Get qualified to get the best jobs or contracts with the most money

Vince Hines of project management recruitment consultancy Wellingtone gave visitors to the Project Challenge show an insight into how much money project managers can expect to earn. He also compared contracting with permanent employment and explained the benefits and disadvantages associated with both.

He said that the best times in the year to look for a new job or contract were January, April and September. At these times of year, employers are also on the look out for candidates with the best qualifications.

For public sector project management jobs, candidates need to be PRINCE2 qualified in order for their CVs to be considered, he said.  Many jobs are offered on fixed term contracts of one or two years and the average salary is around £30-£40K.

In the private sector, salaries are higher. There are three standard roles that organizations recruit for:

Project Co-ordinator
Project Co-ordinator roles are fairly junior with responsibilities such as maintaining logs and project schedules. Candidates should expect to hold a PRINCE2 Foundation qualification. For those starting out, £25K is average - rising to £28K after three years.

Project Managers 
Junior Project Management roles include responsibility for timely project delivery but do not have total budgetary authority. A junior project manager or senior project-co-ordinator could expect to earn £30K maximum, Vince said.

Project Managers (PMs) should have between three and ten years’ experience and hold a PRINCE2 Practitioner qualification.  Salaries rise from around £34K to £45K for more senior PMs.
In the IT industry, earnings for PMs are generally slightly higher – starting at £51K and rising to £65K.
 
Project Directors
Senior project managers would expect to control large budgets and to be responsible for around twenty people. There are of course bonuses as well for senior project managers – ten per cent is average.
Senior project managers or project directors should expect to earn a minimum of £58K rising to £60K and above.

Programme Managers
Programme management is a senior role and candidates should expect to have ten or more years experience and hold an MSP Practitioner qualification. Average earnings are around £70K with IT Programme Managers earning an average of £74K.

Contracting
Vince then went on to explain that while contracting generates more money for the candidate, it also entails more risks. To succeed as a contractor, candidates need specific skills. They should ensure they are up and running in their contract quickly and that they have good communication skills.

Contracts are paid by the hour or by the day. A good rule of thumb is to take a permanent salary and divide it by 100. This equals your day rate. However, candidates should also take off a variable to allow for economic factors. 

Vince explained that at the moment this variable should be £50 but it is likely to increase if the economic conditions worsen. So for example, a salary of £40,000 would generate a day rate of £400 minus £50 which would mean a day rate of £350. If conditions worsen candidates should expect to subtract up to £65. 

A junior role (which is actually at the senior end of the spectrum for permanent staff i.e. someone with around three years experience) would generate around £260 per day.
Project managers average around £378 per day.
Programme managers earn on average £591 per day increasing to a maximum of £1000 per day.

Vince explained that contractors should only expect to charge their clients for eighteen days work per month.  He said it was very important that contractors make sure they work on their own personal development plan otherwise they won’t win contracts.

Contractors need to ensure their qualifications are up to date. The most sought after qualifications were PRINCE2, APM/PMI, MSP, ISEB and software skills. He said there is increasing interest in the Programme and Project Management Support Office qualifications or P3O training.

Contractors should also expect a notice period of only seven days.

Vince advised anyone looking to work as a contractor to devise their own three, five or ten year personal development plan. “Invest in yourself, engage in your profession and become an expert,” he said.

http://www.wellingtone.co.uk/