FOUR UNLIKELY PROJECT MANAGEMENT JOBS
The word “management” in Project Management implies that PM’s only work on large-scale projects;
from directing change management, infrastructure building, to cost-control of multi-million dollar budgets. While these aspects of Project Management are true, the field is much more broad.
While EPS currently excels in the realm of typical project management roles for commercial and industrial clients, we always have our eyes and ears open for different opportunities and new ways of conducting work processes.
We’ve researched and complied five of the most compelling Project Management jobs you likely never knew existed:
A Bathroom Remodel
HGTV recently explained why you should use a Project Manager for your next bathroom renovation. Seems ridiculous right? Wrong.
Project Manager’s claim to fame is offering guaranteed time and cost-saving management. A bathroom is an essential facility that is used on a daily basis. Going without one for any length of time can cause massive convenience to the owner and its users. HGTV’s Cameron Snyder explains, “You don’t want days to go by between the plumber leaving and the electrician showing up”. Easing the stress of the renovation process is something desired by everyone. Having someone manage these incidents and prevent project mishaps will ultimately contribute to a company or homeowner’s bottom-line. While typical project managers charge a considerable hourly rate, junior PM’s looking for project experience are a great source for these kinds of jobs.
A Park
Project Management for a park may seem counter-intuitive; aren’t these entities supposed to be natural without human interference? Yes and no.
Parks Canada welcomes more than 20 million visitors each year to its parks. This poses a unique challenge; first, managing these places in ways that enhance the visitor experience, and second, protection of its precious landscape. That’s where Project Management comes in; Parks Project Managers organize the physical maintenance procedures in a way that is also conducive to a government or companies allotted budget via cost-control measures.
A Space Ship
The world’s most progressive, modern spaceship, The Orion Space Capsule is designed to carry humans to asteroids and planets including Mars. Expected to officially launch in 2021, the programs Project Manager at NASA, Mark Geyer has an interesting job with an even more compelling take on the role of project management. While he does manage the design process and later the flight mission, he explains that a lot of his time is spent managing people; “It’s hard to put in 80 hours a week and then have somebody go, ‘I don’t want to do that anymore,'” Geyer said. Geyer explains that managing key stakeholders, both financiers and the astronauts and engineers themselves is just as important as the production process itself; in such a high risk project, relationship management is crucial.
A Roller Coaster
Located in a place where safety is a key focus, roller coaster and ride operations actually require a Project Manager. While these PM’s must have a mechanical engineering degree, they are generally responsible for the day to day running of the theme park rides; from strategic maintenance planning, monitoring health and safety to over-seeing the park’s finances and staff management.
What Do These Jobs Teach us About Project Management?
While these unlikely project management positions, they all have some common features.
Here’s what we learned:
1. Project Managers can manage anything that is an asset; a structure, a company or a value-based service
2. It’s not always about the size of the project but the scope. Weather the production process is complex or labour intensive are key questions to ask when thinking about hiring a project manager
At EPS, we know regardless of the job, our Project Manager’s main objective is to understand key client issues regardless of the industry or skill set. From building rocket ships to planting trees, PM’s are relationship managers first.
