What’s the difference between a project manager and program manager ? What experience would I need to get into program management if I have a foundation as a project manager ? You can google this but I feel like there’s a fine line in the descriptions/explanations I’ve read
I just received a job offer that is a massive step up in title and salary, but the online reviews for the team’s culture are absolutely terrifying. Half the Glassdoor reviews mention high turnover and a toxic leadership style, while the interviewers themselves seemed incredibly stressed out during our calls. The extra $30k a year would change my financial life. Would you take a risk on a known toxic environment?
My team just spent a ton of time interviewing for a software engineering position and right before we put an offer out the headcount got axed. Super frustrating and feels like a complete waste of time that we all dedicated to the process. Anyone else deal with something like this? Honestly I'm pretty annoyed and wish they just never opened the position up from the start
It feels almost impossible to get into tech nowadays. No companies want to hire new grads since they all have AI that can basically operate at the same level. Its super super discouraging as someone who just graduated with only 1 internship experience, I feel like I wasted my time getting this degree. Does anyone have any advice?
My company strongly encourages us to use copilot for coding. I have two “vibe coders” in my team. Sometimes they do funny things (like writing a separate java class with getters for two constants, complete with a test class - all AI generated and absolute BS), but most days, it’s taking a toll on the rest of us. The most annoying part is that the management praises the “creative duo” while we struggle, trying to put out their fires and keep the code quality decent.
A Project Manager looks after one to 5 projects (maybe more depending on complexity) while a Program Manager overseas the Project Managers and ensures all projects are contributing towards the wider goals of the organisation and/or business objectives, the Program Manager would normally manage and mentor the Project Managers.
Skills to focus on: Leadership, strategic thinking and Operations
I feel like many companies get this wrong and just call a role program manager when it should be project manager or operations manager.
A Project manager is more focused on the details of the project. He/she is responsible for overseeing the project and the team. A Program manager oversees the operation of multiple projects.
Think of it in a hierarchical way … Project —> Program —> Portfolio. Typically, as a project manager, I am responsible for the deliverables of a specific project. Delivering a computer mouse, keyboard or desktop. As a program manager, I would be responsible for the delivery of the whole computer which would lead me to interface and support the different projects. I would also think on a larger scale regarding the dependencies between the two, three or more teams. As a portfolio manager, I would be tasked with the delivery of the computer, printers and monitors which would have programs and projects attached to each part of their delivery. A very basic example but hopefully understandable. I have worked as a Project as well as Program Manager in large matrix organizations.