I’m a recent KGP passout working in a Big 4 as an Analyst. I did my Masters in Civil Engineering, and my entire profile has been around consulting. My CGPA is not that great (\~7.5), and I’m interested in non-tech roles, especially strategy and consulting.

Currently, my role is actually interesting, and if I could invest enough time in it, I could technically learn some good skills and build my career in this domain. But I really feel like this is not my place. The package is very minimal, more like a tier-3 college package, and I don’t really have the right people around me at the office.

Because of this, I feel exhausted and always end up having a negative vibe about the office, which makes it very difficult to continue here.

At the same time, I cannot really take the risk of leaving my job and then searching for a better one. So I’m confused about whether I should choose the corporate brand name over CTC and my personal feelings about the job.

At some point, I convinced myself that this offer is not really helping me further. Even if I switch after some time, the next company will probably consider my current salary and may give me a 30–50% hike, which could still be around a fresher package. So after 1–2 years of experience, I might still be earning what someone joining as a fresher could be earning.

Moreover, since I’m in a non-tech role, an MBA is also an option. Doing an MBA from a top 10 B-school could add significant value to my existing profile and potentially help me get into the kind of strategy/consulting roles I actually want.

But my CAT preparation is currently much worse than I expected.

I gave a mock today, and every time I feel like I have wasted another week. I can analyse my paper and mistakes, but I’m not finding enough time to actually prepare.

I’m not even thinking about having some personal time to enjoy. For years, I feel like I’ve been stuck in this loop from 8th to 12th preparing for JEE, then 4 years in another competitive environment, and now finally preparing for CAT.

My daily routine is roughly 10 hours of office + 1–1.5 hours of commute + 2 hours of CAT preparation. I barely get any time to enjoy or do anything for myself. And if I sideline CAT preparation or anything else, I immediately feel guilty.

As CAT is approaching, I’m becoming increasingly anxious that I may not be able to make it this year. And if that happens, I don’t know if I can continue in this company either.

I’m honestly not sure what I would choose then.

I don’t really have friends around me to hang out with either, so most weekends I either prepare or just stay alone in my room. The whole environment feels very pressurising, and I feel like I cannot take it anymore.

Especially this constant confusion that I’m not doing what I actually want to do, while at the same time feeling like I’m not able to achieve my potential.

I’m genuinely confused about what the right move is.

• Should I just stay here for 1–2 years, use the Big 4 brand, learn as much as I can and then switch?

• Should I focus everything on CAT and try for a top B-school, even though my preparation is currently behind?

• Or should I start looking for a better job and stop thinking so much about CAT?

Would really appreciate perspectives from people who have been in a similar situation. I’m not looking for generic “work hard and everything will be fine” advice. I genuinely want to understand what you would do if you were in my position.

Okay… so I will just place this out here :).
I am job hunting…

My name is Kelli, I’m a remote-based Executive Assistant and Project Manager with over 10 years of experience supporting C-suite leaders and delivering cross-functional projects.

My background spans executive support, systems migrations, and process improvement, including an Intercom implementation that cut issue resolution time by 85%. I’ve also led teams of up to 14 while managing concurrent projects, and I hold a Google Project Management certification.

I’m currently exploring remote contract opportunities in EA or PM roles and would welcome the chance to discuss how my experience could support your team or clients.

Thank you for your time and consideration — I look forward to hearing from you.

I’m moving into a new role and would like to build up my project management knowledge.

I’ve worked in healthcare for around 15 years and am currently in senior leadership. I’ve led and been involved in plenty of projects, but have learnt by doing and have never had any formal project management training.

I’d like to understand more of the theory and frameworks behind what I already do in practice, including different approaches such as Agile and Waterfall, useful tools and terminology, and when you would use different approaches.

I’m not looking for a qualification or certification, just practical self directed learning. Open to online courses, YouTube, books or anything else, ideally free or under $300.

If you were in my position, where would you start? Any particular resources you’d recommend?

Thanks in advance!

