[jake]

Are there any project managers out there? I was offered a position this morning and am not sure if I am going to take it yet. Probably a 10-20% raise but more responsibility I imagine. I would be the youngest project manager in the company by 18 years.

So help me make a choice tweak.

[demonizeZ]

whats the job like. Is the change in work pace (more responsibility) worth 10 to 20 percent raise. Will you have time to do what you enjoy doing. Will you move up the social ladder from your new position.

still congrats on the new position offer.

[SoulAssassin]

Project managers end up screwing up projects but somehow they get paid more...haven't figured that one out yet.

[darktides]

I got about 18 months before I get my degree in project management.. so I hope to be getting a good job sometime after that

[mistawiskas]

It's been my experience, that the extra any comopany pays to be a PM, is not anywhere near enough to make up for the increase in ass aches and BS. For me, 40-50% minimum to deal with the problems so that the mucky-mucks won't have to. In alot of cases, the PM is the buffer between the guy in the office, and the guys on the project. The fall guy or the hero, depending on your crew.

[jake]

I accepted this morning. An extra week of holidays, ~20% pay hike, bonus when I complete my first project which should take me 4-6 months.

[sims]

Good for you man! I would have done the same, but i;m never one to pass up an opportunity

[Ranger]

Originally Posted by jake

I accepted this morning. An extra week of holidays, ~20% pay hike, bonus when I complete my first project which should take me 4-6 months.

good choice, stick with it

[MSP]

Does it include more travel than you're doing now, and if so are you OK with it? I will say this, I work directly for a project manager most of the time and in the last 3 years I've been through about 6 of them. At least in my company they burn out or get fired fast. My latest project manager has been around for almost a year, but that's because he backs off and let's me handle things.

[jake]

No travel involved. My company has been going through project managers quite quickly as well. I used to work for the coordinator of the group a few years ago when I started with this company. He is incredibly intelligent and we get along great. I left the group because there was no room for me to move into a project management role and I could make more in a different department. The last project manager that left was a good friend of mine (some of you might remember the "how old is too old?" thread) and she was making $120k plus 30-40k bonus. I am lower than this but it is what I aim to make in 3-5 (when I am 30) if I stay in this role.

[MSP]

Well, just know they generally work crazy hours. You'll sometimes be conducting business at two in the morning, especially if you'll be managing projects in different time zones. It's the opposite of "hands-on" work too. For me I wouldn't trade the stress and hours for the extra money, but if you enjoy the work it won't feel like work.

I'm struggling with this decision in my mind as well because I foresee my career heading in this general direction.

[jake]

Well luckily all my work will be done in the same time zone as me. I foresee the hours as being a little less (in my current role I work 30-60 hr weeks and am on call 24/7). I used to be in that group and saw how much the project managers each worked. But on the other hand I will not be as efficient as them to start and will probably have to put in more hours than they do. Also the stress level and responsibility will definately be higher.

One nice change will be mornings. I used to really enjoy the gym before going to work but I have been starting work at 6:30 for the last year and can't seem to wake up/shower/eat by 6 to leave for work. The corporate projects group all starts between 730 and 10. So I will be able to move my workout to the morning again.

[Miller]

I'm a project manager, well being built into one. It's defiantly a lot more frustrating, but like was said above, it all depends on your crew. I design the jobs, order the stuff and run the jobs, but it's also very frustrating because my boss will go out to a job and have the guys build it completely different from how i designed it. I find my self working at home, late and on the weekends too. What does your company do. Like I said it's all on your crew, if they're shit, it makes the job twice as hard.

[jake]

It's an oil and gas company. I would be running economics and proposing new projects to the board. Then when my projects get approved I would have to monitor and organize the various deprtments of our company (mineral land > geology > surface land > drilling > completions > production) to insure that I am going to have the gas in a pipeline when I said I would in my proposal.

[ThatHideousStrength]

Have fun going over budgets, not meeting deadlines, and all that other fun stuff that goes with project management

[MSP]

How ironic that this came up, because my project manager on my current project just called me and said I should be managing the project.

[pk_volt]

haha yea, even for a supervisor, if your crew fucks shit up, you get the blame. I'm not a project manager nor do I have any experience in supervisory roles, but I do believe that it also depends on how much experience you have with your company and how well you can forsee problems.