saint_stevo Posted 9 January, 2009 Posted 9 January, 2009 Currently an IT engineer, dealing with desktop, network and about 25 servers. Job has come up doing some project management, would this be a good career move? Is project management well paid generally? It's quite a big step and i have done some research, just thought i would ask on ere for some peoples thoughts as i know some are in Recruitment etc.... Cheers
Thedelldays Posted 9 January, 2009 Posted 9 January, 2009 i deal with servers at work on a military system still have no idea what I am doing mind.. so treat yourself
bridge too far Posted 9 January, 2009 Posted 9 January, 2009 Currently an IT engineer, dealing with desktop, network and about 25 servers. Job has come up doing some project management, would this be a good career move? Is project management well paid generally? It's quite a big step and i have done some research, just thought i would ask on ere for some peoples thoughts as i know some are in Recruitment etc.... Cheers One of my daughters is an IT Project Manager. It's not THAT well paid but she does work for a Housing Association so maybe that's why.
TopGun Posted 9 January, 2009 Posted 9 January, 2009 I guess the big difference is the planning element of project management. Proactive rather than reactive for much of the time as an IT engineer. Loads of Gantt charts etc.
bridge too far Posted 9 January, 2009 Posted 9 January, 2009 I guess the big difference is the planning element of project management. Proactive rather than reactive for much of the time as an IT engineer. Loads of Gantt charts etc. Getting a PRINCE qualification might help too.
Spudders Posted 9 January, 2009 Posted 9 January, 2009 A lot of IT seems to be going offshore these days, that's a lot less likely happen with project management roles as you need to have common sense and be able think for yourself. With regards to the Salary, as with many jobs there is a massive range dependant on your employer and the industry. I think Bridge too far is correct by saying their daughters lower PM salary is due to working for a housing assocation. If you are going for a PM role working for a massive bank for example, then the salary could be a lot higher. Best thing to do would be show an interest, get an interview and try and get a better feel of the new role and the people you'd be working with (they may even tell you about the wages), then see how you feel.
badgerx16 Posted 9 January, 2009 Posted 9 January, 2009 Getting a PRINCE qualification might help too. I am a full PRINCE2 'practitioner' and in the 'real world' I find it doesn't really help at all. Common sense, and understanding what you are doing, and why, is far more important, ( IMHO ).
bridge too far Posted 9 January, 2009 Posted 9 January, 2009 I am a full PRINCE2 'practitioner' and in the 'real world' I find it doesn't really help at all. Common sense, and understanding what you are doing, and why, is far more important, ( IMHO ). But I love PRINCE. It makes my life as an auditor so much easier if a good audit trail is established, as required by PRINCE.
badgerx16 Posted 9 January, 2009 Posted 9 January, 2009 But I love PRINCE. It makes my life as an auditor so much easier if a good audit trail is established, as required by PRINCE. But I find the paper trail just gets in the way of doing the work
bridge too far Posted 9 January, 2009 Posted 9 January, 2009 But I find the paper trail just gets in the way of doing the work Well, it probably doesn't matter in private industry, but the sh*t would hit the fan if there wasn't an audit trail in local government / NHS. How else can I prove that bribes have / have not been offered / taken :yawinkle:
saint_stevo Posted 9 January, 2009 Author Posted 9 January, 2009 PRINCE2 course is part of the job, its a development role, with a salary of 5k more than im on at the moment, just thinking long run with my original post really....
red&white4life Posted 9 January, 2009 Posted 9 January, 2009 PRINCE2 is only really used as a guide to the project structure. No one could use the complete P2 as it stands as it is way too unwieldy. I did a week long course, passed the foundation exam but failed the practitioners test at the end of the week. It is a lot of info to take in, and i found it pretty boring which was a shame as the course cost me £1,500 out of my redundancy pay off and it kinda put me off project management as a career. Col.
