How to land one of the top 5 highest paid jobs in project management

When you cast your mind back to your childhood days, do you have memories of being the first one to volunteer in a game of Simon Says, or perhaps jumping to assign roles in a very serious den building activity?

Updated on 28th October 2019

Do you get a kick out of writing your morning to-do list and meeting your monthly targets? Perhaps project management could be the career for you. 

If you’re reading this whilst doing a slow and confident nod, then you’ve probably already considered the idea of launching a career as a project manager.

The role of a project manager can be found in nearly every business sector and business size. Project management is the application of knowledge, skills and techniques to execute projects effectively and efficiently. Though the specifics may vary business sector to business sector, charisma, an analytical, detail-focused mind and a drive to succeed are all qualities that employers desire for this type of a position.

UK skills gap

There is currently a serious skills gap in the UK and businesses across the country are in desperate need of talented project managers to help drive their businesses forward. This regional skills gap is impacting business nationwide. Joe Stringer, EY partner for government and public sector, said:

“We’ve never seen such an increase in demand for project management, commercial and financial skills across infrastructure and government at the same time.”

Because of this lacking, project management roles are generously paid, the average roles are anywhere between £40,000-£60,000 per year and that’s without the added bonuses.

Here are five of the highest paid roles in project management right now:

1. Engineering Project Management

The engineering sector is in desperate need of more project managers, in fact they are one of the worst affected sectors in the whole of the UK. And in an industry that is largely project-led, it is a strain that they are desperate to ease.

In a study commissioned by the Project Management Institute, by 2020 there will be a global demand for over 15 million project managers across all areas of the industry.

There’s a huge variety of roles to snap up here, from leading aerospace projects overseas, to food manufacturing roles on home soil.

Average salary: £40,600/yr 

2. Technical Project Management 

A key role within tech businesses, a technical project manager is in charge of overseeing projects across multiple technical discipline ensuring equipment, the team and logistics are allocated and coordinated as seamlessly as possible.

If you follow this path you could see yourself working for the next big social media platform, online shopping website or even, Amazon.

Average salary: £53,699/yr 

3. Operations Project Management

An operations management role varies slightly from a traditional project management pole in that the focus is achieving organisational goals and uses projects to re-engineer business processes.

This role appeals to those of us with a love for all things organisational and could see you working in anything from a huge corporate, to a smaller local business.

Average salary: £41,640/yr 

4. Marketing Project Management

Since the boom of digital, marketing has never been a more important role within a business. A marketing project manager oversees a number of projects associated with end-to-end customer experience.

This role could see you working within an agency; managing the team and allocating clients to the correct account managers or it could see you working in-house within a business overseeing all marketing campaigns.

Average salary: £39,100/yr 

5. Construction Project Management

A construction project manager deals with the day-to-day today running of a construction project. It is their responsibility to ensure that architects, surveyors, engineers and builders are all working to the same strict plan and timescales.

This role provides a varied career and will see you working on projects that have a significant impact to local and national communities.

Average salary: £39,155/yr

How to secure one of these roles

Whilst there are various different types of project managers, within a variety of industries, the main skill set is the same across the board. A project manager must be able to confidently see a project all the way through, from initial planning stages to delivery, and perhaps most crucially, manage any hiccups along the way.

With the current skills gap in the UK, it has never been a better time to pursue a career in project management.

On a course in project management, you will learn how to confidently approach managing projects and meeting targets. With a certification in project management you can expect a salary increase of at least 20%. It is also well documented that project managers that consistently reach their targets are rewarded financially, so it’s a win, win.

Our dedicated Career Services will also support your job search, with one-on-one coaching and expert advice on your CV, cover letter, LinkedIn profile and more. 

To find out how you can get the ball rolling and finally get the career you’ve dreamed of, give us a call on 01273 907 919 and we can discuss your options today. We’re waiting to hear from you.