How To Become A Director, Program And Project Management: What It Is and Career Path

What is a director, program and project management and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted experts

Angela Grotto Ph.D.,

Dr. Daryl Green

As a Director of Program And Project Management, you will mainly be directing, coordinating, and implementing projects and special activities which aim to achieve outcomes that will greatly benefit the company or the business.

In this position, you can earn an annual salary of $130,880 on average and have the chance to further your career. You will also have important contributions and roles, so you need to possess certain skills as the Director. You need to have good leadership skills and excellent organizational skills. These skills will help you do your job well.

If you plan on applying for this position, be mindful of the common skills and knowledge applicants write in their resumes. These include Project Management, Cloud, Risk Management, PMI, and Customer Service. Make sure you know these things so as to increase your advantage against competitors. You should also learn more about related things to stand out.

What general advice would you give to a director, program and project management?

Angela Grotto Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Management, Manhattan College

When job searching, be active and persistent - Network by setting up Zoom informational calls with professionals (alumni, people with whom your family work) to learn about jobs that you are interested in or to learn about organizations where you would like to work and then follow up with them; have someone you trust who is a professional review your resume and social media profile pages; carve out time every day to apply to jobs; use Handshake and LinkedIn as a resource; keep sending out applications; while job searching, volunteer or start your business project that showcases your skillset and then discuss it during your interviews.
When interviewing, be creative - Use experiences from your academic career to demonstrate your capabilities. There are many skills you learn in class that are transferrable to the professional world. For example, as a student, you likely had to pivot to full remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Rather than seeing this as a disadvantage, discuss how the new learning format has prepared you to work remotely as an employee, how small group projects have primed you to collaborate on a virtual team, and how small classes have equipped you to use technology such as Zoom.
When deciding on a job offer, be open-minded - Your first job may not be the one you had imagined or hoped for upon graduation. Still, it may be a stepping stone to your ideal career or a way to build your network of professional connections. You create meaningful and valuable relationships with others who may one day help you get the job you want.
When you land the job, be flexible - Show your employer or your boss that you're willing to step outside your comfort zone and do tasks that you were not necessarily trained for or are unrelated to your degree. Also, when circumstances at work change, such as during the COVID-19 pandemic, show that you are willing to step up and do a different job, do someone else's job, or work on another project or team. This flexibility will demonstrate your versatility and how you can adapt to new and unpredictable situations. Lastly, embrace the "gig" economy - be willing to start as a temporary or contract worker with a company to get your foot in the door and build more professional connections.

ScoreDirector, Program And Project ManagementUS Average

Salary

8.3

Avg. Salary $127,842

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.6

Growth rate 16%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.4

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.66%

Asian 9.05%

Black or African American 7.69%

Hispanic or Latino 12.90%

Unknown 4.71%

White 65.00%

Gender

female 30.49%

male 69.51%

Age - 47

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 - 47

Stress level

8.6

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.7

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.1

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a director, program and project management

Explore director, program and project management education requirements

Most common director, program and project management degrees

Bachelor's

67.4 %

Master's

21.8 %

Associate

6.6 %

Start to develop specific director, program and project management skills

Skills	Percentages
Project Management	16.14%
Azure	11.45%
Risk Management	10.60%
Customer Satisfaction	10.20%
Cloud	9.43%

Research director, program and project management duties and responsibilities

Manage legacy PeopleSoft enterprise resource planning (ERP) transition to new platform.
Develop full SDLC project plans, schedules, project estimates, and manage project budgets and schedules.
Manage and maintain all documentation utilizing SharePoint.
Manage PMO staff activities to ensure operational consistency.

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