It’s easy
You’re sitting in front of your computer the whole day with the occasional coffee break. There are articles which say that sleeping consumes more calories.
Laptop-induced bad posture and eyestrain are no laughing matter, but overall, a PM’s chair is not a bad place to spend your day.
It never gets old
Every project is special. That’s the definition of a project – a unique endeavor. If projects could be mass-produced, there’d be project factories with huge chimneys and you’d be able to order projects online for $2.99 with free shipping.
A cynical project manager, the one who is yet to realize the beauty of the profession, will say that it’s all the same old routine. However, I assure you, as soon as you know the deadline – the suspense starts all over again.
You witness progress
As a PM, you can marvel at how something is created out of nothing. At the beginning, there is just an idea, but in the end it becomes something that is there.
After the kickoff you’re thinking “no way we’re going to make it in time”, but then the heroes you call your team do their thing and in the end you can say “wow, we almost made it in time”. How inspiring is that?
What’s that thing you’ve been procrastinating on? Cleaning the attic? Preparing for a marathon? I have seen some projects unravel, and let me tell you, impossible is nothing.
Your soft skills will become solid as anything
Your soft skills (also known as street smarts) will evolve immensely while you’re managing a project. Okay, you’ll learn to find your way around Google sheets as well.
Handling difficult social situations like speaking in front of a crowd, sending a breakup SMS, or answering the telephone (if you’re an introvert) will appear to you as a piece of CakePHP after years of training on tricky project situations.
Delivering all the information in an appropriate way is the name of the PM-ing game. “No mom, I do not like kale soup” – you say in an assertive manner, because all the parties need to be aware of the agenda.
You’re making stuff happen
…by making other people make stuff happen. I mean that in a good way. As a PM, you’re pushing your team members into discovering, learning, practicing, and mastering new skills.
Sure, achieving something on your own is great, but did you ever observe how your team members gain confidence in their own work through your guidance?
“I like working in a team” is a cliché by now, but it’s a cliché for a reason – people who love the work kept repeating that phrase.
You’re handling stuff that is beyond the physical reality
“All PMs do is handle emails”- the uninitiated will say. Oh how wrong they are.
The developers’ fears, the testers’ desires, the designers’ visions, the software architects’ beliefs, the account managers’ hopes, and the clients’ inspirations – it’s the stuff projects are made of.
Janko is the Project Management team lead at FarShore. He says that Project Management is just like riding a bicycle: it gets exciting once things start going downhill.
