Project Management Specialists
Analyze and coordinate the schedule, timeline, procurement, staffing, and budget of a product or service on a per project basis. Lead and guide the work of technical staff. May serve as a point of contact for the client or customer.
Median pay (national)
$100,750
$59,830–$165,790 (10th–90th)
Employed (US)
1,006,160
BLS OEWS, May 2024
Outlook 2024–34
+5.6%
~78,200 openings/yr
Typical entry
Bachelor's degree
What the numbers say
Refit analysis ·Pay for project management specialists shows an unusually wide range: the top 10% earn $165,790 versus $59,830 at the bottom 10% — 2.8x. The median of $100,750 leaves roughly 65% of headroom to the 90th percentile, which is where seniority, specialization, and the skills below tend to pay off.
Refit analysis ·Employment is projected to change +5.6% from 2024 to 2034 — faster than the 3% all-occupation average. Even so, BLS projects about 78,200 openings a year, mostly to replace workers who retire or change careers.
Refit analysis ·Where you work moves the number a lot. Across the 54 states with released data, Washington pays the most for this role (median $117,030, +16% vs the national median), while Puerto Rico sits lowest at $59,990 — a 95% spread for the same job title.
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What they actually do
Core O*NET tasks for this role.
- 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.
- Identify project needs such as resources, staff, or finances by reviewing project objectives and schedules.
- Identify, review, or select vendors or consultants to meet project needs.
- Monitor costs incurred by project staff to identify budget issues.
- Monitor project milestones and deliverables.
- Monitor the performance of project team members to provide performance feedback.
Tools & technology
- Atlassian JIRA
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Office software
- Microsoft Outlook
- Microsoft PowerPoint
- Microsoft Project
- Adobe InDesign
- Adobe Photoshop
- Apple macOS
- Asana
- Atlassian Confluence
- Autodesk AutoCAD Civil 3D
- Bentley MicroStation
- Cisco Webex
- Git
- GitHub