Do Project Managers Travel A Lot ?

Do project managers travel a lot?

Learning Mudra, Category - PMP

What is Project Management ?

Project Management is the science of leading the project in such a way that you are able to meet the given deadline within the required scope of time and with the use of definite resources. The primary goal of project management is to achieve all the given goals and needs while paying attention to the given constraints. The constraints can be of different form, such as time, scope, resources, and budget, and project management requires that we use the resources in the most optimum way possible, with the least wastage possible.

Who are Project Managers?

Project managers are people who are skilled at the art of project management, and not just skilled, they are certified too. With changing times, the value of a certification is increasing like never before, so no organization wants to have a taskforce of employees who don’t have an acclaimed certification. There are many certifications that are acclaimed worldwide, and organization are looking to hire the employees who have these certifications, and also, they ask their already existing employees to get certified too. Project managers are the employees who have learn the concepts of project management through and through.

So, one may ask that why should a person get a certification, and what perks does the certification offer. Well, with a valid and acclaimed certification, your pay grade gets increased significantly, and also your work life balance gets better. Now, with a better work life balance, your job satisfaction improves, hence you become happier in your generally. And it is not just about the pay increase, but also that you get better ratings in your job reviews. This creates a voracious cycle of working better, as it offers you more pay and better performance ratings.

Now, with more work load, project managers are not just dedicated to a single project, but are at times managing multiple projects, at multiple locations. When such a case arises, then project managers often turn to different methods of communication, as a continuous communication is required for the project to be a success. The actual essence of managing a project is about understanding the problem, removing the obstacles and the blockers and getting to know your teammates better, and this is a thing that the telepresence can never fully replace.

Even with the modern way of communication, that enables you to be virtually present anywhere in the world at any time, but the use of telephone and video calls slows the process down at some level, and then the whole cycle becomes a bit lengthy. Also, to understand the problem completely, one needs to be present at the site physically, and not virtually, as this makes the see problem part much harder. And with a team of professionals working on site together, they can address and resolve the issue that gets raised a lot faster.

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Apart from this, the other reason why the virtual medium is not that good is because in the early phases of a project, it’s always best that you get to know your teammates individually, and learn what motivates them as a person, what are their strengths and weaknesses, and all of this becomes a lot easier when you are physically present with the other person. Also, the feel to a project comes when we are there to feel it actually, and it impacts our decision making when in comes to the the impromptu decisions that need to be taken.

Also, the projects of big clients are generally deep pocketed, so the travelling expense is no issue for them, so they prefer that the project managers who are managing their projects get to the site of the project, no matter how far or how close, as they want no compromises on their projects, so often the project managers have to travel a lot when they are working on multiple projects at a given time, and when these projects are geographically distant. The clients know that the team performs the best when they are comfortable with each other, so the client wants to team to work together for the best output possible.

This does not mean that travelling is all that project managers do, as many projects don’t really require the physical presence of a project manager, so in such cases, the virtual meetings and understandings can help, but for many other projects out there, it can be very demanding for a project manager to pack the lightest and to navigate through the airports time and again, until the project is done and dusted, as any little issue or error that arises at the project site, the project manager is the first person that is called and wanted at that site.

Conclusion to the Topic: Do Project Managers Travel A Lot ?

So, if you are someone who is fond of travelling and doesn’t mind the check ins and waiting for the luggage to arrive, then yes, project management is the job for you, but if you are someone who finds travelling cumbersome and it is not your cup of tea, then you should probably look at some other profession than project management. Surely, project management will take you places, and will probably help you realize your age-old dream of travelling to new and different locations, but again, it totally depends on your understanding and definition of travelling!