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Time English (United States) Language 2 Action
00:00
So, I have this friend who wanted to be one of those guys who juggles fire at the circus when
00:04
he grew up. You know, all those flaming pins going up and down, back and forth,
00:08
where even one wrong move, one dropped pin, could lead to not only his own fiery demise, but the
00:12
death of all those small children innocently munching their popcorn in the front row.
00:16
Instead, he grew up to be a project manager.
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And while at first glance those jobs might seem pretty different,
00:21
they actually have way more in common than you might expect.
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He spends his days juggling tasks, keeping all sorts of different things in the air,
00:28
and, of course, putting out fires. Because without him, t whole circus would burn down.
00:33
Hi, I’m Hank Green, and here’s how to become a professional fire- I mean, a project manager.
00:46
Project management is one of those great fields that have multiple entry points for folks of
00:52
wildly different backgrounds and experience levels. So we’ll get into the more formalized,
00:56
degree-focused options that lead to becoming a project manager,
01:00
but we’ll also get into all the PM training that exists for established folks or people looking for
01:06
a pivot -- AND how to try it out before you run away with the circus. So stick with us.
01:12
Now, while being a project manager doesn’t sound as glamorous or exciting as a job like
01:16
fire-juggler, knife-thrower, or the guy who sticks his head inside of the lion’s
01:21
mouth, lion-mouth-head-stick-insider, without project managers, nothing would get done.
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Companies, or even whole countries, would crumble, and the world would grind to a halt. Probably.
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That’s because project managers are in charge of overseeing ongoing projects for a company,
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making sure everything stays on track, in budget, and actually gets done. They
01:40
help break up big projects into actionable tasks, communicate between all the different departments,
01:46
workers, and outside stakeholders involved, and manage projects from conception to closing.
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To get this all done, project managers have to be supremely organized, with strong leadership,
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team management, communication skills, and the ability to both solve problems
02:01
creatively and keep multiple flaming torches airborne at all times.
02:05
So if you delight over deadlines, have an affinity for action items, don’t mind saying “yes my
02:09
circus, yes my monkeys,” and carry a burning torch for todo lists– let’s get into things.
02:15
Most careers in project management start in the same place: college. In fact,
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about 68% of project managers hold a bachelor’s degree!
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According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of 2024 popular majors for future
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project managers are business, management, finance, engineering, and computer science,
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but it can also be a good idea to get your degree in the field you plan to
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work in– so for those looking to go into circus equipment design, don’t discount clown college!
02:41
No matter your major, you should make sure to get
02:43
a few crucial classes under your belt– like budgeting, statistics,
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and risk management for businesses– skills that you’ll need to project manage in any industry.
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After securing a bachelor’s degree, some project managers in training go on to get a master’s
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degree, as well– usually an MBA or MSPM, which is a more specialized master’s in project management.
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But don’t count on having to go back to physical school to bag those degrees;
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there are tons of online options that you can complete in as little as two years.
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But shelling out the money (and the time) for a degree definitely isn’t necessary.
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One common other route to becoming a project manager is working your way
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up the corporate ladder (you know, the one suspended above the circus ‘gators).
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Entry level jobs like project assistant, project coordinator, junior project manager,
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or project support specialist can help get your foot in the door and give you
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the training you need to be the project manager of your dreams.
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There are also a ton of classes and programs focused specifically on project management,
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which can be cheaper, faster, more focused,
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and more accessible than going for a whole bachelor’s degree.
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These programs might be more general, focusing on the big ideas of project
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management like different techniques and styles, basic project management software,
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leadership strategies, and communication basics.
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One of the most common entry level project management certifications is the CAPM. You
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can get your CAPM certification through the Project Management Institute and prepare for
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the exam through a local college or university or an online provider like Google or Coursera.
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And, like project management itself, it can be pretty quick-paced;
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most people can earn their certification in a few months.
