Is a Project Manager a boss?

[Not So Wise]

1)The business would see the PM as senior.
2)The PM would see [him/her]self as senior.
3)The PM would typically be paid more.
4)The PM would have risen to that position from positions such as developer / tester.
5)Typically first job out of college is developer / tester, not waltzing straight into a £600pd PM role.
HTH

1) True, but not necessarily more valuable, when working as a dev got more than one crappy PM removed from 'above' me. They are easily replaced. Me no so easy
2) True
3) No so such much anymore, lot of places are starting to remember majority of PM are just the old Admin staff and paying them accordingly (excluding "real PM's" with multiple massive multi pound projects
4) Maybe 1 out 10 PM's "worked up the ranks" (and majority of those from helpdesk)
5) Irrelevant as first job out of college would not be a contractor

[rootsnall]

Who has ever heard of an old developer? Once you hit forty, if you're still developing then you just haven't developed as an individual and you're going to find yourself on the scrap heap pretty fast and posting on bulletin boards.

[Mustang]

So you work as a developer and report to a 'line manager' - effectively your 'boss' (ok, I know - but he signs your timesheet and could ask you to leave).

Every project I work on, there is a PM who seems to think that he is my boss. But he's not is he? He is an equal who is in charge of overseeing a project and nothing more.

Sure, as a resource I can be assigned tasks by him, but he can't talk down to me or insist that I work late - or anything really!

So to all you PMs out there - get of your high fliping horse!

Interesting post!

I read it whilst looking for my high horse!!

It depends on the project/company structure but for the most part, a PM is no-one's boss. However, during my career I have been asked to provide significant input to someone's performance appraisals (permies) or contract renewal reviews (contractors) so cross a PM's path at your own risk.

I agree with other posts there are a lot of carp PM's out there - mainly because they think too highly of themselves and lack the soft/people skills to do the job. A PM should never talk down to anyone is they want to earn respect and get the job done.

When I manage a project, I am being paid to ensure that all the deliverables are handed over on time, in budget and with good quality. I don't care HOW you do it as long as the above is maintained. If you picked your a**e all day, posted on CUK and drank tea and then came back to me and said you were going to deliver late then of course I might be a little up tight and "suggest" you worked extra hours/the weekend to get things back on track. If there were other mitigating circumsatances then it is in my best interest to work with you to resolve those and ensure it gets delivered on time.

Part of the problem PM's get such bad press is that not everyone understands what we do!!

[Moscow Mule]

Developers are an unhappy lot.

Developers never want to be developers, they want to move up. They want to move across. They want to be Business Analysts, Technical Architects, Project Managers etc.

Who has ever heard of an old developer? Once you hit forty, if you're still developing then you just haven't developed as an individual and you're going to find yourself on the scrap heap pretty fast and posting on bulletin boards.

PMs are an unhappy lot. PMs never want to be PMs, they want to move up, they want to move across. They want to be Programme Managers, Resource Managers, Operations Managers etc.

Who ever heard of an old PM? Once you hit forty, If you're still managing projects then you haven't developed as an individual and you're going to find yourself on the scrap heap pretty fast and posting on bulletin boards.

[MarillionFan]

PMs are an unhappy lot. PMs never want to be PMs, they want to move up, they want to move across. They want to be Programme Managers, Resource Managers, Operations Managers etc.

Who ever heard of an old PM? Once you hit forty, If you're still managing projects then you haven't developed as an individual and you're going to find yourself on the scrap heap pretty fast and posting on bulletin boards.

40 on Wednesday. Thanks f-ck I've just got a programme manager job. Whew.

[NickFitz]

Developers are an unhappy lot.

Developers never want to be developers, they want to move up. They want to move across. They want to be Business Analysts, Technical Architects, Project Managers etc.

Who has ever heard of an old developer? Once you hit forty, if you're still developing then you just haven't developed as an individual and you're going to find yourself on the scrap heap pretty fast and posting on bulletin boards.

[Francko]

40 on Wednesday. Thanks f-ck I've just got a programme manager job. Whew.

I must have missed some passages. Until 3-4 years ago you were just a crappy crystal reports developer who used to be fired every 3-4 months for insubordination and who should be extinct by now because of natural evolution and now you have become a programme manager....

....... oh, dear

[suityou01]

I must have missed some passages. Until 3-4 years ago you were just a crappy crystal reports developer who used to be fired every 3-4 months for insubordination and who should be extinct by now because of natural evolution and now you have become a Walter Mitty type
....... oh, dear

[Shimano105]

So concensus is that a PM is sort of a boss then. Fine with me.

So programming after 40 is forbidden now is it? Wish someone had told me this 3 years ago

[MarillionFan]

Dont you find your arthritis bothers you when you tap away, plus all those extra trips to the toilet with your weak bladder?