What is Project Management? Make a Career of Making Things Happen

An emerging career opportunity, has been buzzing across most industries lately, and that opportunity is Project Management. According to the Project Management Institute (PMI) Project Management is defined as: 

A temporary group activity designed to produce a unique product, service or result.
A project is temporary in that it has a defined beginning and end in time, and therefore defined scope and resources.And a project is unique in that it is not a routine operation, but a specific set of operations designed to accomplish a singular goal. So a project team often includes people who don’t usually work together – sometimes from different organizations and across multiple geographies.

The development of software for an improved business process, the construction of a building or bridge, the relief effort after a natural disaster, the expansion of sales into a new geographic market — all are projects.
And all must be expertly managed to deliver the on-time, on-budget results, learning and integration that organizations need.


It has always been practiced informally, but began to emerge as a distinct profession in the mid-20th century. PMI’s A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK^® Guide) identifies its recurring elements:

Project management processes fall into five groups:

• Initiating
• Planning
• Executing
• Monitoring and Controlling
• Closing

When I first learned about Project Management, I asked an IT academic chair what skills do you need to be successful at Project Management, and what if I have no experience in that field. His response was very surprising. He asked if I ever organized a project before at school, which I quickly answered yes. He then asked if I had to get something done in a certain time frame, under a specific budget. I suddenly understood where he was going, any general management experience, or work experience can be transferred in that field in addition to education of course!

The types of careers you could pursue would be:

- Project Coordinator
- Project Team Member
- Project Manager
- Project Resource Coordinator
- Project Scheduler

If you feel this interests you, and would like to learn more, please feel free to contact me for more information!

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Author: Charmaine Alexander is an admissions representative for ITT Technical Institute in Kennesaw, GA, and is dedicated to helping people obtain a degree in technical fields such as Information Technology, Electronic Technology, and Computer Drafting and Design.

Charmaine C. Alexander

ITT Technical Institute

Educational Representative

2065 ITT Tech Way  N.W.

Kennesaw, GA 30144

(770) 426-2300 ext. 2302

SAlexander2@itt-tech.edu

Tech Jobs in Demand

Although total unemployment continues to hover around 9 percent, there’s another employment problem happening nationwide.

Employers are struggling to keep up with job demand for technical professions. The issue at hand: a lack of qualified workers in technical fields.

In a story published on July 28, the Boston Globe reports many qualified workers are leaving the state to accept higher-paying jobs elsewhere, creating a labor shortage for the state’s large and small businesses:

Massachusetts has developed a technology labor shortage, one that could undermine a vital sector that helped pull the state from the last recession and is driving its recovery. Demand for high-tech talent is so great that workers are turning down six-figure salaries and companies are offering five-figure cash bounties for successful referrals — a stark contrast to lackluster hiring that has created a large pool of long-term unemployed and kept the state jobless rate at historically high levels.

            Read the full story here.

A similar story was reported in the Columbus Dispatch in Ohio on July 24:

In a dramatic reversal from the darkest days of the recession, thousands of high-paying information-technology jobs are going unfilled in central Ohio. ... "It's a mismatch between the need of the industry and the skills of the workers," said Bill LaFayette, vice president of economic analysis at the Columbus Chamber. … Today, the supply of newly trained workers is still catching up with the jump in demand. 

In a June 2011 report, Dice.com reported, “According to nearly 900 hiring managers and recruiters that source, recruit and hire IT professionals, 65 percent anticipate hiring more technology professionals in the second half of 2011 than the preceding six months.”

Read the full story here.

Job demand for technical professionals isn’t projected to ease up anytime soon. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports overall employment of computer network, systems, and database administrators is projected to increase by 30 percent from 2008 to 2018, much faster than the average for all occupations. Related technical professions, such as computer and information systems managers, computer support specialists and graphic designers, are also expected to grow at pace with or faster than average for all occupations.

According to Wanted Analytics, IT hiring has been increasing throughout the first half of 2011, up 56 percent since January.

ITT Technical Institutes are helping students prepare for success in the 21st century. With the BLS and other sources projecting faster than average job growth in technical fields, ITT Technical Institute students are positioned to fill growing job demand.

