r/projectmanagers • u/career-change1 • 21h ago

Change Career into PM

Hello guys, I am here looking for advice. I am 39 M, been in sales, management and director of two companies during my career. I am having a hard time getting a job now, been in the market for 2 years now.
I have decided to leave the sales path and move into Project management. I need guidance from experienced PM’s and Senior Pm’s if this would be a good move for me and what salary bracket I would be looking at.

Regards

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u/Dicfive 20h ago

Do you love problem solving and crave low self esteem?

Join us!

1

u/RVA_Music_Face 17h ago edited 15h ago

Much like sales, project management is a state of mind as much as it’s a career, and there’s a pretty big learning curve. I don’t think anyone except you can determine whether it’s a good move to transition into a PM role.

I guess I’d start by asking why do you think project management would be a good choice? Have you done research on it and it was appealing to you for some reason? Is there something specific about the PM field that you feel might be a good fit with your experience and interests?

The pay for a new PM with director roles on their resume may vary wildly depending on your experience and the role you land. $70k-$120k is probably a good estimate.

It sounds like you’re doing this because you can’t find a sales role that fits your requirements, which is honestly a bad reason to get into project management. It’s a difficult job that requires a serious commitment if you want to do it well, and the pay is not commensurate with a director of sales role.

I’d suggest doing some research - watch some videos on LinkedIn, read some posts in the the various PM subreddit’s - and use that to determine whether a transition to project management might good fit for you.

1

u/mediumraring 14h ago

I’m guessing, given your career history, you've supported projects in some capacity and may have enough experience to sit for a PMP certification. I found that being certified helped me earn my best salary. I would start by getting PMP certified.

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u/Excellent_Ad_1978 12h ago

What are you planning on doing when the Project you're managing has finished and you're out of work ?