The success of a project majorly lies on the shoulders of a Project Manager and hence their demand across the industries has skyrocketed. According to PMI, the demand for project managers is growing faster than the demand for workers in any other occupation with an average salary of 72,481 USD per year. Through this article, I will discuss the Project Manager Salary across the globe and industries.
Below are the topics I will be covering in this Project Manager Salary article:
- Who is a Project Manager?
- Project Manager Job Trend
- Project Manager Salary Trend
- Project Manager Salary: Company-Based
- Project Manager Salary: Experience-Based
- Project Manager Salary: Geography-Based
- Project Manager Salary: Certification-Based
- Project Manager Salary: Industry-Based
So, let’s get started.
Who is a Project Manager?
Project Managers are the main catalysts of a project. They are responsible for driving a project through various phases of Project Management in a controlled manner. The various phases of Project Management include planning, executing, monitoring, controlling and closing projects. They also shoulder the responsibility of the entire project scope, project team management, risk estimation along with the various resources needed in the project.
Before we delve into the details of Project Manager salary trends, let us first have a brief outlook on various industry job trends.
Project Manager Job Trend
Below table illustrates the number of jobs in different locations in the US according to Indeed.com.
| Location | Number of Jobs |
| New York, NY | 1166 |
| San Francisco, CA | 471 |
| Chicago, IL | 613 |
| Washington, DC | 566 |
| Boston, MA | 450 |
Project Manager Salary Trends
According to Payscale.com, below are graphs depicting the average Project Manager salary for India and US.
Project Manager Salary (US)
Project Manager Salary (IND)
For any project to be successful, project management is like the skeleton on the project without which it is bound to crumble down. The importance of project management was realized back in the 19th century but was recognized as a distinct profession in the mid-20th century. Since then, the life of the project management practitioners has never been dull. As per the Project Management Job Growth and Talent Gap Report 2017–2027 by PMI®, it is predicted that over the next decade, organizations of all sizes and types will require approx 88 million people working in different project management roles.
Project Managers are responsible for various tasks like providing vision and mission to the project, communicating between teams and stakeholders, increase the efficiency, estimate cost and time, control scope, schedule the work, risk management etc. With all these heavy responsibilities, project managers enjoy the most lavish salaries among all project management practitioners. The average salary of a project manager ranges between $63,411 and $84,531 in the US and approx ₹1,818,560 in India. But their salary ranges can vary depending on various factors like certifications they hold, additional skills, years of project management experience, type of industry, geography etc.
In Project Management, professionals are not judged based on their educational backgrounds. Rather they are majorly hired based on their experience in the field of Project Management. Refer the below plots to gain more insights:
Source: www.payscale.com
Now, let me now segregate the salary trends of a Project Manager.
Project Manager Salary: Company-Based
In this section, I will be listing down the salary offered to a Project Manager by major companies who are on a constant search of the project managers:
| Companies | Salaries/year |
| Infosys | ₹1,500,120 |
| Cognizant | ₹1,500,000 |
| IBM | ₹1,400,000 |
| Wipro | $95,814 |
| Syntel | $93,011 |
| LTI | $75,879 |
Source: Glassdoor
Project Manager Salary: Experience-Based
Entry level Project Manager Salary (US):
| Compensation | Salary Range Per Annum |
| Salary | $41,401 – $87,694 |
| Bonus | $498 – $10,117 |
| Profit Sharing | $305 – $9,648 |
| Commission | $1,260 – $25,081 |
| Total Pay | $39,767 – $90,784 |
Entry level Project Manager Salary (IND):
| Compensation | Salary Range Per Annum |
| Salary | Rs 237,650 – Rs 1,125,151 |
