Most contract project managers list "project management," "project scope," and "contract project" as skills on their resumes. We go into more details on the most important contract project manager responsibilities here:
Arguably the most important personality trait for a contract project manager to have happens to be analytical skills. An example from a resume said this about the skill, "construction managers plan project strategies, handle unexpected issues and delays, and solve problems that arise over the course of the project" Additionally, other resumes have pointed out that contract project managers can use analytical skills to "enter customer and survey data into an enterprise resource program (erp) database to effectively manage projects. " Another commonly found skill for being able to perform contract project manager duties is the following: business skills. According to a contract project manager resume, "construction managers address budget matters and coordinate and supervise workers." Check out this example of how contract project managers use business skills: "managed the application process for the fda medical device, minority and small business certifications. " Another skill that is quite popular among contract project managers is customer-service skills. This skill is very critical to fulfilling every day responsibilities as is shown in this example from a contract project manager resume: "construction managers are in constant contact with owners, inspectors, and the public" This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "utilized gantt charts to keep customer abreast of production schedule. " In order for certain contract project manager responsibilities to be completed, the job requires the skill "initiative." According to a contract project manager resume, "self-employed construction managers generate their own business opportunities and must be proactive in finding new clients" As an example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies: "directed and reported project results across hr, finance, and reporting to efficiently achieve project goals and meet corporate initiatives. " As part of the contract project manager description, you might find that one of the skills that might be helpful to the job is "leadership skills." A contract project manager resume included this snippet: "construction managers must effectively delegate tasks to construction workers, subcontractors, and other lower level managers." This skill could be useful in this scenario: "acted as hr business partner with hiring managers and executive leadership to identify needs and drive employment initiatives. " Lastly, this career requires you to be skillful in "speaking skills." According to contract project manager resumes, "construction managers must give clear orders, explain complex information to construction workers and clients, and discuss technical details with other building specialists, such as architects." This resume example highlights how contract project manager responsibilities rely on this skill: "prepared and presented timely status reports to client and internal senior management. " See the full list of contract project manager skills.
After discovering the most helpful skills, we moved onto what kind of education might be helpful in becoming a contract project manager. We found that 66.2% of contract project managers have graduated with a bachelor's degree and 13.5% of people in this position have earned their master's degrees. While most contract project managers have a college degree, you may find it's also true that generally it's possible to be successful in this career with only a high school degree. In fact, our research shows that one out of every eight contract project managers were not college graduates.
Those contract project managers who do attend college, typically earn either business degrees or computer science degrees. Less commonly earned degrees for contract project managers include electrical engineering degrees or project management degrees.
Once you're ready to become a contract project manager, you should explore the companies that typically hire contract project managers. According to contract project manager resumes that we searched through, contract project managers are hired the most by Trane, Shaw Industries, and GPAC. Currently, Trane has 11 contract project manager job openings, while there are 10 at Shaw Industries and 6 at GPAC.
Since salary is important to some contract project managers, it's good to note that they are figured to earn the highest salaries at PRO Unlimited, Intel, and Westward360. If you were to take a closer look at PRO Unlimited, you'd find that the average contract project manager salary is $132,120. Then at Intel, contract project managers receive an average salary of $114,035, while the salary at Westward360 is $111,697.
View more details on contract project manager salaries across the United States.
Some other companies you might be interested in as a contract project manager include IBM, AT&T;, and Verizon Communications. These three companies were found to hire the most contract project managers from the top 100 U.S. educational institutions.
The industries that contract project managers fulfill the most roles in are the internet and media industries. But the highest contract project manager annual salary is in the health care industry, averaging $96,999. In the construction industry they make $95,288 and average about $92,013 in the technology industry. In conclusion, contract project managers who work in the health care industry earn a 13.2% higher salary than contract project managers in the retail industry.
