How to become an iT project manager

Official title: IT project managers

Also called: Project lead, Project leader, Change manager, Project manager, It change manager, Portfolio manager, It project manager, Ict project manager, It projects manager, Implementation manager, Software project leader, Digital project manager

IT project managers manage, coordinate and technically supervise specific IT projects of a discrete duration and/or budget.

Main tasks

• Works with client or senior management to establish and clarify the aims, objectives and requirements of the IT project
• Plans the stages of the project, reviews actions and amends plans as necessary
• Coordinates and supervises the activities of the project team
• Manages third party contributions to the project
• Monitors progress including project budget, timescale and quality
• Coordinates and oversees implementation of the project
• Reports on project to senior management and/or client

How to become one

Entrants usually possess a degree or equivalent qualification, although entry with other academic qualifications and/or significant relevant experience is possible. There is a variety of relevant vocational, professional and postgraduate qualifications available.

Ways in

• University: Computing & IT degrees, Offered by 26 universities in the UK

Pay · Outlook

• Median full-time pay: £58,373 a year The middle half earn £41,423 to £74,823.
• About 121,300 people work in this job now, and about 134,700 are projected by 2035. (+11.1%)

Related jobs

• IT managers
• IT business analysts, architects and systems designers
• Programmers and software development professionals
• Cyber security professionals
• IT quality and testing professionals
• IT network professionals

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Questions people ask

How do I become an iT project manager?

Entrants usually possess a degree or equivalent qualification, although entry with other academic qualifications and/or significant relevant experience is possible. There is a variety of relevant vocational, professional and postgraduate qualifications available.

How much does an iT project manager earn in the UK?

Median full-time pay is £58,373 a year (Office for National Statistics). The middle half earn £41,423 to £74,823.

Is an iT project manager a growing career in the UK?

Yes. Employment is projected to grow 11% by 2035, from about 121,300 to about 134,700 people (Department for Education).

Do you need a degree to become an iT project manager?

Usually. 71% of people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher.

Sources

• Office for National Statistics: Annual Population Survey: employment by occupation (April 2025 to March 2026), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
• Office for National Statistics: SOC 2020 Volume 1: structure and descriptions (2026-08-27 edition), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
• Department for Education: Skills Imperative 2035: employment projections by occupation (2021 to 2035 (Warwick IER / Cambridge Econometrics)), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
• Office for National Statistics: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Table 14 (2025 provisional), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03

Updated 2026-10-03

Graduate outcomes: Discover Uni dataset, HESA (www.hesa.ac.uk), licensed under CC BY 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0). Aggregated by subject and adapted by Peernovo.