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Project Management Specialist

$102,320
median / year
$61,580 – $167,970
what most earn per year (10th–90th percentile)

What the job actually is

Plan projects, coordinate teams, track budgets and deadlines, and keep work moving toward delivery.

Where you work

Offices and worksites, some remote

The hours

Full-time, busier near deadlines

The day to day

What you'd actually spend time doing

  • Assign duties or responsibilities to project personnel.
  • Communicate with key stakeholders to determine project requirements and objectives.
  • Confer with project personnel to identify and resolve problems.
  • Create project status presentations for delivery to customers or project personnel.
  • Develop or update project plans including information such as objectives, technologies, schedules, funding, and staffing.

Good fit if you like…

Enterprising

leading, persuading, selling, or turning an idea into action

Conventional

organizing information, following systems, and getting details right

Social

helping, teaching, caring for, or supporting other people

O*NET job zone 4 of 5

High preparation—usually a four-year degree plus experience—is common.

Work styles that matter most

DependabilityLeadership OrientationAttention to DetailPerseverance

Software that shows up in the work

Examples employers report—not a checklist you must already know.

Atlassian JIRAMicrosoft ExcelMicrosoft Office softwareMicrosoft OutlookMicrosoft PowerPointMicrosoft Project

By the numbers

May 2025 BLS wage & employment data · 2024–34 BLS employment projections.

Median pay
$102,320
per year
Hourly median
$49.19
per hour
What most earn
$61,580–$167,970
yearly, 10th to 90th percentile
Openings a year
~78,200
projected, 2024–34
Outlook to 2034
+5.6%
Faster than average
Working in the U.S.
1,066,670
people, nationwide

Openings a year counts new jobs plus the ones that open when people retire or move on — a truer picture of your odds than growth alone.

“Median” means half earn more and half earn less. Your city, employer, and years on the job move it a lot — that is what the 10th-to-90th range shows.

BLS estimates 1.8% of workers in this occupation are self-employed.

What it pays in your state

Statewide medians are a better starting point than the national number. Your city and experience still matter.

BLS state wage tables

How you get in

Typical starting education

Bachelor's degree

Training path: Bachelor's degree, certification helps.

Related work experience: None.

On-the-job training: None.

License or certification

No license required to start in most places.

Check the path where you live

Licensing rules and available programs change by state. These federal tools take you to the current official listings.

What it takes

OrganizationCommunicationLeadershipProblem solving

The honest take

A flexible, well-paid role across industries, where a certification can matter as much as a degree.

Standard Occupational Classification 13-1082. Pay and employment from the BLS May 2025 OEWS survey; outlook and openings from the 2024–34 employment projections; job context from the Occupational Outlook Handbook; tasks, interests, work styles, software examples, and job zone from O*NET 30.3. See something off? Tell us.