Project Manager Jobs
Project managers must possess the technical expertise to plan, organise, manage and control resources during the execution of a project in order to meet pre-set goals on time and, as far as possible, within budget. They are drawn on for their skills across a range of industries, from architecture to construction to IT and lead the entire lifecycle of a project, from planning and design to progress monitoring, execution and closure. In general, candidates for these roles tend to have acquired a good deal of experience in their field of expertise.
Project manager salary expectations
Although the number of jobs requiring project management as a key skill declined after the recession, recently the picture has definitely been changing much more favourably. The trend is now vigorously reversing, with demand rising again for project managers in the UK, having climbed by 8 per cent since 2012. This is reflected in the average project manager salary, which is today in the region of £52,000 a year. More experienced candidates, however, can expect their project manager jobs to pay in excess of £72,000 a year.
It’s fair to point out, however, that individual project manager salary rates vary widely not only from region to region but according to the particular skills repertoire of each candidate. But average salaries have definitely been climbing since 2009.
Best locations to increase Project manager salary
One of the best locations for project manager jobs in the UK is the capital, but applicants will need to be aware that living in London can be exceptionally expensive and may diminish the spending power of the salaries on offer, not least because property prices and the cost of living, in general, is appreciably higher than elsewhere in the UK (commuting is also expensive). Despite this, some salaries available in the capital for project managers can off-set the increased living costs, so candidates should never rule out moving to the capital if the right opportunity arises. Other project management “hotspots” in the UK exist too, with Surrey, Manchester, Reading, Edinburgh and Glasgow being especially good locations for well-remunerated project manager jobs.
Ways to boost your Project manager salary
Some skills are more highly sought after, and therefore more highly remunerated, than others. The top skills commanding the best project manager salary deals at present include Agile, Prince 2, Scrum, MS Project, Change Management, Stakeholder Management and Risk Management.
Clearly ensuring that one’s training includes the top trending skills needs will be a major asset for most applicants. Another possibility to maximise pay rates is to consider contracting as a project manager instead of seeking salaried project manager jobs. The advantage here is that some clients will pay higher hourly or daily rates for a professional contractor’s expertise and flexibility. Contractors do not incur additional costs for clients as permanent employees do, and will not be paid sick leave or annual holiday leave, - a trade-off which is reflected in substantially better pay rates. However, the project management contract market has been volatile and the availability of such roles may have peaked and troughed, as employers increasingly turn toward recruiting for permanent, in-house project manager jobs. Currently, the average daily rate for a project management contractor is around £425.
