Plus download my list of common IT terms with easy-to-understand descriptions.
I have not always worked in IT. Yet I managed to move into IT project management with no previous IT experience. If you have ever wondered how you might do the same, my story might be helpful.
Read on….
Many years ago, I held a position as a project coordinator in city government. Though things move slowly in city government, I enjoyed my work. I managed contracts, budgets, and grants, and coordinated activities for a couple of construction projects we were funding. I enjoyed this work and it seemed to come naturally: planning, coordinating, executing projects, managing budgets and vendors, pulling teams together and making things happen.
After I’d been working as a project coordinator for several years, I learned from a co-worker that his wife was going to take the PMP exam. I’d never heard of it, but immediately got excited. You mean this is a CAREER PATH? Awesome – I love this stuff! I decided to investigate more about the PMP certification and project management as a career.
I discovered I was already doing a good bit of project management in my current position. Yet there was more that I could learn, and I threw myself in wholeheartedly, studying the various processes, activities, and deliverables.
At the time I was engaged to be married and I put our wedding plans into a Gantt chart which I posted on my wall. I built budgets in Excel. I had regular “project review meetings” with my fiancé. Project management was in my blood.
My fiancé, who is a software developer, humored me. One day, he asked, “Have you considered IT project management? You’re really good at this and you like it. You could take all your skills and make a lot more money than you make now.”
I had not considered IT project management as an option, since I had no technical background
I had never even thought of IT project management. My degrees are political science and sociology. Limiting thoughts immediately surfaced:
- I can’t do that.
- No one will take me seriously.
- How can I possibly lead projects to success if I don’t know what the team is talking about?
My fiancé, who had been in the IT world for a decade, insisted that my project management skills were transferrable to the IT world. I simply needed to understand the IT world more, which I could learn, but being able to write code was not necessary. I decided he was right – that I could do this.
Here’s what I did:
Got my PMP
This is not critical, but it gave me the confidence to make the move. In addition, many companies require the certification. I know many outstanding project managers who do not have their PMP certification, but if you are trying to change careers, it can be an advantage.
Learned the Language
I spent hours talking with my husband about software development and reading as much as I could get my hands on about IT terms and activities. Learning the language helped immensely.
Prepared for the Interview
I prepared answers for interview questions and practiced with friends (just as one would do for any interview). I studied the job description and researched the company so I could talk about how my skills could benefit them. This preparation gave me more confidence going into the interview.
Interviewed Well
I brought samples of my work. I pointed out how my skills would benefit the company. I asked questions about the projects underway as well as the direction of the company (they were a local start-up). I showed genuine interest and an eagerness to bring my skills to the team. The preparation allowed me to be relaxed and more confident.
Got the job
Fortunately for me, they were eager to move quickly. It was an infrastructure company, not software development, but I was still thrilled to be moving into IT and that all my hard work paid off. I was also ready to keep interviewing if this turned out to be only practice for the next job interview. I was ready to experience “no” to get me closer to “yes” down the road.
Was Honest with the Team
Once I got the job, I did not pretend to know everything. I was open about the fact that I was new to IT, but had strong project management experience. The team was fantastic and helped me gain a clear understanding of the activities needed to build out the work breakdown structure. I showed them that I was dedicated and serious about the success of the team. At the end of each day, I researched what I’d been exposed to in order to gain more in-depth knowledge.
Since then I have gone on to work for the past 15 years in IT, and I still love it. The projects are challenging and fun. Technologies change and it never gets boring. Teams are made up of so many different personalities, and I love working with software developers.
For those interested in making the switch, I’ve compiled a list of common IT terms, with descriptions that are intended to be easily understood by non-technical people. I’ve added it as a download with this post. Some of the terms are not specific to IT project management, but apply in other areas.
If you have an interest in making the move to software development project management, where are you in that journey? What’s holding you back? If you’ve recently made the move, what challenges do you face? What do you need to learn? Share in the comments – I’d love to know!
If you like this post, you might also like the following:
SDLC Tutorial for the Software Development Lifecycle
11 Proven Strategies to Overcome Imposter Syndrome
I really enjoyed reading your article. I know that project management, in the IT world at least, has become to a large extent a profession on its own right. I know that in order to be an IT PM you don’t need technical skills as you will not actually lead the work of the technical people involved. Still I am curious how do PMs cope with the fact that they have virtually no control over the work performed by the project team members.
Trying to learn the technicalities involved in a certain domain will not make you an expert in that domain in the same way as learning about surgical procedures will not make you a surgeon. Isn’t it a little bit scary knowing that you have to blindly trust the technical people involved in a project?
