Project Manager Salary Survey Results

The project manager profession plays a vital role in any organisation where project managers can increase organisational efficiency and reduce costs. The project management office can considerably influence an organisation. In general, the project manager profession is a complex job compared to other jobs, and it has its difficulties, which makes it a well-paying job with competitive benefits. Beyond the benefits of the standard, project managers can expect more benefits, like time and budget for personal development, project management certifications or continuing education. As with many other professions, many factors can affect the project management professional's salaries. In this article, we will discuss the latest project managers' survey as the following:

Job Title

The job title has the biggest ascendancy on how much a project manager can make; a project manager can earn more than a junior project manager, and a senior project manager earns more than a project manager; according to PMI¹, the salaries are the following:

Country of Employment

A project manager's median salary varies widely from country to country. Project professionals report the highest median salary in the USA according to PMI² as the following:

Years of Experience

Typically, the project manager's salary starts from entry level as a junior project manager with years of experience from 1 to 3 years to project manager with many years of experience. The project manager's salary varies depending on the years of experience according to the latest survey by PMI³ as the following:

PMP Certification Status

PMP certification holders report an increase in their salaries in most countries compared to non-certified project managers; there is a considerable variation in the median salary among PMP certification holders from country to country. According to PMI⁴, PMP certification holders demonstrate the largest salary increases in South Africa, where they are at least 65% higher than those who do not hold PMP certification.

In addition to the above factors, more factors could affect the project managers' salaries, and if you want to improve your chances for a salary increase, focus more on continuing to improve yourself and your skills, keep in mind to choose the city that fits you and your expenses because sometimes you can work in a big and vibrant city with high salary and higher cost of living than other cities in the same country, so it is better to do your search before packing and moving to a new city. In general, it is difficult to provide an accurate salary summary due to the existence of many variables, but at least take into consideration these factors discussed above and also pay attention to the pros and cons of the job that you will choose, as being a contractor or a full-time project manager; temporary or permanent; do you have unique expertise or significant experience under a specific skill set where you can earn more due to these specialised skills within your industry; so be sure to evaluate yourself and your skills and improve yourself continuously, especially by getting a project management certification that could help you to earn more and bring you to your next career move.

Reference Literature

^1,2,3,4PMI, Earning Power Project Management Salary Survey Thirteenth Edition, Nov 2023.