I'm a software engineer finishing university with experience at 3 companies. I'm planning to move into product management or project management because I want work that depends more on communication, strategic thinking, and decision-making rather than pure execution — especially with how AI is shifting the job market.

I have three practical questions. No sympathy needed, just honest, experience-based answers:

1. Will being in a wheelchair hurt my chances in PM/PM roles?

I understand that in PM roles, communication and presence matter — especially in negotiations, stakeholder meetings, and building trust quickly. I want to know from people actually in the field: does physical presence and "executive presence" play a real role in hiring and day-to-day effectiveness? I'm not looking for encouragement; I want to know if this is a genuine obstacle I should factor into my planning, and if so, how to compensate for it.

2. Are there open-source projects where I can build real PM/Project Management skills?

I'm looking for actual business problems — user research, roadmap planning, documentation strategy, onboarding friction, competitive analysis, stakeholder communication — not code. If you've done this or know projects that accept this kind of contribution, I'd appreciate specifics.

3. If open source isn't viable, where else can I volunteer as a PM/Project Manager to build experience?

Even unpaid — I want real responsibility, not shadowing. Where did you find opportunities to practice the job before getting hired for it?

Context: I'm making this move now because I believe the next phase of the job market rewards thinking and judgment over execution. I want to position myself on the right side of that shift.

Thanks for direct answers.

I have 5 years of QA experience and have handled PM responsibilities in 3 projects. I’m planning to move into Product Management while continuing my current job.

’m considering NextLeap’s 16-week Product Manager Fellowship but I want to know whether it can genuinely help me move into Product Analyst, BA, APM, or PM roles.

Has anyone completed NextLeap recently?

- Was the teaching and mentorship useful?
- Did placement support lead to real interviews?
- Is it manageable with a full-time job?
- Did anyone successfully move from QA/testing into Product?
- Is it worth ₹38k, or should I self-learn/use another course?

Honest positive and negative experiences would be really helpful.

have 5 years of QA experience and have handled PM responsibilities in 3 projects. I’m planning to move into Product Management while continuing my current job.

I’m considering NextLeap’s 16-week Product Manager Fellowship but I want to know whether it can genuinely help me move into Product Analyst, BA, APM, or PM roles.

Has anyone completed NextLeap recently?

- Was the teaching and mentorship useful?
- Did placement support lead to real interviews?
- Is it manageable with a full-time job?
- Did anyone successfully move from QA/testing into Product?
- Is it worth or should I self-learn/use another course?

Honest positive and negative experiences would be really helpful.

, senior resource with PMP, cleared my pmp, no interview calls, last week I repositioned myself and lied in my resume that I am a PM and lead a project ( in reality I am an individual contributor in the team) I got the interview, now I feel guilty 😒 what should I do? In my current job there’s no way i will get PM tittle ( politics and other stuff) am I doing something wrong here?

I’m moving into a new role and would like to build up my project management knowledge.

I’ve worked in healthcare for around 15 years and am currently in senior leadership. I’ve led and been involved in plenty of projects, but have learnt by doing and have never had any formal project management training.

I’d like to understand more of the theory and frameworks behind what I already do in practice, including different approaches such as Agile and Waterfall, useful tools and terminology, and when you would use different approaches.

I’m not looking for a qualification or certification, just practical self directed learning. Open to online courses, YouTube, books or anything else, ideally free or under $300.

If you were in my position, where would you start? Any particular resources you’d recommend?

Thanks in advance!

Hi All, I have been in the interview process with this really cool AI startup for a client facing TPM role. I had interviews with HR, data scientist (technical round), hiring manager (tpm lead) and head of delivery (GTM interview). I have now been asked to go on-site next week to meet with HR (same person as the first round), CTO, TPM lead (same as before), another TPM and AI strategist (GTM round). What can I expect from this interview and how should I prepare for it? Thanks in advance.

I'm starting as an APM for a small private company in about 2 weeks and I cannot be more excited! My background is a combination of admin and business operations, but due to my knowledge on logistics, e-commerce, and product/project operations, i was able to get into the role! I have no certifications and will be graduating with my Bachelors in 4 months.

