Project Managers

[SingaporeOrBust]

I just want to test out the waters and see the forums Suggestions are.

Currently I am working for HP as a strategic project manager for the last year. I have dual master with my MBA and Masters of Logistics Management. What this entails is working on World Wide projects from a regional lead. This encompasses but full end to end project management, from design to implementation to exit strategy. Basically to sum up if there is a new business that needs to be created or moved from one region to Asia for HP it goes through our tiny office of 10 people. Think of it as an internal APJ consulting firm, without the paycheck but with the hours.

The point I’m driving at is this; Though I like my job I do feel I’m undervalued and overworked for the compensation set forth by HP, both Vacation and monetarily + benefits.

I moved here from Australia to get the taste of Asia and though it would be far less then I could have made back in the US it is good here. The thing is though one day I will leave to Europe and what I make here does not justly a means to smooth transition to Europe one day.


Currently what is the going rate for Project Managers in Singapore, I have head from 5k -8k (though 8k must be exaggerated)

[Strong Eagle]

If you have strong technical skills in say, infrastructure, data center buildout, managed services implementation, rollouts, or software development, and you have industry experience in extraction, manufacturing, banking or technology, salaries aren't too bad.

And, if you have the technical expertise to guide a complex project and the necessary relationship skills and maturity to manage client expectations, and manage vendors and suppliers things look better. Having a clear perception of the value proposition with enough understanding of financials to talk competently to CFO's and financial people is yet another plus.

In reality, most people around here holding themselves out as IT project managers rarely hold all of the skills mentioned above and most of them come from an IT technical background and are rather technically focused instead of project focused. Little things like knowing how to engage and lead a team and do a proper risk analysis are not their strong points.

Why am I saying all this? It has been my experience that most technical companies like your own HP hire very few truly skilled people (with corresponding salaries) and tend to rely upon lower skilled (and lower paid) people for project implementation. MNC's with strong project and program management programs in place tend to pay better. Local firms tend to not yet see the real value in project management and won't pay much, either.

So, expect a company hired junior/mid level person to be worth $4K to $8K per month. A senior might make $10K. The best PM's, when the right opportunity is found can expect to make $140K and up.

If you want to have a go at it yourself, junior day rates are somewhere around $500 to $800 per day, seniors $1200 to $1500 per day, and if you have good business consultancy skills, might be able to drag in as much as $2000 per day.

But, it really all depends what company you are talking to, what their perceptions of project management are and what your value proposition actually is.

If you're actually job hunting drop me an email. [email protected]