I worked as a technical consultant on a project on which one of the technical leads decided to do things a little bit different in the hope that it will improve the performance of the product. In the end it tuned out that his idea was not too good and the whole project was delayed and resulted in a poor product. The PM was completely powerless do to anything about it as this was simply too technical for him to understand. Aren’t you scared about these kind of situations over which you have virtually no control?
Thank you very much,
Kind Regards,
Adrian
Adrian,
This is a great question, as it is a point I’m sure others have experienced. It is true that I’m at the mercy of what the team tells me. I have relied on relationships with team members to build trust and openness regarding issues and risks, and potential delays along the way. I have had team members come to me during execution to provide insight regarding problems they’ve encountered while coding that I would otherwise not have known about.
Identifying risks early can help with communication and planning for contingencies. Creating a risk mitigation plan as part of the planning helps, and if your team is using a new approach, identifying it as a potential risk at least makes you and others aware of it.
I’ve always incorporated “checkpoints” in the form of formal milestones within the project schedule to ensure that things are moving forward as planned.
Adopting some Agile practices such as testing and demoing software along the way could give visibility to problems earlier in the process. This is one of the challenges that the Agile approach aims to address.
I must admit that your situation is different than what I’ve been in, since you were working in a consultant capacity, which I’ve not done. But building trust and open communication is important regardless of the structure. Identifying risks, finding ways to give visibility to progress, and having open communication on the team can all help mitigate this situation.
Thank you for bringing this up! Excellent point that I’m sure others are interested in.
Warm regards,
Leigh
Thank you very much for sharing your story, it has given me hope!! I have an IT bachelors degree but I haven’t had any experience in my field for the past 6 years. However, I still know how the IT world works and I want to work within the IT industry so I recently had the opportunity to quit my job to focus on what I want, and since I also have a certificate in Business Admin, I was hoping to become an IT Project Manager which really excites me but I don’t have any experience in Project Management nor any related certification such as the PMP. I managed some projects within my previous jobs although the job positions I’ve had aren’t exactly with the job title project coordinator or so and I was wondering if you have any advise on how can I move to a position that gets me started and could grow as an IT Project Manager?
Leslie,
I’m glad you found the post inspirational. It sounds as if you have a good foundation for making the move you want to IT project management. With your IT background, coupled with your recent experience in managing projects, you should be able to move toward your goal.
In your resume, make it clear that you’ve managed projects, even if your job title wasn’t formally that of a project manager. Use project management terminology in describing what you did there, where applicable. And be prepared to talk about both your IT background and project management experience in any interviews.
If you need additional help getting noticed among a stack of resumes, use your network to get insight on any potential opportunities, attend meetings of your local PMI chapter, and if needed, work with a recruiter to serve as an advocate for you. You may need to start wtih project coordinator positions or something similar, but they’ll get you on your way to moving into a solid PM role.
ALso see my post that discusses various paths to becoming a PM – you may find some useful information there: http://projectbliss.net/project-manager-career-path/
I hope that this is helpful, and I wish you the very best in reaching your goal! Let me know if you have other questions.
Warm regards,
Leigh
Hi Leigh,
I’m really inspired by your story. I’m interested in moving into a business analysis role, and perhaps eventually a project management role. I’m in job transition at the moment, and trying to apply to BA positions. I managed to get a couple of interviews with a company, but eventually didn’t make the short list. I have some basic business analysis experience from my past role, when I was a subject matter expert working on small to medium sized projects among my other duties. I’m working on my basic certification at the moment – the CAPM offered by PMI.
From reading your post, however, it wasn’t clear how you managed to land the interviews, especially when those positions required specific skills that you didn’t possess at the time. Could you expand on how you did it? You probably prepared so well for the interviews that you managed to land the interviews based on your knowledge – which was great!
Hi, Jeffrey! I’m glad my story inspired you! That’s definitely my intent!
I used a recruiter to help me get the interviews. I was very open with them about my level of IT experience, and using a recruiter helped my level of confidence in going for an IT PM position – they encouraged me through the whole process. They likely knew the places where they could most successfully present a candidate with my level of experience.
I did prepare heavily for the interview, though. I put in many hours of discussions on the IT processes, so that I could talk confidently using the terminology, but also presented my strong PM skill and stressed that it is transferable across industries. From what you shared with me, it sounds like you could look at project coordinator roles also since you’ve worked on projects already. Check the positions I wrote about in this post for some other ideas in your job search:
http://projectbliss.net/project-manager-career-path/
Let me know if you have other questions, and best of luck to you on your search and in your interviews!