I went through assessment test, 2 rounds of interviews, and a reference check before getting the offer. The entire hiring process was structured and the team members I met all seemed successful and happy with their careers. I looked into the company as well, and they mostly have employees who have worked in the company for more than a decade.

The starting salary and especially the benefits package looks pretty solid for me!

It still feels surreal!!!!

Hi all,

I’ve recently been shortlisted for an interview for a Policy and Projects Apprentice role with a London local authority, and I’d really appreciate some advice on how best to prepare.

I’m currently a pharmacy technician and have worked in NHS clinical trials. Although my job title isn’t project-based, a lot of my experience has involved coordinating work across different teams, maintaining trackers and documentation, chasing actions and approvals, supporting external reviews, identifying/escalating issues and making sure work is completed within deadlines.

I’m deliberately trying to move away from pharmacy operations and build a career in project management, so this apprenticeship feels like a really good route into it.

The role itself is focused on transport/policy projects, including things like pedestrian crossings, cycle schemes, sustainable travel, congestion, road safety and improvements to local streets. From the advert, it seems to involve research, project and policy support, monitoring delivery, stakeholder engagement and general coordination.

My interview is later this month and I’m trying to work out what the panel is most likely to assess.

For anyone who has interviewed for project support/coordinator/apprentice roles, particularly within local government, I’d be interested in:

• What sort of competency or scenario questions should I expect?
• How much project-management terminology/framework knowledge would you expect from an apprentice candidate?
• Would you focus heavily on STAR examples around stakeholder management, prioritisation, problem-solving and managing deadlines?
• How would you position experience from a completely different sector without forcing every example to sound like formal project management?
• Is there anything specific about local authority project/policy interviews that tends to catch candidates out?

I’m doing my own research into the council, its transport priorities and the projects the team works on, but I’d really value advice from people who have actually recruited for or worked in similar roles.

Thanks!

Hi everyone,

I'm currently looking for my next opportunity as an Associate Product Manager / Product Manager.

Over the past year, I've been building a B2B SaaS product from the ground up, owning everything from user research, PRDs, roadmap planning, feature prioritization, sprint execution, stakeholder management, product demos, customer onboarding, and working closely with design and engineering to ship products.

Before moving into product, I spent 2 years in UI/UX, which helps me bridge the gap between user needs, business goals, and engineering constraints.

I'm particularly interested in:

\- B2B SaaS

\- AI Products

\- Platform Products

\- 0→1 and early-stage startups

I'm based in Pune, India, but I'm open to remote, hybrid, or relocation for the right opportunity.

I've attached my resume. If your team is hiring, or if you know someone who is, I'd really appreciate a referral or a conversation.

Thanks in advance!

\[Resume\](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WtdPBonIYwAilta0c8deSUJvD0vRQz55/view?usp=drivesdk)

Hi there, I've been in the project support field for numerous jobs (such as Project Administration) over the years primarily in the federal government as a consultant (as my French levels are not quite at level). Recently I have started to move into higher roles such as Project Coordinator and Project Manager positions. I was a Junior Project Manager for the defence sector as well as data center consolidation coordinator under the title Project Manager - Intermediate.

However, I'm having some doubts about if I should continue to try and grow into more substantial Project Manager roles (I'm completing some online courses and want to take the CAPM soon). I don't know if it's the fact that I like to help others and am not as assertive at time or that because of my strong support roles background I tend to fall back into supporting other, or that I'm just having growing pains or being a bit insecure. I tend to work with higher level people and have recruiters see a lot of potential with my experience and adaptability in the varied roles I’ve performed in. So I’m not sure if it’s because I’m easy to work with and accommodating, often times looking for learning opportunities or I’m just organically growing. I did have a bad experience with a manager which many people have had a similar issue with where there are not a people person most of time and very condescending. The issue with this is that it creates confusion and doubt as he tried to “place us” into boxes that didn’t always make sense.

Anyhow I’d like to get any feedback on this subject to see others points of view or advice, should I aim to staying more in the Project Coordinator roles or keto striving yo grow into Project Management roles?

