Information Technology Project Managers

A minimum of three to five years of experience in lower-level project management or supervisory positions are needed to work as an IT project manager. Smaller employers typically require the lowest levels of experience, while the largest companies may require as many as eight to 10 years of experience.

Successful project managers are strong leaders who are able to inspire members of their team to do their best even under the most challenging circumstances. They are good at multitasking and excel under pressure. They need excellent communication and interpersonal skills because their work days are filled with meetings with executives, project status meet-ups with their staff, and time at their computers writing reports. Other important traits include good organizational and time-management skills; the ability to assess and mitigate risk during IT projects; and a willingness to make hard decisions (which may upset some members of the team who disagree with their decisions) in order to successfully complete projects on time and within budget. They also need to be familiar with the standard way in which software is developed, designed, and built in the IT industry; many IT organizations now use the agile development methodology or the waterfall model.