Hi Leigh,
Great story. I stumbled onto this entry and am intrigued with your story. I am the opposite. I am an extremely technical network engineering manager and am interested in becoming a program manager or a senior IT PM. I’ve done pieces of PM but mostly delegate and ensure the projects are going smoothly. How do you think someone like myself can get into the program manager / IT PM world?
Harry,
You have an advantage with your solid technical understanding. Getting more information on the project management process and deliverables would be a good next step. The PMBOK (or PRINCE2) would be a good resource. Another good resource (that I used when I first made the move) was “The Fast Forward MBA in Project Management”. Soft skills such as communication and negotiation are important, as is solid coordination and organizational skills. However, if you title of manager means that you have a team reporting to you, you may already be strong in these areas.
Additionally, perhaps there are opportunities for you to take on more project lead roles to move in that direction.
I’d love to know if you have more specific questions, or if I can provide additional information for you.
Best to you!
Leigh
Hi Leigh
This is a truely inspiring post. Thank you for sharing it. Reading through I felt that I could relate to how I made my switch into the IT industry very early in my career and have been loving it ever since. I am actually head of operations in my own company and have project managers work under me. Do you think doing PMP at this stage might be useful? Just thinking.
Shamim,
How exciting! I don’t think getting the PMP would be of benefit, since I imagine you’re more focused on operations, marketing, the industry, etc. I went to your company website and see that your team does Agile software development – we switched to Agile last year and I love it!
Thanks for the comment – I love hearing from folks!
Leigh
Hi Leigh
Your story is inspirational. I am a banker and have ended being an IT project manager for the past couple of years. So unlike you the job seems to have chosen me instead of the other way round. However your story is very helpful and I now seem to have a clearer head in knowing what to do to succeed here. Thanks a lot. Cheers
Vijay – very glad it is helpful. I’m always interested to know what people would like to know more about, so please let me know if there is anything that might be of interest.
And best to you!
Leigh
Thank you for the post. I too am a PM in government and trying to determine how best to transfer skills to new arenas. How would you characterize any changes in IT since you made the shift 15 years ago? Do you feel that type of shift would remain viable in today’s culture?
Stacy,
The biggest shift I am seeing is in methodology. Sure, there are technology changes, but you won’t be writing code. When I made the move, I was able to show experience in planning and execution that mostly related to waterfall methodology. Today there are many teams that are using Agile. However, this shouldn’t stop you. Many teams are still using waterfall and I don’t see it going away any time soon. I now work on an Agile team, and while the ceremonies and practices are different, the PM skillets are still valuable. I think moving to a waterfall team would be the easiest transition since you likely have most of your experience with that methodology, but don’t limit yourself if you see an opportunity you’re interested in. The basic skills are still solid: understanding the customer’s business needs, identifying the scope of what is to be delivered, procurement, planning, executing, coordinating, and all those soft skills you’ve honed over the years. Let me know if you have specific question. I am happy to provide any information I can!
Hey Leigh! I really appreciate your post!! I have been in Project Management for years but have grown weary of the industry I am in. I have always had an affection for technology and 6 months ago it finally hit me that I need to move into an IT PM position. The struggle is that I have very little experience in IT so I have been told many times that it will be hard (if not nearly impossible) for me to get the position I want without experience. I got my PMP and now I decided to finish my degree earning a BS in IT (I had a year left when I decided to work instead of completing my degree) so I am a full-time student, but I don’t want to wait until I graduate for an IT position. It has been discouraging not getting noticed without that degree or experience, but your post has given me encouragement that it CAN happen despite my background. I am very passionate about my goals and your post helped stoke the fire. Thank you so much!
You should definitely be able to get a PM position with your experience. The skills are transferrable and you’ll be able to illustrate real situations that you’ve dealt with. Since you have an affection for technology, you’ll really enjoy making the move. I am proof that it is not impossible, and others have shared their stories with me of making the move also. I am so glad that I was able to encourage you. That was my hope – that others who may be interested see that it is certainly possible. Please let me know if you have questions or want information on any topic around this. I love sharing information and am happy to help.
Your post on LinkedIn group let me to your blog. This is FANTASTIC! I’ve been thinking of an industry change. Well, first a career change, but I realized I love project managing but maybe an INDUSTRY change is what’s needed to give me that fresh new start. Thanks for sharing your story and your research!
Reagan,
I am so glad you found this helpful! Since you love project management and have been thinking of an industry change, moving into IT may be the perfect next move for you. Let me know if you have other questions or if there is specific information you’d like. There’s lots to learn, and it can be challenging and fun.