The Complete Guide to Becoming An Information Technology Project Manager

I read this after a year of debating whether to leave my help desk job for IT PM work. Chapter 1 alone convinced me it wasn't the right fit - I hate status meetings and I've never been good at wrangling people. The salary tables were useful, and I appreciate that the book didn't try to sell me on the career. For anyone on the fence, this is the honest look you need. Four stars because I wish it had more examples of the actual software used, but otherwise solid.

As a career-changer with a background in retail management, I needed to know if the skills transfer and what the actual day looked like. The example of a 10 AM daily standup and the realistic salary numbers for entry-level really helped me set expectations. The chapter on breaking in without experience gave me a concrete checklist, and I've already updated my resume based on that advice. It's grounded and practical, not fluffy. I only wish it covered more about working in healthcare IT specifically.

The book covers the basics well, and the salary breakdown is helpful, but it honestly felt a little basic for someone like me who already had a general idea of project management from a business degree. I was expecting more depth on tools like Agile vs. Waterfall in the first chapter. It's a good intro for a total beginner, but if you've already done research online, you might not find much new until chapter five. The self-assessment checklist was the most useful part for me.

I'm a senior in high school trying to figure out what to major in, and this book made IT PM sound like a real job, not a vague 'business' path. I now know what a project charter is, what Jira looks like from a user's perspective, and how much I'd make in year one versus year ten. The day-in-the-life chapter made it click - I can actually picture myself running those meetings. This guide saved me from picking a major blindly. Highly recommend to any student.

Finally, a career guide that doesn't sugarcoat it. The author clearly knows what it's like to sit in a room with engineers arguing over a timeline while the stakeholder pushes for a date that makes no sense. I loved that it named the mundane tasks - status reports, budget tracking, risk logs - and the frustrating ones. The chapter on breaking in without experience was worth the price alone. I followed the networking checklist and got an interview within two months of reading. Five stars.

I bought this because I'm a software developer considering a shift to management, and I was unsure if the PM path would be a good use of my technical background. This book gave me the realistic picture I needed: the salary progression is solid, but it's a completely different skill set from coding. The chapter on career growth was excellent - it laid out the move to program manager and portfolio roles, which I hadn't considered. It's a smart, honest read for anyone serious about this decision.

A decent overview, but nothing that a few good blog posts and a salary website wouldn't give you. I liked the structure and the 8 chapters make sense, but I felt like some sections - particularly the education comparison table - glossed over the details I needed to decide between a PMP and a degree. The self-assessment checklist was fine, but the questions felt a bit generic. It's a fine starting point, but I wouldn't call it 'complete.' Three stars.