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I'm new here, so here we go.. I previously was a young Telecommunication Engineer, but i mainly did IT solutions architect stuff in that area, since a year ago iv been doing a part-time MBA at a top university as well. I was recently appointed as part of the PMO of my company which is something iv wished to be part of, now I do roles such as Program Coordinator, Resource Management and some junior Project management stuff, I also have A great Mentor! But I was asked if I'd like a roll at a client site to work as a Commercial Manager (Program Manager), but I really like what I'm doing now as it aligns with what I'm studying, but then again will the other path be a better option?, I really am interested in the high level area of the business and don't wan to get back to all the deep technical stuff even though i was really good at it. I'm not sure what to say, I can see that I like my new role as part of the PMO so much!, I would hate to go to the other role and regret it, but is the other role a better opera unity for career growth, I'm not even sure what Program Managers do really. What's your idea?, can someone gimme any guidance, pointers?

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Hi @I AM L. Welcome to PMSE. Your question is a little bit borderline for this site (it might be a better fit for workplace.stackexchange.com) but I think what you're ultimately trying to understand is the differences a program manger, program coordinator, project manager and resource manager. The community can probably help on that but I think your post needs a bit of an edit to clarify. – Willl Feb 7 at 13:42
Hi @Willl, thank for responding, I do have an idea of the differences between them, but I'm do lack a bit of knowledge around what Program Mangers do and what to expect from a career path and career growth as a Program Manager compared to my current role, I have also posted my question on the other stack exchange site (thanks for telling me this btw), but I would like to hear some idea and options from Pm's like yourself to see what they have to say. – I AM L Feb 7 at 13:51
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Hello @IAML, welcome to PMSE! Questions duplicated in more than one community is discouraged. I'd say your question is too specific (even @ Workplace) since it's unlikely to have other community members living the very same specific situation you're mentioning. Would you be able to think of a way to put your question is a way that other people could take advantage of the answers? – Tiago Cardoso♦ Feb 7 at 14:10
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While specific questions about the project management career track are technically on-topic here, what you're looking for seems more like individualized career counseling, and as such is Too Localized. Unfortunately, your question will be off-topic on Workplace too, as it is not something for which a canonical answer is even possible. – CodeGnome Feb 7 at 19:09

closed as too localized by CodeGnome, Mark C. Wallace, Tiago Cardoso♦ Feb 9 at 0:47

This question is unlikely to help any future visitors; it is only relevant to a small geographic area, a specific moment in time, or an extraordinarily narrow situation that is not generally applicable to the worldwide audience of the internet. For help making this question more broadly applicable, see the FAQ.

1 Answer

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Bottom line is your career is a project... so figure out what the end-state is, the requirements you need to get there and stay focused on these so that you can get what you want according to your schedule.

  • Define schedule. Decide what your planning horizon is for your career. You can have more than one (e.g. horizons of 2 years, 5 years, 10 years)
  • Define scope. Figure out what role and position you want to have at the end of your time horizon. Then research what the requirements are, not only in your own organization but more importantly in the "great big world". See if you can find commonalities in these requirements and list them in what you perceive to be the priorities that companies are looking for.
  • Define budget. What are you willing to sacrifice in terms of time and treasure to get to where you want to be?
  • Evaluate risk. Are there risks to saying "No" to the new position you mention? Are there risks staying in your current company vs going somewhere else? What happens if you miss your goals? etc etc etc...
  • Have a valid business case. Evaluate the sum total of all the costs and benefits for where you want to be and what it will take to get there. Things like salary and position are easy to quantify, but you need to be sure to factor in life benefits like relationships etc if those are important to you.
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Whoa, inception... The OP is wondering about project management and you tell them that wondering about project management is a project and therefore project management. – MrFox Feb 7 at 16:17
Yes Grasshopper, it is like the sound of one hand clapping. – Doug B Feb 7 at 18:22
I currently have an awesome mentor which is of big value, I guess I might stick to my current role in Governance and Resource Management along with the junior Project Management training, which will then hopefully lead me to a project management role with more opera unities compared to a contract role at a client site. Thanks @DougB your answer really guided me to think in the right direction. – I AM L Feb 7 at 21:44
@CodeGnome of course, I was planning to and thank you all in advance – I AM L Feb 11 at 10:45

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