What is a digital project manager and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

5 min read

Quoted experts

Dr Rick Baldwin,

Dr. Veronica Radeva Dawson Ph.D.

A digital project manager oversees the planning, execution, and delivery of digital projects. These managers are responsible for ensuring projects are completed on time, within budget, and to the satisfaction of stakeholders. Digital project managers work with cross-functional teams, including designers, developers, and content creators, to ensure project goals are met on time and budget. They use project management tools to track progress and manage resources, communicating with stakeholders regarding project progress and expectations.

What general advice would you give to a digital project manager?

Dr Rick Baldwin

Associate Professor of Practice, Prairie View A&M University

To begin their career, I suggest that the graduate pursue their career as an entrepreneur. Based on the career interest, actually develop a business plan to launch this career as a business. I would use this as a platform in beginning the career as entrepreneur, consultant, or as an employee of a marketing organization.

ScoreDigital Project ManagerUS Average

Salary

6.7

Avg. Salary $86,043

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.5

Growth rate 10%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.1

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.23%

Asian 8.15%

Black or African American 3.04%

Hispanic or Latino 8.67%

Unknown 5.32%

White 74.58%

Gender

female 55.62%

male 44.38%

Age - 38

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 38

Stress level

7.5

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

9.0

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

3.5

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

What are the pros and cons of being a digital project manager?

Pros

Dynamic work environment with diverse projects and clients
Good salary and benefits
Ability to work remotely or have flexible hours
Opportunities for career advancement and professional development
Satisfaction of seeing projects through from start to finish

Cons

High-pressure environment with tight deadlines and client demands
Long working hours, including weekends and evenings
Limited control over project outcomes due to budget constraints, client expectations, and other external factors
Lack of clarity in project scope or objectives at times
Potential for burnout due to high stress levels and workload

Key steps to become a digital project manager

Explore digital project manager education requirements

Most common digital project manager degrees

Bachelor's

78.5 %

Master's

13.3 %

Associate

5.7 %

Start to develop specific digital project manager skills

Skills	Percentages
Project Management	14.86%
Digital Marketing	12.39%
WordPress	4.57%
Client Facing	3.08%
Jira	3.03%

Complete relevant digital project manager training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New digital project managers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a digital project manager based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real digital project manager resumes.

Research digital project manager duties and responsibilities

Manage ongoing site optimization according to SEO and SEM best practices.
Utilize and manage development in ecommerce and CMS platforms including Magento, Wordpress and Drupal.
Manage SEO client strategies throughout the duration of the project and after the project is completed.
Manage new site design, data integration and front-end programming and customer relationships management (CRM) programs.

Prepare your digital project manager resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your digital project manager resume.

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