Hello,

I worked mainly in Project Accounting in my last job and worked with Project Managers on a daily basis. Your CIMA qualification will definitely be of benefit in terms of understanding Project Cost Control, Budgeting etc but PM extends beyond merely the numbers. Project Managers need to be able to juggle a variety of different disciplines to successfuly manage and deliver projects such as dealing with contractors, reviewing project plans, managing project scope and any approved changes to this, safety (e.g. for construction / infrastructure projects) etc.

Many of the Project Managers I worked with came from a variety of backgrounds (non-professional / professional) but they all had 2 things in common - excellent people skills and an ability to 'juggle' many different factors to successfully deliver projects. Their performance was ultimately judged on whether they delivered the project to cost/time/quality/safety.

In terms of qualification I would recommend the suite of qualifications offered by the Association for Project Management (APM). They do an introductory certificate that covers the fundamentals. This would be a good certificate to have in applying for PM roles. After this you could study for their APMP qualifcation which is highly regarded in the PM community.

You will probably have to start as a project management assistant or similar role to build your experience but once this happens it can be a really good and lucrative career. My advice would be to target the large constuction/infrastructure/engineering companies to see if they have any suitable vacancies.

All the best,

Paul