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There are also more specialized certifications you can earn in specific approaches to project
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management. Like, you could take classes to become an ICAgile Certified Professional,
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a Certified ScrumMaster, or even a Professional ScrumMaster I, giving you a strong background and
04:36
experience in some of the most common project management strategies..Also, maybe rugby?
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These kinds of certifications are really impressive to prospective employers– like,
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juggling your five flaming pins while riding a unicycle kind of impressive. Sometimes,
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companies even require their project managers to hold some sort of project
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management specific certification, particularly if they don’t also have a bachelor’s degree.
05:00
But you can have all the degrees and certifications in the world and still
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not know if you’re ready for a full-time job in project management. Think about
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it– you can learn all about the physics of how the balls spin as you're juggling them,
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but that doesn’t mean that you can actually juggle though. There’s too many balls!
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Luckily, there are lots of ways to figure out if project management is
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the career path for you. If you’ve ever worked on a group project in school,
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you probably already have some idea if you have what it takes to be a successful project manager.
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Like, are you the de-facto group leader who assigns roles, creates a timeline,
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and checks in with your teammates? More importantly, do you like being that person?
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If not, your organizational skills might be better used elsewhere. But if so,
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then odds are a life of project management might be right up your alley.
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Next, you might start by applying to some of those entry level jobs I mentioned earlier,
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or maybe start by volunteering to help manage a project for a community organization.
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There are also lots of internships in project management available in a variety
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of fields– because let’s face it, everyone needs some help juggling all those pins.
06:01
You can also try stepping into project management roles at other jobs just to test the waters.
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Whether it’s a cafe, a retail store, or a summer camp, there are definitely some larger,
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long term projects your employer keeps putting off. You might volunteer to take it on as a new
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challenge, creating a plan and deadlines to help finally get it off the todo list.
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And when it comes to scoring a job in project management,
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what’s on your resume is really important– but how it’s on your resume is important too!
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You’ll definitely want to make sure that, in addition to your education,
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training, and all that good stuff, your resume includes key terms so it floats
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to the top of the pile. That’s going to include the specific project management
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philosophies you’ve trained on (like scrum or the waterfall method). You’ll also want
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to be sure to call out any specific project management software you have experience with.
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And the soft skills you choose to call out are important too.
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Collaboration, problem solving, leadership, and communication are all really important for
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project management, so people (or bots) who review resumes will be looking for them specifically.
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Testing out being a project manager is also a good way to see what that lifestyle is like.
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In general, because every sort of company has projects to accomplish,
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project managers can work in pretty much any field they want, from healthcare
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to IT to construction to finance to marketing to circus equipment design.
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While project managers don’t have to be experts in their field, they should have
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a basic knowledge of whatever kind of project they’re managing. Like, if you’re a project
07:24
manager at a tech start up, you don’t necessarily need to be able to code yourself, but you should
07:29
be confident in the terminology and have a strong understanding of how it works in general.
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Or if you’re a project manager for a circus equipment company,
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you don’t actually have to literally be able to juggle five flaming torches–
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so long as you can juggle three. Which again, I definitely cannot.
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But project managers do have to be experts in project management– and
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there’s a lot of specialized knowledge that comes with the
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job. There are whole philosophies around the best approach to project management,
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and the best project managers have training or background in at least a few of them.
08:00
Like, there’s the PRINCE2 method, which stands for “projects in controlled environments.”
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This methodology emphasizes breaking down a large project into a bunch of bite-sized,
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highly manageable tasks, with a clear focus on roles and responsibilities of everyone involved.
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Meanwhile, the critical path method focuses more on the series of steps in a project’s lifecycle,
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following a strict schedule and sequence created at the beginning of the process
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to keep things organized and progressing on time.
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There’s also agile project management,
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which is a cyclical approach that allows all different aspects of a project to progress,
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evaluate, and refine simultaneously, rather than following a set order of steps.
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You might also encounter PRiSM, or “projects integrating sustainable