Salary Range For A Project Manager

The Project Management industry is a very competitive environment and one must be on top of their game in order to land the best contracts. Usually when first getting into the industry it is required that you take internships which can often offer little or no pay.

This is to be expected and it's rough to work for no pay but you must consider that this experience is in essence invaluable. Usually clients will not hire you without some form of previous experience so it can be a hard industry to get started in at first if you do not work at an internship first. You can kind of think of this as "doing your time". If you speak to others in the industry you will find that everyone has had to do it at some time or another. Once you get over this initial hump you can start making some real money.

Typically when project management professionals first enter the industry they can expect to make anywhere between $40,000 and $55,000 per year depending on the amount of experience one has and whether they have obtained any additional certifications.

A lot of how much you are to be paid depends on whether you have a college degree combined with your portfolio of experience. For this reason, taking additional professional development courses such as the PMP certification offered through PMI is advised but usually you are required to have been working in the field for some time before being able to go for any additional certifications.

As the project management professional becomes more deeply entrenched in the industry and builds a respectable portfolio the chances to make quite a bit more money are available. Depending on the path or specialization the project management professional has concentrated on the salary may be a bit different. Typically project managers make a salary in the range of $74,000 to $104,000 depending on experience, Project managers in the construction industry can make from $60,000 to $100,000.

Those who are employed in the software and Information technology industries generally make the most money and can bring home an annual salary of anywhere from $76,000 to $117,000 and $82,000 to $112,000 respectively. As you gain more experience your potential for landing a better paid position increases. Senior project managers are among the highest paid professionals in the industry and can start at anywhere from $90,000 to $120,000. That is quite a bit of money!

Introduction to a PMP Career

Career as a PMP

Project Management Institute

Project Management