How To Become A Project Manager & Leader: What It Is and Career Path

What is a project manager & leader and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted experts

Jeff Pawlicki,

Meaghan Goodman Ph.D.

The role of a project manager & leader involves overseeing and spearheading all phases of a project, starting from the planning stage up until the monitoring stage and beyond. They are the main decision-makers and hold most of the responsibility for ensuring that the project requirements are met or surpassed.

The duties of a project manager & leader can vary greatly depending on their industry or line of business, but in general, a project manager & leader is responsible for training team members, creating strategies to optimize workflow, meeting with clients and other stakeholders, and addressing any project concerns in a timely manner.

Most project managers & leaders have an educational background in business as well as extensive experience in the industry. But to be successful in this job, you also have to possess outstanding skills in leadership, communication, time management, and customer service, along with other critical soft skills.

For this role, you can expect to earn around $100,000, which is the current average salary of a project manager & leader in the country.

What general advice would you give to a project manager & leader?

Jeff Pawlicki

Principal, Shakopee High School

Establish solid work habits early in your career. Be patient. The right fit is out there for you, but it sometimes takes a little bit of time. Maintain a positive mindset and find happiness and satisfaction in the work you do.

ScoreProject Manager & LeaderUS Average

Salary

7.7

Avg. Salary $102,092

Avg. Salary $59,228

Diversity

4.1

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.51%

Asian 11.99%

Black or African American 6.24%

Hispanic or Latino 8.82%

Unknown 4.70%

White 67.73%

Gender

female 27.97%

male 72.03%

Age - 43

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 - 43

Stress level

7.4

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.6

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

3.7

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a project manager & leader

Explore project manager & leader education requirements

Most common project manager & leader degrees

Bachelor's

65.6 %

Master's

18.6 %

Associate

10.2 %

Start to develop specific project manager & leader skills

Skills	Percentages
Project Management	22.07%
Infrastructure	5.43%
Post Implementation	5.11%
Risk Management	4.60%
Project Scope	4.48%

Complete relevant project manager & leader training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New project managers & leader 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 project manager & leader based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real project manager & leader resumes.

Research project manager & leader duties and responsibilities

Create and manage multiple department Microsoft SharePoint sites, which lead to increase project organization through streamline communication methods.
Manage and direct HIPAA training.
Lead teams, assignedprojects and control payroll on overseas projects.
Manage CMS and Java developers in developing integrate solution.

Get project manager & leader experience

Generally, it takes 4-6 years to become a project manager & leader. The most common roles before becoming a project manager & leader include project manager, senior project manager team lead and project leader.

Prepare your project manager & leader resume

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

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a project manager & leader resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

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