<p>Im going into mechanical engineering. </p>
<p>3 questions- 1. Do you need a MBA to become one?
2. Is it something you get promoted into or something you can go straight into?
3. Can i become one through just work experience or would it take me longer?</p>
<p>1) No, you don’t need an MBA.</p>
<p>2) Every company does things differently, but I can tell you how things are at my current company (which is a pretty big, well known tech company). For us, project management and engineering are two distinct groups. An engineer doesn’t get promoted into a PM position since he or she isn’t part of the PM group, and PMs don’t do any engineering work (although many have technical backgrounds). I’ve heard that the PMs at my company make less than the engineers but having never seen any PM’s paycheck, I can’t say for certain if this is true. Engineers manage other engineers and every project has a “project engineer”, which is sort of the “lead engineer” who oversees all of the other engineers on the project. Most projects also have leads for each individual engineering team (software lead, test lead, systems lead, and so on). I actually think this setup works really well.</p>
<p>My previous company did things differently because everyone in our division was some sort of engineer or scientist – hence we didn’t have a separate PM group.</p>
<p>3) Again, it depends on the company. At my current company, you can get into the Project Management group as an entry level hire although you probably won’t be trusted to run a project by yourself until you gain some experience. Not all of our PMs have technical backgrounds but the majority do. If you want to get into project management, your ME background will definitely help you get your foot in the door.</p>
<p>I looked up salaries for engineers and pm’s. PM’s seem to be way higher. But to make sure does this describe the job as project engineer at your company? Or is this just a project manager?</p>
<p>[Average</a> Project Engineering Manager Salary Information plus Job, Career Education & Unemployment Help](<a href=“http://www1.salary.com/Project-Engineering-Manager-Salary.html]Average”>Project Engineering Manager Salary | Salary.com)</p>
<p>Yeah, the job description on this website sounds a lot more like the Project Engineer (PE) role at my company. The project engineer is the guy or gal who is in charge of all of the engineering on the project – and although they CAN do some engineering work, they are usually so overloaded with their management duties that they don’t actually have time to do any actual engineering work. The PEs at my company are typically fairly senior and they make a lot more than the average reported on that site.</p>
<p>The Project Managers have a similar role but are more concerned with finance, timelines, and customer interfacing. PEs are part of that, too, but their main job is to oversee the engineering team and make sure the technical stuff goes smoothly.</p>
<p>That same website had some salary information for “project managers” whose job descriptions sound a lot more like the PMs at my company. </p>
<p>[Average</a> Project Manager I Salary Information plus Job, Career Education & Unemployment Help](<a href=“http://www1.salary.com/Project-Manager-I-salary.html]Average”>Project Manager I Salary | Salary.com). If you’re interested in getting into a PM position, a technical background helps but isn’t enough. You need to be able to demonstrate professionalism, strong communication/presentation skills and an ability to talk to customers.</p>
<p>From my experience…</p>
<p>1) No, but it helps. Program/project management is a business job, so business training helps. In my company, I believe a technical degree of some type might be required.</p>
<p>2) You can enter program management at any stage of your career. I have known experienced engineers who have slid laterally into PM, and new engineers who have started or transitioned into PM very early. In the latter case, the usual progression is to spend at least a year or two assisting with a larger program before getting your own small program to run.</p>
<p>3) Yes, and I am not sure what alternative you were envisioning.</p>