What’s most important to sustaining an innovative business? Agility. What we mean by that is the ability to juggle a variety of tasks, understand priorities, meet unforeseen challenges, and adapt quickly when the market changes (because it always will). And behind every successfully agile company is a skilled project manager.

More organizations are understanding the need to hire project managers to assure their big ideas are executed with finesse and expedience; in fact, the Project Management Institute predicts that PM jobs will increase by as much as 2.2 million in the next decade. In other words, a lot.

What is a Project Manager?

Project managers are ultra-organized leaders that hone in on the ultimate goal of a project, define what needs to be done to achieve that goal, and keep the various team members and stakeholders up to speed, on schedule, and supplied with the resources they need to succeed.

To be a great project manager, you must be inspiring, communicative, comfortable with change and complexity, and a human Swiss Army knife of problem-solving techniques. Oftentimes, a PM with these traits is seen as the superhero of the team—able to use their powers to conquer any challenge and make the company a safer place. But any veteran PM will tell you that they aren’t born with those powers; they develop them along the way.

A Life-Changing Career Path

The rewards you'll reap from a career in project management go far beyond a generous salary (more on that later). The skills you’ll learn on the job will make you a more effective, organized, and confident professional. You’ll get the opportunity to study every aspect of a business, including the common challenges they face every day. You’ll know exactly what it takes to bring an idea from abstract musing to execution, no matter the scale. You’ll learn how to prioritize and multitask like no one else can. You’ll feel comfortable communicating information to colleagues of all stripes, from entry level to CEO. And you’ll develop a sixth sense for anticipating and preventing risk. Considering the impact a skill set like that can have, it's no wonder why they’re among the most-wanted at any organization. But that’s not the only reason.

The world needs project managers

While opportunities grow, a large crop of high-level PMs are nearing retirement age. This will create a massive talent gap in the coming years. Employers around the world will need 87.7 million new people working in project management roles by the year 2027. If they don’t fill those roles, they stand to lose somewhere in the neighborhood of $208 billion. That’s worrying for them, but potentially great news for you. If you have elite PM skills, you’ll be beating recruiters back with a stick.

Historically tech-related fields are ripe with these opportunities. The changing of the guard will lead to huge demand for project management roles in manufacturing (more than 97 percent of jobs will be vacated in a 10-year period), as well as information services, finance, and insurance. And because more industries are becoming project-oriented, new PM roles are popping up where they haven’t necessarily existed before.

In recent years, the healthcare industry has seen a particularly aggressive explosion of project-oriented job growth. Similar trends are being observed in the publishing and professional services industries, too.

Project managers are moneymakers

Now comes the part where we talk about compensation. If you were expecting this buildup to end with a bait-and-switch, you may be pleasantly surprised. The median salary for project managers in the United States is estimated at $108,200, and there is plenty of room for that number to soar if you have top-notch project management chops.

How to build your skills

A well-regarded certification has been proven to give candidates the edge when salary and earning potential are concerned. Plus, having a wide breadth of knowledge will give you the confidence to hit the ground running in your new PM role. That’s why this Project Management Bundle is a huge leg-up for those looking to break into the biz. It’s a suite of five easily understandable training courses covering the core competencies and certifications that will help you land your ideal PM job.

• Here’s what’s included:
• Certificate in Six Sigma and Lean Process
• Certificate in Performance Management
• Certificate in Organizational Skills
• Certificate in Goal Setting and Getting Things Done
• Certificate in Project Management

You don’t need to take out student loans to enroll in the Project Management Bundle’s courses. In fact, this is a Pay What You Want deal. Here’s how it works: You name your price, and if it's less than the average price, you get an abridged (but still awesome) version of this bundle. Beat the average price, however, and you'll take home all five pieces of training. Beat the leader's price and you'll be entered in an epic giveaway and earn a spot on the leaderboard. Don't miss out; this bundle will only be available for a limited time.
Source: mavenlink