How To Become A Special Projects Manager: What It Is and Career Path

What is a special projects manager and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Meaghan Goodman Ph.D.

You have big ideas to help your company grow, but these ideas don't fit on your company's daily tasksheet. If you are a Special Projects Manager, you have the chance to organize, lead, and execute company projects that fall outside the scope of its regular business. You might even design new products and services to offer the company's customers!

As Special Projects Manager, you will request that managment allocate funds and personnel to the project. Taking the lead as a specialist, you will supervise the staff assigned to your project, making sure they receive training to competently complete each phase of a project timeline. You ensure that these special projects stay on budget and comply with company and industry rules and regulations, regularly updating your management team on your progress.

To be a special projects manager, you need a bachelor's degree in business management or finance. You should have experience working on company projects and as a project and/or business manager. For your strong entrepreneurial impulses for the company, you can earn a salary of about $80,000 annually.

What's a day at work look like for a special projects manager?

Meaghan Goodman Ph.D.

Program Director & Assistant Professor, Maryville University

A bachelor's in communication sciences and disorders can prepare you for three different tracks. First, it can prepare you to become a licensed Speech-Language Pathology Assistant (SLPA). This is someone who works under a fully credential speech-language pathologist. Often times, they carryout intervention plans developed by a fully credentialed speech-language pathologist. If graduate school is on your horizon, a bachelor's degree in communication sciences and disorders will prepare you for acceptance into a Speech-Language Pathology program, or an Audiology program. If you are not accepted into a graduate program right away, working as a speech-language pathology assistant (SLPA) is a great way to get experience in the field!

ScoreSpecial Projects ManagerUS Average

Salary

7.0

Avg. Salary $90,221

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

Growth rate 6%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.4

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.66%

Asian 8.63%

Black or African American 7.54%

Hispanic or Latino 12.64%

Unknown 4.69%

White 65.83%

Gender

female 38.94%

male 61.06%

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

Complexity level

1.8

Complexity level is simple

7 - challenging

Key steps to become a special projects manager

Explore special projects manager education requirements

Most common special projects manager degrees

Bachelor's

68.3 %

Master's

14.7 %

Associate

10.2 %

Start to develop specific special projects manager skills

Skills	Percentages
Project Management	19.14%
Logistics	5.43%
Financial Statements	5.13%
Oversight	4.92%
HR	4.24%

Research special projects manager duties and responsibilities

Manage special projects and crises to include TOYOTA PR/Congressional hearings.
Manage the integration of the acquired companies into ShawCor, the ERP implementation as well as the accounting system setup.
Administer software to automate and standardize engineering functions using Pro/E, AutoCad and ProductView.
Manage elaborate software implementation projects relate to national convenience store/gas station point of sale (POS) technology.

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