Many students and young professionals aspire to become a Project Manager at some point in their careers. Some of us desire the title and decision-making authority that being a P.M. provides, while others long to overcome challenges and deliver projects successfully. Of course, many of us want the higher salary and other financial perks that Project Managers often enjoy. Whatever your reason for wanting to become a P.M., it’s likely that other people out there also want to become a Project Manager for similar reasons. How many others are looking to become P.M.s? Is project management competitive? If you’re thinking about becoming a Project Manager and are looking for some stats, then read on!
Defining “Competitive”…
I realize that asking the question of “is project management competitive?” can have a few meanings.
While I imagine that most people are wondering whether or not project management is a competitive field to get into, others may be wondering if the job is competitive by nature on a day-to-day basis.
In terms of the latter, Project Managers are generally looking to complete larger and larger projects as their career progresses, as well as improve their performance on each successive project they complete.
Project Managers are often paid in bonuses, which are largely based on a project’s overall performance. The same can be said for promotions and raises.
In the majority of organizations out there, P.M.s will be competing head-to-head across a variety of performance metrics with other managers in their company. This includes competing for raises and promotions!
When you combine all of the factors above with the fact that P.M.s have leadership and managerial responsibilities to uphold (meaning they’re feeling pressure to perform well), it’s common for Project Managers to feel some level of competition with their colleagues. Then again, the same can be said for many other professions, too.
In short, project management as a whole is certainly competitive, but not necessarily anymore so (or maybe less) than other fast-paced, performance-based career paths.
The Stats: Project Management Jobs & Growth Data
The Project Management Institute (PMI) published a report in 2017 titled “Project Management Job Growth and Talent Gap 2017–2027“. This report estimates that 88 million Project Managers will be needed in the workforce by 2027 across the 11 countries studied.
For this figure to be met, there will need to be a 33% growth in the total number of P.M.s presently in the workforce. This means that approximately 22 million new project management jobs will be required to meet the expected demand in 2027.
A 33% surge in the total quantity of P.M.s clearly signifies that the demand for Project Managers is presently outpacing the supply, meaning the overall field of project management is not competitive relative to its’ needs as a whole – it’d be a heck of a lot more competitive if the number of available jobs were to shrink. Even so, the actual answer is still more nuanced.
For one, PMI’s report states that 75% of all project management positions will be in India or China by 2027. It’s reasonable to expect that a similar proportion of those 22 million additional jobs will be located there too, if not more.
As one can see, a growing overall demand does not necessarily indicate a demand increase in a particular field or country. While there is a growing demand in general, it makes sense to consider the following factors as well.
There’s No Degree For “Project Management”
Interestingly enough, there’s no “Project Management” Bachelors degree to pursue. We’re expected to get a degree in a specific field, such as Mechanical Engineering, and then become a Project Manager in an adjacent field once we’ve got some professional experience under our belt. Our degree doesn’t qualify us to become a P.M. in that field on its’ own, but is instead a qualifying step into entering the workforce in that field at an entry level.
Thus, it gets murky as to how competitive project management is based on college data. The level of competitiveness in a field like Civil Engineering is directly correlated with the number of Civil Engineering graduates there will be that year. Not the case for PMs.
In turn, we must look even deeper to determine whether or not project management is competitive or not.
Competition By Industry
The demand for Project Managers can vary widely by industry, which are always changing due to economic cycles.
In the information technology field for instance, the growth rate forecasted for specific disciplines varies quite a bit. Here are some statistics about I.T. growth (via Statista) in the coming years:
- Hardware: 23% growth expected
- Tech Services: 23% growth expected
- Software: 50% growth
- Emerging Tech: 104% growth
Compare this with a field like construction, where I was a P.M. for many years. Here’s a chart tracking the total dollars spent on construction in the U.S. over the past 25 years (via Trading Economics). The spending varies widely every few years as rounds project financing, initiation and completion cycles continue. Construction was (mostly) booming between 2012 and 2020 and construction project management jobs were widely available, but jobs in that same industry were much more competitive during slow periods as shown between 2008 and 2011.
When considering how competitive your future career as a P.M. could be, it’s essential to consider the expected growth in that field and the economy as a whole.
Competition Varies By Location, But It’s Tricky
Referencing the same PMI.org study that we mentioned earlier, a huge growth in the field of project management will occur in both India and China. It’s likely that people native to those countries will occupy a large portion of those jobs, but here’s an interesting thought about that.
As we know, companies often look for opportunities to expand their business in new markets. If there’s a big demand for P.M.s in countries like India and China, it’s likely a sign of an overall economic expansion in those countries. It stands to reason that large corporations from all over the world will be looking for a piece of those growing economies!
Economic growth in a handful of large countries will attract business from all over the world, and more employees than ever are working remotely. For example, a company out of Sweden may get millions of dollars in new business in India. While this will likely create some job growth in India, there could be dozens of Swedish Project Managers working remotely on projects in India too.
While most of the forecasted job growth for P.M.s is technically in India and China, the global scale at which business is now conducted could mean that millions of project management jobs could be created around the world for projects happening in those countries. Welcome to the future!
In Closing
As to whether or not project management is competitive, you can see that there’s no clear-cut answer. The level of competition for Project Management jobs varies widely by industry, economic cycle, location and technological advances. Although we have not provided a yes-no answer, I hope this article helps you make the best decision for you. Feel free to share your thoughts below, and thanks a lot for reading.