| Bonus | Rs 4,894 – Rs 154,507 |
| Profit Sharing | Rs 0.00 – Rs 101,164 |
| Commission | Rs 26,000 |
| Total Pay | Rs 239,808 – Rs 1,185,568 |
Mid-Career Project Manager Salary (US):
| Compensation | Salary Range Per Annum |
| Salary | $50,778 – $106,103 |
| Bonus | $984 – $14,489 |
| Profit Sharing | $295 – $10,437 |
| Commission | $1,005 – $24,747 |
| Total Pay | $49,657 – $112,540 |
Mid-Career Project Manager Salary (IND):
| Compensation | Salary Range Per Annum | |
| Salary | Rs 474,757 – Rs 1,727,870 | |
| Bonus | Rs 10,107 – Rs 237,792 | |
| Profit Sharing | Rs 0.00 – Rs 296,714 | |
| Commission | Rs 50,000 | |
| Total Pay | Rs 488,036 – Rs 1,818,675 |
Experienced Project Manager Salary (US):
| Compensation | Salary Range Per Annum | |
| Salary | $55,850 – $122,768 | |
| Bonus | $986 – $17,899 | |
| Profit Sharing | $0.00 – $14,737 | |
| Commission | $1,008 – $25,584 | |
| Total Pay | $54,231 – $130,831 |
Experienced Project Manager Salary (IND):
| Compensation | Salary Range Per Annum | |
| Salary | Rs 715,434 – Rs 2,261,182 | |
| Bonus | Rs 25,455 – Rs 350,179 | |
| Profit Sharing | Rs 0.00 – Rs 303,391 | |
| Commission | Rs 50,868 | |
| Total Pay | Rs 760,107 – Rs 2,413,644 |
Late-Career Project Manager Salary (US):
| Compensation | Salary Range Per Annum |
| Salary | $57,615 – $132,032 |
| Bonus | $962 – $20,348 |
| Profit Sharing | $0.00 – $12,954 |
| Commission | $1,009 – $28,938 |
| Total Pay | $55,329 – $142,146 |
Late-Career Project Manager Salary (IND):
| Compensation | Salary Range Per Annum | |
| Salary | Rs 639,006 – Rs 3,517,171 | |
| Bonus | Rs 20,067 – Rs 503,353 | |
| Profit Sharing | Rs 0.00 – Rs 591,795 | |
| Commission | – | |
| Total Pay | Rs 715,980 – Rs 3,629,905 |
Project Manager Salary: Geography Based
As I have already mentioned, the Project Manager’s salary is influenced by various reasons and one of them is geography. Below I have listed down the geography wise salary distribution:
| Location | Salary Range Per Annum |
| Australia | $134,658 |
| Switzerland | $133,605 |
| Germany | $101,983 |
| United States | $72,481 |
| India | $27,052 |
Project Manager Salary: Certification-Based
There are many project management certifications available in the market which legalizes a professional’s education and experience in project management. Few of the major certifications are:
| Certification | Salary Range Per Annum (US) | Salary Range Per Annum (IND) |
| Project management Professional (PMP)® | $103,000 | ₹2,000,000 |
| PRINCE2® | $97,000 | ₹1,000,000 |
| Six Sigma Black Belt | $93,864 | ₹1,193,631 |
Source: PayScale
Well, among all the Project Management Certifications, PMP® Certification and PRINCE2® Certification are the prominent ones. By, going through this, PMP® vs PRINCE2® article, you can get more insights and choose the right certification for yourself.
Trending Courses in this categoryPMP® Certification Exam Training
Project Manager Salary: Industry-Based
Last but definitely not least, the factor that influences a Project Managers salary is the type of industry. Irrespective of the industry, a project manager gets paid heavily but still, there are slight variations. Below I have listed down a few of the industry-based salaries for the certified practitioners. Note that the for certified and non-certified practitioners salaries can vary between 10-22%.
| Industry | Salary Range (Worldwide) |
| General | $55,000 – $125,000 |
| Financial/Insurance | $114,000 – $144,000 |
| Tech/IT | $65,000 – $165,000 |
| Health Care | $80,000 – $86,000 |
| Staffing/Consulting | $111,000 – $121,000 |
| Engineering | $79,000 – $143,000 |
| Travel Services | $83,000 – $90,000 |
Sources: PayScale, Glassdoor, PMI, Indeed.com, Salary.com, Careerbuilder, Angel List, Robert Half Company
Project Management is an ocean of opportunities, where you are not bounded by the education, industry or location. Thus, if you looking to get into this interesting field, I would say this is the right time. Just take advantage of the Project Management career opportunities that come your way and achieve the success.
With this, I would like to conclude this article on Project Manager Salary. I hope, you found this article informative.
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