 

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Author: Charmaine Alexander is an admissions representative for ITT Technical Institute in Kennesaw, GA, and is dedicated to helping people obtain a degree in technical fields such as Information Technology, Electronic Technology, and Computer Drafting and Design.

Recession Increasing Burn Out in Employees

The national survey, by CareerBuilder.com, was conducted May 19 to June 8, included more than 2,600 hiring managers and human resource professionals and nearly 5,300 employees.

Brent Rasmussen, president of CareerBuilder North America, says employers saw a rise in worker productivity during the recession primarily attribue the increase to the fear of losing a job and the effects of downsized staffs on individual workloads.

In addition 73% are seeing the increase sustain today, while 14% state productivity has increased even more.

"The recession produced consequences for not just those who were laid off, but for those who were asked harder as a result of leaner staffs," Rasmussen says in a statement.

Looking at burnout from the worker's perspective: 77% of workers say they are sometimes or always burned out in their jobs, and 43% say their stress levels on the job have increased during the last six months, while only 8% say their workloads decreased.

This survey was conducted by Harris Interactive.

When you are working dead-end gigs, or jobs that don't require much background experience or expertise, it is easy to fall into the burn-out trap. A great way to avoid this is to make yourself indespensible by having the right skill set, and educational background. This will not only add more job security on your behalf, but it will allow you to work smarter, and not harder. If you don't want to end up as another burn-out statistic, I suggest you look at what you have to offer, and figure out how to upgrade yourself.

Education, hands down, is one of the best ways to make you indespensible, as well as give you the opportunity to go after the career positions that add more to your bank account and less stress. As an admissions representative at ITT Technical Institute in Kennesaw, GA, I feel its my job to help people avoid the dead-end-burn-out gigs, and start a career that is more fulfilling.

Feel Free to contact me anytime if you need any advice on personal brand building, and continuing your education.

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Author: Charmaine Alexander is an admissions representative for ITT Technical Institute in Kennesaw, GA, and is dedicated to helping people obtain a degree in technical fields such as Information Technology, Electronic Technology, and Computer Drafting and Design.

Heres To Brand YOU!!!

With the economy being in such a turbulent climate to say the least, it makes securing a satisfying career position even harder. A lot of people are settling for less-than-desirable positions, and a barely-there pay check to match. A great counter action to this problem is to position yourself against the fierce competition that you must face in the job market. In order to position yourself correctly, you have to think of yourself as a brand. Like your favorite retailers, and clothing brands, you must make yourself indispensable to any employers. Below are 5 great starts to building your personal brand!

1. Know Your Unique Selling Points

What makes you different? Better? Do you do things faster than your competition? Do you provide superior quality? Are you very sociable and emotion-oriented? Do you have a knack for making complex things simple? Do some soul-searching, and ask a few friends and colleagues what single quality stands out to them.

2. Competitive Analysis

Use your competition to your advantage. Look at how other people offering similar services portray their brands. Then build on them to create an even more compelling one for yourself. For example, if you’re an artist, browse artist galleries on the web to see how they’re showcasing their abilities. Then take the best qualities of each one and mix it with your own style.

3. Impressions are EVERYTHING

 Strengthen the association between your face and what you excel at with everyone you meet. You want your name to be seen in a positive light by as many people as possible. That means every time you post a comment on a blog or forum, every time you send an email, every time you complete a project or presentation, put your name on it. Anonymity is not your friend. Take pride in all your work and connect it back to your brand. The more people come across these “digital breadcrumbs,” the more you convince them that you can deliver on your brand promise. So include your name, your tagline (what you do and who you do it for) and your contact info in all your work.

4. Build up your credibility

In whichever field or industry you’re in, aim to be the best you can be and to offer the best you can give. Make use of every opportunity to learn and hone your skills. Become the expert whom people in your professional field go to for help and advice. A great way to do this is to look to see if you can update your skills acquired from post-secondary school, or look into continuing your education completely. A degree in your designated field as well as industry experience can make a world of a difference to your brand. As always feel free to contact me for more information about continuing your education, I am always here to help!

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Author: Charmaine Alexander is an admissions representative for ITT Technical Institute in Kennesaw, GA, and is dedicated to helping people obtain a degree in technical fields such as Information Technology, Electronic Technology, and Computer Drafting and Design.