Moving into Engineering PM role

[Asdafer]

Hi,
I've got over 6 years of experience as PM within IT working for several industrial clients.

However I always wanted to move to managing the actual work that these guys were doing - especially in Civil Engineering.

Could anyone point towards the best next step to take? Is it to obtain a degree or get a lower level job at one of these firms - like a project planner or estimator?

Any ideas from people who made a similar journey would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

[KENAT]

Do you have a degree in Engineering, especially Civil if that's what you want to manage? For Civil works you may even need to be a PE though I guess if you're not signing off on plans & calcs then probably not.

While it's not essential to fully understand the jobs of everyone on the team you're supervising etc. having a reasonable level of understanding generally helps a lot.

Most project managers I've known have moved there from Engineering. Sometimes they seem to be the folk with slightly weaker technical skills that see moving into a management role as being their path to success.

Posting guidelines faq731-376

http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?

(probably not aimed specifically at you)
What is Engineering anyway: faq1088-1484​

 

[CIRHS]

@Kenat
"Sometimes they seem to be the folk with slightly weaker technical skills that see moving into a management role as being their path to success."

So true. Thats why I left my last job.

 

[ElectraPM]

A lot of firms are now looking for PMP certification. If you do not have this, you may want to look into it. Check out PMI.org website and there should be a local charter as well that you can contact for advice.