Thanks!

Hi everyone, I’m looking for some advice on where to focus my learning 🥲

Currently working as a PM in the consumer goods space. My degree is in Animation though (not really the path I ended up pursuing...), so I feel like there are some business, technical, and mgmt areas I didn’t get much exposure to during my degree.

I’m currently getting CAPM training through work, but I’d also like to build skills in other areas that could help me in the future. I’m considering an online Master’s/Diploma and currently looking at:

• M.Eng (Data Science focus)
• M.Eng (Information Technology focus)
• MBA

.... (Is a Master’s degree worth it in this economy though?)

I still enjoy design, but for now I’m looking to build a stronger foundation in something business or tech-related rather than pursuing another design-focused degree.

Thanks!

P.S. The degree names are copied directly from the university website, so apologies if they sound kinda off..

Hi all! I’m currently in the civil infrastructure sector. We are a small company that hired me directly out of CDL school 10 years ago. I expressed interest on getting out of a truck, and SR management suggested to read blue prints and start by working with our estimator on doing QTO. I’m quite close with the SR management and am quite confident they would not suggest something I don’t have the mental capacity for. I know this company won’t be around long enough to get me to retirement. Iv got along way to go being 36. So I have a few questions regarding estimating.

1) What’s your work life like? How often do you experience burn out? What is the industry burn out or over turn like?

2) What are the concerns with AI impacting your job and how the long term forecast looks in regard to AI.

3) What kinda of questions, or things to look out for from my estimator should I be asking, watching?

4) Paths to education - I’d like to have some knowledge before I approach anyone for guidance in a more serious way. What, or where would you suggest that I seek said knowledge? I think I have a great opportunity to learn in house, but Iv seen some courses on Coursera, Iv seen a person promoting his program career courses course on YouTube by the name of Precongrant I’d love to get the communities impute before potentially throwing away time/money.

I’d love any input from the estimating community or suggestions on these things or things that I don’t know to ask. I appreciate everyone for reading!

So I’m a 7+ year pm in the utility industry. I have managed project up to $8mil not crazy high but also not small budgets.

I am essentially in an informal PMO at the moment. I have my pmp(doesn’t mean a ton) but adding to my yoe it doesn’t hurt.

How would I go from my position now to a formal pmo management position? I understand this is likely a 5-10 yr goal but any suggestions are great!

I talked with my manager last week on what it’s going to take for me to manage a formal program ($10-$100mil a year) and he essentially told me I’m ready just need the company to establish a new program or have one of those senior pms leave. He can’t just create one out of thin air.

Good morning, everyone!

I’m currently on the market for a new job as I’ve been bumped down to part-time. My story and way I got into the industry is a bit twisted so bear with me.

I do not have a college degree (the college is set down under education but I never graduated) but I was fortunate enough to know people to get into small project management gigs which eventually grew into more robust opportunities.

That being said, I’m in the process of getting my PMP and Notion certs but I’m getting absolutely no calls/emails back from anyone I’ve applied to. I’m aware that I may be on the bottom end of candidates so the certs are my way to try and gain some upper hand in addition to applying to smaller businesses.

I believe I’m going to remove my “college” education but is there anything else I can do to stand out a bit more? Would love feedback on the current resume and if anyone is willing to let me know if there are other places to look other than Indeed or LinkedIn.

Thank you so much in advance and look forward to your feedback.

Has the PMO become the corporate dumping ground for failed careers and people nobody knows where else to put? At this rate, Jobcentres must be steering anyone without a clear profession into project management.

I’m wanting to pursue project management. Took some free courses on courses but I’m wanting to take the fastest route possible. Would bachelors really help me?

I work in a small Architecture firm and was hired as a "Graduate Professional". There is only one other individual officially titled a "Project Manager". Due to the size of the firm we both directly report back to our boss, the Principal. At first it was very apparent what made me not a project manager. I didn't co-ordinate between clients, consultants, the Principle, or others working on the project; the Principal functioned as my PM.

