What are you looking for

£35,000 Starter

Average salary (a year)

£60,000 Experienced

Average salary (a year)

37 to 39 a week

Typical hours (a week)

How to become

Explore the different ways to get into this job

You can get into this job through:

  • a university course
  • an apprenticeship
  • working towards this role
  • training with a professional body

University

You can do a degree or postgraduate qualification in:

  • computing
  • information systems
  • project management
  • computer science
  • business management

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 2 to 3 A levels, or equivalent, for a degree
  • a degree in a relevant subject for postgraduate study

Apprenticeship

You could do an apprenticeship, for example:

  • Associate Project Manager Level 4 Higher Apprenticeship
  • Digital Product Manager Level 4 Higher Apprenticeship
  • Project Manager Level 6 Degree Apprenticeship
  • Digital and Technology Solutions Professional Level 6 Degree Apprenticeship

These apprenticeships can take between 2 and 4 years to complete.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) and A levels, or equivalent, for a higher or degree apprenticeship

Work

You may be able to start with an organisation as an assistant project manager if you've got experience of working in IT.

You could then do further training on the job and take on more management responsibilities.

Other Routes

You could train with a professional body, like the Association for Project Management or the Project Management Institute, to help with your career development.

What it takes

Find out what skills you will use in this role

Skills and knowledge

You'll need:

  • leadership skills
  • excellent verbal communication skills
  • to be thorough and pay attention to detail
  • business management skills
  • persistence and determination
  • the ability to organise your time and workload
  • to be flexible and open to change
  • the ability to monitor your own performance and that of your colleagues
  • to have a thorough understanding of computer systems and applications

What you will do

Discover the day to day takes you'll do in this role

Day-to-day tasks

As an IT project manager, you could:

  • assess project tasks and risks, and allocate work to team members
  • use project management software to plan and monitor work
  • manage a budget, timescales and resources
  • report on progress, check quality and deal with changes or delays
  • lead and motivate the project team

We've identified this as a potential green job

For an IT project manager to be a green job, you could:

  • work for an environmentally friendly company
  • consider the environmental impact when putting together a project plan
  • recycle technological devices like laptops when they are replaced

Find out more about green careers

Working environment

You could work in an office or at a client's business.

Career path and profession

Look at progression in this role and similar opportunities

With training and experience, you could:

  • become a digital delivery manager or senior project manager
  • specialise in an area such as cyber security or technical architecture
  • become a programme leader, with responsibility for a whole department or service
  • work as a freelance consultant

Explore a range of careers from all sectors in the careers directory.