Computer and Mathematical · Holland code ECI

Information Technology Project Managers

Plan, initiate, and manage information technology (IT) projects. Lead and guide the work of technical staff. Serve as liaison between business and technical aspects of projects. Plan project stages and assess business implications for each stage. Monitor progress to assure deadlines, standards, and cost targets are met.

Also called: Cloud Product Director, Cybersecurity Project Manager, IT Manager (Information Technology Manager), IT Project Manager (Information Technology Project Manager), Data Center Product Director, Information Systems Project Manager (IS Project Manager), IT Program Manager (Information Technology Program Manager), Scrum Master.

O*NET 15-1299.09

At a glance

US median annual pay: $116,580; Middle half earn $79,370 to $157,500. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: Bachelor's Degree; 38% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 4 of 5; Considerable preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.

What the work involves

The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.

Manage project execution to ensure adherence to budget, schedule, and scope.
Confer with project personnel to identify and resolve problems.
Monitor or track project milestones and deliverables.
Submit project deliverables, ensuring adherence to quality standards.
Assess current or future customer needs and priorities by communicating directly with customers, conducting surveys, or other methods.
Initiate, review, or approve modifications to project plans.
Schedule and facilitate meetings related to information technology projects.
Direct or coordinate activities of project personnel.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Critical Thinking4.1 / 5
Reading Comprehension4.0 / 5
Active Listening4.0 / 5
Writing4.0 / 5
Speaking3.9 / 5
Monitoring3.6 / 5

Knowledge areas

English Language4.3 / 5
Customer and Personal Service4.2 / 5
Computers and Electronics4.2 / 5
Administration and Management4.0 / 5
Engineering and Technology3.6 / 5
Economics and Accounting3.4 / 5

Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.

Who tends to enjoy it

How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.

Realistic12
Investigative48
Artistic13
Social28
Enterprising82
Conventional72

The same work abroad

Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.

European occupation titles (ESCO)

programme manager · DE Programmmanager/Programmmanagerin · FR directeur de projets/directrice de projets
project manager · DE Projektmanager/Projektmanagerin · FR chef de projet
chief information officer · DE IT-Leiter/IT-Leiterin · FR directeur des systèmes d'information /directrice des systèmes d'information
chief technology officer · DE Technischer Leiter/Technische Leiterin · FR responsable de la technologie
ICT operations manager · DE IT-Prozessmanager/IT-Prozessmanagerin · FR responsable des activités informatiques
software manager · DE Anwendungsmanager/Anwendungsmanagerin · FR responsable des logiciels

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Information technology directors (1137)197,000 employed
Company secretaries and administrators (4214)24,800 employed
Charitable organisation managers and directors (1135)48,600 employed

Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.

Pay across Europe, for the whole group

Median annual earnings of all employees in “Managers”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.

Median annual earnings, Managers, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€96,629
Italy	€96,052
Germany	€90,192
Austria	€82,936
Netherlands	€69,857
Sweden	€60,369
France	€58,740
Ireland	€55,854
Spain	€54,121
Portugal	€39,189
Poland	€19,596

Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.

Is it a fit for you?

Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.

Take the career interests test