IT Project Manager Salary Guide

What Awaits You at Different Stages of Your Career

The salaries of IT project managers vary significantly depending on experience, skills, and location. Globally, we can observe a clear upward trend as they develop their careers – from an entry-level Project Manager earning around $50,000-$70,000 per year in 2025 to mid-level specialists with a salary of $70,000-$100,000 to seniors exceeding the $100,000 threshold. The key differentiating factor is not only years of experience but also mastery of specific project management methodologies and the ability to balance technical and soft skills.

I invite you to read the article in which I describe what you can expect if you decide to start a career as an IT Project Manager.

Stage 1: Rookie (1 – 2 years)

Every master started as a beginner in the art of effective project management. In the world of project management, it’s like in any other career path. The beginnings resemble the first kilometers of a marathon. Someone important has started the race, and each participant is enthusiastic. Some let themselves be swept away by the crowd, others set an even pace from the beginning, and others shot like a slingshot. Theoretically, you have been preparing for this start for some time, but you don’t know yet what awaits you in a moment, and you can feel a large dose of uncertainty in your movements.

When starting your career as an IT Project Manager, you should focus on the following:

• Organizational skills – these cannot be taught; either you have them in you, or you don’t. If you want to work as an IT project manager, you need to be very well-organized because, in the project, you will have to organize not only your work but also that of the entire project team.
• Basic communication – this skill, in turn, can be learned, and even if it comes naturally to you, you can always communicate better. In project management, one of the most common reasons for failure is poor communication in the project. You can do something about it and show others what effective communication should look like.
• Knowledge of essential tools (Jira, Trello, MS Project) – theoretically, the project can also be carried out with a traditional notebook and pen, but let’s face it, in IT, decent tools are essential. Even if you haven’t dealt with this type of tool so far, you should quickly catch up. You can choose one of them (most are free for your use) and use them, for example, for the “my first job” project.

If you are interested in what your first 90 days in the world of project management may look like, I invite you to read the article “IT Project Manager’s First 90 Days.”

Employers at this stage primarily assess your attitude and willingness to learn. As a well-known psychological proverb says: “Talent is overestimated, and perseverance is underestimated.” Beginner PMs often spend time reporting progress and assisting experienced managers, similar to the role of a sparring partner in boxing – difficult but crucial for development.

At this stage of your career, it is essential to learn as much as possible from other people’s mistakes, so that you don’t make the same mistakes later. Also, never say, “I would have done it better” or “I would have done it differently if I were you.” Running projects is like driving a car in a thick fog. You never know what’s in front of the hood. By gaining experience, you can only increase your chances of guessing what will happen to the project in a few days, but you will never be sure this will happen.

At this career level, you can expect to earn a salary in the range of $50,000-$70,000 per year in 2025, depending on the region of the world.

Stage 2: Intermediate player (3 – 5 years old)

At this stage, you are like a runner who has already caught his second wind during a marathon. Half of the distance is already behind you. Perhaps even a bigger or smaller crisis. Something is already rubbing and bothering you, and you start to wonder if you did the right thing by participating in this competition. Sometimes, someone will overtake you; sometimes, you will overtake someone. Everything is on the right track, although my head is full of dilemmas, and the finish line is far away.

In project management, at this stage, you should already be running projects with less complexity and a small team by your side. This is an entirely different level than the first stage. You are no longer judging the behavior of your older colleague in your mind, but you are being evaluated. You can show that you would manage the project better if you were only at the helm. You can show that you are a real leader, and the project team goes with you into any turmoil without thinking. You can also build trust in your actions among stakeholders when you present the project’s progress to the steering committee without hesitation.

You solve problems in the project between meetings and send communication between bites of the sandwich. You have already become immune to the most common project issues, and managing time, priorities, and tasks is your daily bread.

At this level, you not only hold projects accountable for punctuality, but you also start to be evaluated for customer satisfaction and team commitment. It’s a bit like a boxing referee judging a duel you are participating in. The referee will not only count the number of punches but also assess the technique and style of the fight.

Earnings at this stage in 2025 are in the range of $70,000-$100,000 per year. There are apparent differences between the methodologies – Agile and Scrum specialists usually earn 10-15% more than their counterparts working in waterfall methodologies.

Stage 3: Experienced project strategist (5-10 years)

Now, you are like an experienced marathon runner. You can predict problems before they happen. You haven’t started well yet and already know what can happen. How do you position yourself at the start? When do you drink water? When do you catch a sugar cube? How do you not get carried away at the beginning? When do you push, and when do you let go? In a word, you radiate confidence and experience. Even if something unexpected happens to you during your run, you are sure that you will be able to handle it.

Skills worth their weight in gold at this stage are:

• Budget management – stakeholders have no problem entrusting you with a specific amount of money for the implementation of the project, and even if you come for more, it will undoubtedly be easier for them to consider such a request positively than when you had half of the experience you have now.
• Risk management – before the project starts, you already have a list of potential risks and challenging questions to present to the first Steering Committee. You have run multiple projects, and more than one crashed into project barriers. You already know how to avoid them before they even appear.
• Negotiations – without it, no IT Project Manager will develop in the industry. If you have mastered communication, priority, and task management so far but have not yet perfected your negotiation methods, then you have nothing to wait for.

Evaluation at this level resembles an analysis of a football team’s performance—what matters is not only the final result (timeliness of the project) but also the style of play (quality of the solutions provided) and the satisfaction of the fans (stakeholders).

