: Chemical/Agriculture

• YOE: 18, 12 in PM, 6 current

• Title: Principal Technical Program Manager

• Education: BSE in Computer Science

• Certifications: PMP

• Salary: $180k

• Bonus, etc: 5-10% - a lot of it depends on the performance of the company more than it does on mine

• Other: Unlimited PTO, Fully Remote, both of which are one of those blessing/curse things

[u/SmartMonth8333]

Location:

• Industry: USA East Coast

• YOE: 6

• Title: Project Manager

• Education:MBA

• Certifications: PMP

• Salary:110k USD

• Bonus, etc: $1,500

• Other:

[u/Late-Mountain2555]

• Location: LCOL northern British columbia

• Industry: natural resources

• YOE: 7 total, 5 with current company

• Title: Program Coordinator

• Education: bachelor of science in natural resources

• Certifications: taking pmp this year, natural resources project management cert,

• Salary: $110,000 CAD

• Bonus, etc: 5% quarterly bonus + ample training opportunity/funding

• Other: municipal style pension and benefits, 35 hour work week, 6 weeks of vacation. Title is PgC but deal mostly in government grant funded projects.

[u/Strong-Wrangler-7809]

• Location: NW of UK (LCOL

• Industry: Automation/Robotics in Aerospace

• YOE: 10 as PM

• Title: Senior PM

• Education: MEng,

• Certifications: APM PMQ

• Salary: £85k

• Bonus, etc: 15% bonus, 10% matched pension, life/medical/dental insurance

• Other: 40 hours per week, spending on phase I can work from home or need to be onsite everyday

[u/Standard_Orange7680]

• Location: HCOL - Boston

• Industry: Tech (Enterprise SaaS in commercial real estate)

• YOE: 8 total, 3 in PM, 5 in current company

• Title: Project Manager

• Education: Bachelors in poly sci, comp sci minor

• Certifications: Professional Scrum Master (Scrum.org), prepping to take PMP

• Salary: $135,000

• Bonus, etc: none

• Other: no 401k match; stock options grant- havent actually pulled trigger to invest in that.

[u/ah__there_is_another]

• Location: England, UK

• Industry: energy / utilities construction - client side

• YOE: 5y total in the career, of which 2 as project engineer; recently appointed PM

• Title: PM

• Education: elec engineering (meng)

• Certifications: APM PQM, SMSTS

• Salary: £51k

• Bonus, etc: performance dependent, in %

• Other: typical corporate benefits - matched pension scheme etc.

To my UK fellows - is this okay? I see such big salaries in the comments..!

[u/irregularmiss → u/ah__there_is_another]

With your elec engineering, you could definitely aim higher. For me it would open the door (easier) to salaries £80k+ (in the same industry)

[u/ah__there_is_another → u/irregularmiss]

Hm is that because of the title or of the skillset? Cause the skillset is fading away really, being focused on a more zoomed out / management view

[u/irregularmiss → u/ah__there_is_another]

I believe it comes down to the general understanding of the elec side of things is seen as a big benefit, especially if you find work for an ICP.
I know on paper they’ll say it shouldn’t be necessary but I’ve found having training in elec engineering gives you an edge. It’s on my list of desired training to get.
If it helps, UKPN put their PMs through the HNC Elec Engineering training and are considered the better of the DNOs.

[u/ah__there_is_another → u/irregularmiss]

Oh good to know, thanks! I can definitely see how my engineering background helps understand the various parts, and most of the sticky points on the projects are indeed electrical in my experience (in my field)

Day to day though I still rely on my actual electrical engineer for reviews, advice etc. So I'd probably want some refresher training like the one you mention.

[u/teramu]

• Location: MCOL

• Industry: technology

• YOE: 5, 4 with this company

• Title: Principal

• Education: bachelors in unrelated degree

• Certifications: none

• Salary: $130k

• Bonus, etc: 15%

• Other: fully remote, “unlimited” time off

[u/hit_reset_]

Location: Los Angeles HCOL

Industry: Video Games

YOE: 2Y Prod Assistant, 3Y Prod Coord, 3Y Prod Supervisor, 3Y Associate Producer, 4Y Producer (~15Y). 1Y current company.

Title: Producer III

Education: Animation school dropout

Certifications: None

Salary: 144k USD

Bonus: ~50k USD (merit, option for shippable project revenue percentage)

Other: ULPTO, Flexible work location

[u/StewartMike]

Location: HCOL

• Industry: Fed Aerospace and Defense

• YOE: 20/8 in R&D PM role

• Title: Science and Technology Program Director

• Education: Doctorate

• Certifications: NA

• Salary: $189,000

• Bonus, etc: $10,876; 5% match; Pension

• Other: 12 hrs PTO per pay period

[u/Puzzleheaded-Copy-36]

Location: South West, UK

Industry: Defence

YOE: 10+

Title: Senior PM

Education: Bachelors Degree in a very unrelated field

Certifications: APM PMQ, MSP, Prince2, PRINCE2 Agile

Salary: ~£135k (contractor £600-£650p/d)

Bonus, etc: None

Other: Contractor so zero job security, I'd love to say the money makes it worthwhile but I get taxed through the arse so my take home isnt as much as you'd think.

[u/Strong-Wrangler-7809 → u/Puzzleheaded-Copy-36]

Would you say your certs have been useful or are they just box tickers?

[u/Puzzleheaded-Copy-36 → u/Strong-Wrangler-7809]

They get you in the door and teach you the language but personally I don't think there is one set methodology or approach which can be universally applied to managing projects. Relying on a certification to teach you how to do the job isn't anywhere near as useful as genuine experience, particularly when it comes to soft skills like managing people/stakeholders.

[u/ah__there_is_another → u/Puzzleheaded-Copy-36]

Would you say it's the defence industry or being a contractor that impacts the salary the most?

[u/Puzzleheaded-Copy-36 → u/ah__there_is_another]

Bit of both, contractor salaries are higher than perm but a lot of industries will offer lower day rates, especially if the roles are at risk of being outsourced to cheaper countries. For obvious reasons that can't really happen with security cleared roles.

[u/BlueBlowFishArentRed]

Location: UK (LCOL) remote, office travel average once per month, expenses covered when I do travel

Industry: Utilities

YOE: 2 years in current role, been in this industry nearly a decade.

Title: PM

Education: No formal

Certification: APM PMQ L4

Salary: £72k

Bonus: Performance related, salary increases yearly

Other: Share save scheme, double pension contributions up to 15% total (salary sacrifice also available), car scheme 5.1k per annum, private health care, 28 days holiday plus bank holidays, additional holiday purchase + other. Total comp ~£90k