What a Project Manager at Vaelynn Studios Wishes They Knew Before Entering Project Management
Andreas, a Project Manager at Vaelynn Studios, advises that entry-level roles for aspiring project managers often include "coordinator" titles, such as "marketing coordinator" or "digital project coordinator," with responsibilities encompassing "making flowcharts, making the calendar, sending out communications, and updating tickets," before advancing to team leadership. The choice of a specific coordinator role depends on career interests, ranging from marketing and IT to event planning.
Project Management, Entry-Level Positions, Digital Marketing, Data Analysis, Communication
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Andreas Lopez
Project Manager
Vaelynn Studios
Western Governor's University (WGU)
WGU Master of Business Administration (MBA)
Engineering, IT, Math & Data
Gaming
Cyber Security and IT
Pell Grant Recipient, Took Out Loans, Immigrant, Worked 20+ Hours in School, First Generation College Student
Video Highlights
1. Entry-level positions for undergrads interested in project management include marketing coordinator, digital marketing coordinator, and project coordinator roles. These roles offer experience in many aspects of project management but usually without team lead responsibilities.
2. Project coordinator roles can vary based on the industry; for example, a digital project coordinator might work more in IT, while a marketing project coordinator would be more embedded in the marketing department.
3. A common path to a project management career is starting as a coordinator and gradually taking on more responsibilities. Coordinators often contribute to tasks such as creating flowcharts, calendars, communications, and data analysis to support the project manager.
Transcript
What entry-level positions are there in this field that an undergraduate student might consider?
There are quite a few different paths into project management. One colleague started in e-commerce project management through data analytics.
He began as a Marketing Production Coordinator. There are many fields you can enter, especially into project management.
You can start with a personal interest in a domain like marketing, design, or video games. Alternatively, you can take a more formal approach as a generic project manager.
The common entry-level role is coordinator. This could be a Marketing Coordinator, Digital Marketing Coordinator, or Project Coordinator.
In these roles, you perform many of the same tasks as a project manager, minus some responsibilities. For example, you're typically not a team lead.
You contribute by helping with flowcharts, calendars, communications, and updating tickets. However, you usually don't lead project plan meetings.
You're more involved in contributing pieces for presentations, like data analysis or graphs. You might assist the project manager in a general support capacity, depending on the organization.
For myself, the closest role is a Digital Project Coordinator. The digital aspect means being more involved in IT compared to a regular project coordinator or manager.
A marketing project coordinator would be more embedded in marketing tasks. You should consider where you want to focus: marketing, IT, creative, or technical fields.
You can also aim for a generic Project Coordinator role, though these are often more localized, like Event Coordinators. In event roles, you help with scheduling vendors or organizing event hall leases.