Anyone else in this position?

[badger7579]

If we could somehow merge we'd be sorted

[PM-Junkie]

I just get the feeling that hiring managers seem to be putting far too much emphasis on technical skills rather than the PM skills which are surely more important than technical skills.

I'm there to organise and push the project forward not to get bogged down in the technicalities, that’s what the analysts are for.

Probably just my personal frustration but that’s the impression I get.

It's down to the current economic conditions and the need to cut costs. Rather than hire a PM expert and a techie, the trend is to hire someone who can do both. It can be a high risk approach, but it's understandable.

Hang in there, something will come up.

[rootsnall]

Maybe, given the competition they are looking for a jack of all trades, who can do both roles. Now is the time the shysters will be shacken out of the tree. Not that you are one of them, but employers can afford to be choosey.

WHS, well sort of. I think it's just very competitive out there and whereas last year you'd of probably had an open goal when being interviewed, this year you'll be up against people who also have good experience and tick most of the boxes. If you are getting interviews you know you are somewhere near the top of the pile so it's only a matter of time would be my thinking.

[OwlHoot]

.. Is it easier for an experienced techy to do PM work or an experienced PM to learn the techy stuff? Or is it completely position dependant?

I'd say it's generally the first. But it depends largely on the person's temperament, and some are more suited to one than the other.

[TykeMerc]

Interestingly enough, I've been a geeky techy developer/programmer all my career, but have just been hired as a project and delivery manager as the client said during the interview that they felt that an experienced/mature developer who doesn't BS was required to speak the same low-level lingo as the developers.

Their position was that a developer who is organised, proactive and can delegate can pick up the "PM-things" ; but it's harder for a strong PM to pick up the low level techy stuff.

I didn't disagree obviously, and got the gig (ironically, by bs-ing answers to some soft PM questions :-) ) but curious to what others think.

Is it easier for an experienced techy to do PM work or an experienced PM to learn the techy stuff? Or is it completely position dependant?

cheers

Well most real PM's come from a background of one technical discipline or another (business analysis is technical), in my case it was infrastructure, networks and operating systems engineering. Effective Project Management isn't something that can be trained into someone, it's gained by experience and dealing with stakeholders, problems and issues.
Managing a project is a doddle when everything goes to plan, it's when the wheels fall off unexpectedly due to an unpredictable cause that a PM earns the pay.