Getting a job as a project manager

I have a few years of experience in software development but haven’t used my skills much because I have been trading for almost 3 years. Unfortunately, it seems I will have to get a job soon so I’m evaluating my options.

The technical field is a rapid pace one and since I was out of the circuit for a few years it would be hard to get a job as a software developer. I think it would be easier to get a job as a project manager but maybe I’m mistaking. I’m not sure what the salary would be compared to a software developer.

I don’t have experience as a project manager but I’m hoping with my personality, my software development experience and academic background (engineering) I should be able to manage a software project. I also did a course on project management back when I was doing my degree.

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts and personal experiences.

 

Yes. Be less wishy washy on interviews...

 

Speaking of interviews TraderZones, how do you explain what you have been doing for the past few years when they ask you ?

I'm sure many traders come from the IT field. How does one get back on a payroll after a few years of trading ?

 

I've seen a number of friends only having a vaguely relevant background get project management jobs in software. It may take a bit of time and/or contract work to get into it, but it's very feasible, given the right personality, etc. It helps to be in an area where a lot of such jobs exist (Silicon Valley, Boston, Seattle, LA, NYC, Chicago, Atlanta, etc.).

Also, it may be easier to get a dev position than you think -- get on a local jobs mailing list/monster/cragslist/local tech co Web sites, etc. and send out some resumes and see what comes back. With companies complaining so much, there must be some low-hanging fruit out there, even though said complaining seems to be largely a ruse to justify recruitment of lower-paid H1B non-US-residents. If you have the skills (or can re-learn them -- if you are worth your salt, it's not hard to learn Java or C#), I don't think it should be too difficult to get a high-paying job in this field.

Good luck.

 

Thank you for your comment Euler.

I think it would probably take me a few months to get back into software development in the particular field I was in. On the other hand, I feel project management is something I could probably do right away.