Barney Trubble Posted 9 January, 2009 Posted 9 January, 2009 Well, it probably doesn't matter in private industry, but the sh*t would hit the fan if there wasn't an audit trail in local government / NHS. How else can I prove that bribes have / have not been offered / taken :yawinkle: BridgeTooFar - In your professional opinion, is nepotism easy to prove in local government?
bridge too far Posted 9 January, 2009 Posted 9 January, 2009 BridgeTooFar - In your professional opinion, is nepotism easy to prove in local government? If you mean senior managers / directors giving jobs to family / friends - I wouldn't know. I don't have to look at that sort of thing. If you mean taking back-handers for giving contracts - it's not common and EU procurement legislation makes it quite difficult to do. A colleague of mine found an instance of a senior manager giving smallish construction contracts to a single firm (that, coincidentally, gave said senior manager whiskey at Christmas and many golf days). The manager was sacked. And there was a well-publicised case a couple of years ago in Nottingham (I think) where again contracts were given to the same M & E and QS firms. Both cases were in the NHS and both were caught out because they didn't comply with EU legislation.
badgerx16 Posted 9 January, 2009 Posted 9 January, 2009 Well, it probably doesn't matter in private industry, but the sh*t would hit the fan if there wasn't an audit trail in local government / NHS. How else can I prove that bribes have / have not been offered / taken :yawinkle: But I do work in the public sector, though nobody has yet offered me a bribe. And without getting into a 'mine is bigger than yours' type of discussion, my network is 3500+ PCs, 230+ servers, and over 100 different sites.
bridge too far Posted 10 January, 2009 Posted 10 January, 2009 But I do work in the public sector, though nobody has yet offered me a bribe. And without getting into a 'mine is bigger than yours' type of discussion, my network is 3500+ PCs, 230+ servers, and over 100 different sites. Well, if I were to audit any of your projects, I would expect to see an audit trail. I do audit some local councils in the North West, BTW [-X
Huffton Posted 10 January, 2009 Posted 10 January, 2009 i deal with servers at work on a military system still have no idea what I am doing mind.. so treat yourself Thats you in the recruitment ads isn't it TDD. 'I don't know what I'm doing, so I just turn it off and on again...'
ecuk268 Posted 10 January, 2009 Posted 10 January, 2009 Depends what you enjoy. I've done a bit of both and I much prefer the hands-on "techie" side of things. Didn't really enjoy the things like doing budgets, loads of meetings, pressure from above re timescales etc.
Kadeem Hardison Posted 10 January, 2009 Posted 10 January, 2009 Will you be managing the project by asking the advice of strangers on an internet forum too?
badgerx16 Posted 10 January, 2009 Posted 10 January, 2009 Well, if I were to audit any of your projects, I would expect to see an audit trail. I do audit some local councils in the North West, BTW [-X I said 'public sector', nothing more......
badgerx16 Posted 10 January, 2009 Posted 10 January, 2009 Well, if I were to audit any of your projects, I would expect to see an audit trail. I do audit some local councils in the North West, BTW [-X Bridge, have you come across Terry Pratchett's method for confusing auditors ? Show them a piece of paper with "Please ignore this notice" written on it
bridge too far Posted 10 January, 2009 Posted 10 January, 2009 Bridge, have you come across Terry Pratchett's method for confusing auditors ? Show them a piece of paper with "Please ignore this notice" written on it Well, as long as there's a paper trail......
badgerx16 Posted 10 January, 2009 Posted 10 January, 2009 Well, as long as there's a paper trail...... You are welcome to come and brighten my office at any time; you will find MLT's autograph proudly displayed, along with my garden gnome painted in the Sanderson kit, and a little figurine of MLT stood on my PC.
Saint Keith Posted 10 January, 2009 Posted 10 January, 2009 it depends on what your motivation is for working, eg, money, or enjoyment of the job. theres plenty of IT engineers on all sorts of salries, but i dont know a decent project manager on less than £550 a day
exit2 Posted 10 January, 2009 Posted 10 January, 2009 I have been in IT for 18 yrs and have always done the "next big thing" qualification wise, Novell, MSCE etc and did my Prince 2 and passed both the papers. To be be honest I personally think PM is going though a faze with IT. Looking back I was doing the same job ie Server installations, User Migrations all those years ago and all ran smoothly with out any PM knowledge. I would say take the role as the PM as it seems everyone wants PM, looking at various sites and it looks good on your CV, and to be honest that is what we want. In a few years it will be something else! As for pay? IT PM's, unless your contracting and have loads of experience doesnt pay much more.
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