Happy Saturday, Queens. I can’t believe this is the last day of July when it started just a few days ago. This month’s Q&A was quite interesting. As you all know, we hit 5k Queens a couple of days ago on Instagram, which means we have many lovely new ladies in the house. I guess that’s why these previously asked questions came up a lot, but that’s okay; I will answer again and add more information to my response than I did in previous Q&A posts.
This month, you guys had questions about my career as a Project Manager and how I got into the PM/ Consulting/IT field. To be honest, I jumped ship from being a Social Worker in 2014 and got my master’s in PM, and started working as a Business Analyst for a Consulting firm here in the DMV area.
The questions are not answered in any order. I hope my response provides some clarity and directions in your career journey.
Note, I have been in Corporate America for about a decade now and consulting for the last four plus years.
Question: Hello, how are you? I love your page, and I was hoping you can help me. I’m trying to get a job in the IT field/ scrum master or project management, and I wondered if you have any advice.
Answer: The route I took to IT was getting my master’s in Project Management, as stated above. I do not have a PM certification even though I have tried twice to take the exam but was unsuccessful. I am still trying though. My recommendation will be to take the PMP certification or other IT certifications like Linex, Amazon web services, ITIL, and Microsoft Azure. These are the top ones in the world, and there are many more. These certifications will easily get you into the door of any consulting firm. With study time and taking the course, It takes anywhere from 1-12 weeks to get the certifications, but they are highly valued.
Question: The best way to venture into IT
Answer: As mentioned in the previous response above, it is either by getting some IT degree like Project Management, Business Management, or Engineering, to name a few. I have some friends with Psychology degrees or myself who have both Social Work and Project Management degrees that work in consulting. To be valued and paid more, get some of the certifications I mentioned above.
Question: Is the salary really that great with IT/Project Management?
Answer: To be honest, for every job you start with the basic salary. Depending on the company, your job experience, and certification, you can expect to get more. Every employer is different regarding salaries; however, I will say always negotiate your salary. Never accept the first offer if it’s not what you expected. It never hurts to ask for more with evidence to back up your ask. Do your research, find other companies that pay more for the same role you are applying for, and use that data to negotiate your salary. If the company still says no and they are sticking to their initial offer, it’s up to you to accept or not. But salary should not be the only reason you accept a job offer from a company. It would help if you also consider the work-life balance, the diversity rate, how many people look like you are in leadership positions. What does the work culture look like? What is the average time off for maternity and paternity leave? Etc. These are important factors you should consider when accepting a job offer from any employer.
Question: What are some of the consulting firms you recommend applying to?
Answer: As stated above, do your research. My dream firm to work for is Google, but a sister can dream right. Google has it all and their employee benefits are quite remarkable. The work environment I’ve heard it’s very amazing. The salary is also very pleasing. However, there are other amazing firms like Accenture, Microsoft, Deloitte, Apple, IBM, to name a few.
Question: What motivates you to blog and post consistently?
Answer: Early on in my blogging journey, I learned from bloggers who inspire me that consistency and hard work is the key to success in this industry. I took that as my inspiration and never looked back. Yes it’s hard but if you really want something, you gotta work hard for it. Also, I honestly do enjoy creating content. This is something I did not know that I loved doing until I started creating content. Sometimes, all you have to do is start. I see my blog as a full time job. A job that I must show up to daily and do my best at it. My motto always is “Professionals show up, they don’t make excuses”
That’s it for today, Queens. See you next time.
Xoxo, Mo!