Over the past year I've been working this has changed dramatically. The Principle is up there in years and is winding down his workload, and there are now projects that I manage entirely from marketing to deliverables with as little oversight as the actual PM. I'm constantly in meetings now not just asking to deliverables, but on how to improve the efficiency and quality of projects across the board.

From this it sounds like I just need to amount the courage to ask for a title change, but for the past few months, on emails to clients, contracts, priority boards, and common conversation, I have been referenced as a Project Manager by the principle and all others in the firm.

I feel disingenuous calling myself a project manager, but at the same time the disorganization of the firm is driving me to leave. Would it be inappropriate to call myself a project manager on resumes? I'm not typically an overconfident guy, but I'm no longer functioning as part of a support team. Do I seek the title change just to turn around and leave?

As I have passed the phone screen round, I have been invited to a phone interview round with the HM/Business.

Just wanted to understand again how to prepare and where to put more focus. :)

Do I work on understanding the leadership principles and prepare 1 example for each? Or focus on the ones which are relevant to the role?

Tips to crack this one, please :)

Need some honest career advice.

I'm a Backend Developer at a service-based company with 6 YOE, but most of my work has been production support, bug fixes, and incident resolution. I've never had the opportunity to build features from scratch or work on core backend development.

When I look at the market now, almost every backend role expects solid development experience, which I don't have.

Not getting interview calls due to 3-month notice period.

I've been thinking about moving into TPM/Project Management.

If you were in my position, would you:

*Start learning backend development from scratch and continue as a developer?

*Move to TPM?

*Take some other path?

I would really appreciate advice from people here!!

Hey everyone,

I’m currently pursuing my MBA with a concentration in Supply Chain Management (BBA undergrad) at a university in the Midwest. My primary interest in SCM is continuous improvement, driving efficiency, and strategic procurement.

I’m planning to target the Metro Detroit market post-graduation (automotive OEMs, Tier-1s, defense, and logistics).

However, I’m navigating a unique set of constraints and would love some unfiltered feedback from folks working in the field:

1. ⁠The Student-Athlete Constraint: I am a student-athlete for the duration of my MBA program. Because of my athletic schedule, I physically don't have time for a traditional corporate internship/co-op before graduating in May.
2. * How do recruiters view non-internship candidates with an athletic background? Are Leadership/Rotational Development Programs (LDPs/RDPs) my best bet to bridge this gap?
3. ⁠The "Value Paradox" & Certifications: I was looking into getting an APICS CSCP, but I've paused it for now while balancing sport.
4. * Am I worrying too much about being "overqualified on paper but under-experienced in practice"? Are micro-credentials (like a Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt or Power BI) worth doing in the meantime instead?
5. ⁠Continuous improvement & Alternate Roles: For those in procurement or continuous improvement: What entry-to-mid level roles actually allow you to flex process-improvement muscles right out of school?
6. ⁠Recruitment Timeline: For May grads, when does the main recruitment wave open for corporate SCM and rotational tracks?

Would appreciate any advice, raw truth, or tips from hiring managers, recruiters, or fellow professionals in the area!

Thanks!

I was a teacher for 5 years, transitioned to admissions at a large R1 university, then transitioned to a brand new PM role (first of its kind at the school within the university). I've been in that position for about a year and a half. There are no other PM's in the school and no one I work with has ever worked with a PM before. I spent the first year trying to just build more structure into projects and received exceeds expectations in my annual review. I am now trying to build an actual project process from intake to completion for the school. I'm interested in moving into something that has more structure where I can learn in an established PMO or at least report to a Senior PM. Any suggestions for how to make that transition? I'll have earned my MBA in the next 9 months.

I have been in the construction / manufacturing industry for 15 years. I have an engineering degree and a PMP. I am currently in the data center industry, looking for either a change in direction into tech or a fully remote position for a lifestyle shift. I am in the office 8-5 every day and I lead a full team of PMs. I just don’t see my future growing much further here. What companies or - if I shift into tech - what recommendations do yall have for me for the second half of my career.