Start Your Project Manager Career

You can become a project manager without experience by developing your project management skills and looking for entry-level project management positions. You might start by taking on project management-oriented tasks at your current workplace. If you want to learn the basics, consider an online course like the Google Project Management: Professional Certificate.‎ ‎

Not necessarily. A project management degree might make the road to managerial positions a little quicker, qualify you for more jobs, and provide a structured way for you to learn about this career path or the industry you want to be in. But there are plenty of project managers that do not have degrees in project management or other fields. Having the actual skills and experience to show you can do the job may matter just as much, or sometimes even more, in project management positions.

Read more: Do I Need a Project Management Degree? ‎

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)* reports a median US salary as of 2024 of $100,750 for project management professionals, with the bottom 10 percent earning a median of $59,830 and the top 10 percent $165,790.

*US Bureau of Labor Statistics. "Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, https://data.bls.gov/oes/#/industry/000000." Accessed September 18, 2025.‎