It's time for another group project—and you're raising your hand to lead your team. And why shouldn't you? You're good at keeping everyone organized, tracking deadlines, making smart suggestions, and listening to the ideas of others. You may not know it now, but if this describes you, you're well on your way to being an excellent project manager in the real world. Project managers are in charge of achieving all the goals for a given project, whether it's building a skyscraper or creating a new piece of software. You're in charge of making sure your project is delivered on time, on budget, and to the specifications of your boss or client. And while you may use software programs, timelines or spreadsheets to get your job done, the most important tools for this job are patience, intelligence, and lots of past experience.
The Details
Project managers help groups and projects to run smoothly, saving everyone time and money (including customers like you).
The Big Dig, a famously expensive highway tunnel in Boston, shows what can happen if you don't have a good project manager: It was expected to be completed in 1998 and cost about $6 billion—but instead, it was completed in 2007 for $14.6 billion. (The people in Boston were not so happy about this.)
