Project Managers require strong technical skills and deep understanding of IT processes. Large tech companies usually don't offer entry-level training for this role but welcome skilled IT professionals seeking a career shift. At EPAM, we recommend starting your career journey in other IT areas to build a solid foundation before pursuing project management.

Project Managers are at the core of any software development team. They allocate resources, coordinate tasks, track and evaluate project progress, identify potential bottlenecks, communicate with the team and clients and run dozens of other tasks simultaneously. If you also add the challenging responsibility of justifying project delays to the stakeholders, you will get a brief PM competency description. Sure, it should not be taken too seriously, but many true words are spoken in jest.

Their day-to-day tasks usually include:

Communicate with clients and the development team to understand the stakeholders' business needs, convert them into tasks and explain them to the tech specialists in relevant terms
Assign tech tasks and allocate resources. Here, Project Managers apply their in-depth technical knowledge to create a clear project execution plan, break the entire task pool into sprints, estimate deadlines and assign tasks to appropriate specialists
Track project progress and take responsibility for overall project success. Techniques for managing people, risk and time are helpful at this stage
Report statuses to the stakeholders and inform them about delays or other difficulties, as well as develop a subsequent action plan for effective and timely project implementation

{{ qualities }}Choose this direction if you:

Have an extensive tech experience on IT projects
Possess a good knowledge of the SDLC, project theory and local legislation
Enjoy social interaction and are a natural communicator
Ready to take responsibility for the overall project's success as well as your team's performance and well-being

Which profession might be the best fit for you?