In 2025, the salary at this level will reach $100,000-$140,000 per year, and the differences between the methodologies will become even more apparent. PMs working in a hybrid way (combining Agile with traditional elements) often achieve the highest salaries.

Stage 4: You Are a Legend (10+ years)

If you have survived as an IT Project Manager for more than 10 years and still find satisfaction in running projects, you are like a legendary coach leading several teams simultaneously. Almost nothing can surprise you anymore, and even if it does, you will make a contingency plan faster than anyone knows that there is a new risk in the project.

The key at this stage of development is an entirely different view of project management. You no longer manage the project by reacting to what is happening in the project environment, but you think strategically. You are like a chess player who sees three moves more than his opponent. You create the design reality by bending the design environment so that it is conducive to the project’s development.

You are no longer running one project at a time, even if it is large and complex. You run several projects at the same time, and it does not require much effort from you.

At this stage, you often pass on your knowledge to beginner IT Project Managers, and this gives you the most satisfaction.

At this level of your career, you are judged not only for your current projects but for your long-term impact on the organization – a bit like a coach whose value is measured by the medals you win and the champions you train.

Salaries often exceed $130,000 and can go as high as $170,000 per year, mainly if you specialize in program management or a portfolio of projects.

Management methodologies and remuneration.

In the previous paragraphs, I mentioned that the amount of remuneration depends on the project management methodology in which you specialize. The principles of the Agile method will be used in most IT projects in 2025, but a new approach is gaining popularity. It combines the advantages of the Agile approach with the waterfall approach. This is not the only trend in project management, so you should keep your finger on the pulse of the project.

The choice of methodology is not one that will determine your entire career path once and for all, but rather something you should keep in mind and be vigilant about, given the emerging changes and current trends in the project management market.

Agile/Scrum – a sprint with obstacles with greater rewards

PMs specializing in Agile and Scrum earn about 10-20% more than their traditional (waterfall) methodologies counterparts. This is reminiscent of the psychological phenomenon of “quick gratification” – shorter work cycles bring faster results, and these are more valued on the market.

An Agile Master with a CSP-SM certificate can count on a 5-8% bonus on top of their basic salary, just like an athlete with an additional Olympic medal on their account.

Waterfall – a marathon with a fixed route

A traditional Project Manager working in the waterfall methodology, although he earns slightly less, can often count on greater stability of employment. The difference is due to, among other things, the fact that in the waterfall, the effects of work are usually visible only at the end of the project, so it is not very important to assess the impact of the Project Manager’s work or the reasonableness of the project itself before he delivers the assumed product.

PMP certification for traditional PMs remains the gold standard and can increase salaries by 8-12%.

Hybrid approaches – all-around with the highest prizes

The most sought-after PMs in 2025 are those who can seamlessly switch between different methodologies. They are like athletes practicing the all-around event. According to global data, specialists in the hybrid approach can count on bonuses of 12-15% compared to PMs specializing only in agile or waterfall methodologies.

It should also be emphasized that for an experienced IT Project Manager, mixing methodologies to achieve a specific goal at a particular time will not be a big challenge. Few IT projects are implemented using strictly one methodology. It is often a mix of methods that works well in a given organization.

How to train to increase market value – PM’s training plan

Certificates like Olympic medals

Global data shows that the right certifications can increase your salary by 5-20%, depending on the stage of your career:

• Beginner: CAPM (like first junior medal) – potential growth of approx. 5%
• Intermediate: PMP or PSM I (like a medal at the national championships) 0 – potential growth of approx. 10-12%
• Experienced: PgMP or CSP-SM (like an Olympic medal) – potential growth of approx. 15%
• Expert: Portfolio Management or multiple certifications (like being a multiple Olympic medalist) – potential growth of up to 20%

Development of leadership skills as mental training

The further in the PM’s career, the more critical leadership skills are – just like in sports, where a mature champion wins not only physically but mainly with experience and head.

At every stage of your career, it is worth investing in:

• Industry knowledge (the equivalent of knowing all the nuances of your discipline). Yes, as a Project Manager, you should specialize in some area. On the one hand, it is narrowing down potential opportunities in the labor market, but on the other hand, the more experience in a specialization, the higher the earnings and the greater the chance of getting a job in this specialization;
• Negotiation skills (like tactics in sports). If I had to name one soft skill necessary for every PM to master, it would be the ability to negotiate. If you want your projects to crash into the rocks of different expectations or negotiation paralysis, you must learn how to negotiate at a mastery level.
• Stress management (like the ability to maintain concentration at decisive moments). One of the hidden costs is a high-stress level at work as an IT Project Manager. Therefore, if you want to reach the master level, you need to master the principles of stress management so that you can use it as an ally when the project gets hot but not burned in its flames. You can read more about hidden costs in the project in the article: The Hidden Costs of Change in the Project Team: How to Minimize Losses and Strengthen Efficiency

Conclusion: A career as an MP is like the Olympics – get ready for a long obstacle course

Career development as an IT project manager resembles preparation for sports competitions at the highest level. It requires consistency, strategy, and a willingness to improve continuously. Salaries increase with experience, but the key to accelerating this growth is consciously building your skills and adapting them to your career stage.

Remember that, as in any sport, not everyone has to become an Olympian. It is important to find a level of advancement at which you feel comfortable and fulfilled. Some PMs prefer long-term involvement in smaller projects and a more stable environment, while others prefer the dynamics of large, complex international projects.

Regardless of the path you choose, the most important thing is to remember balance. Just as a good athlete needs both training and regeneration, a good PM must balance professional and personal development.