What Is The Salary Of A Project Manager?

Are you wondering how much the salary of a Project Manager is? If you have a PMP® certificate, is there a difference in salary compared to someone without? Before you decide to get a PMP® certification, these questions must have crossed your mind. This article will help you answer them based on Earning Power: Project Management Salary Survey—Eleventh Edition.

What is “Earning Power: Project Management Salary Survey”?

PMI's biennial report, Earning Power: Project Management Salary Survey—Eleventh Edition, is the leading source of industry data for both project implementers and organizations. The organization wants to update the salary situation for today's project specialist.

The most recent edition contains detailed insights from 32,000 respondents in 42 countries, with wage statistics presented in native currency in each country's reports. This edition includes wage data from five previously unknown countries: Indonesia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Portugal, and the Russian Federation. And this critical information may assist recruiters, human resource experts, and compensation specialists in establishing fair and balanced pay for project management jobs inside their businesses.

Overall Findings

Almost three-quarters of survey respondents (72%) indicate that their total remuneration (including salary, bonuses, and other types of compensation) grew in the 12 months before the salary survey. Approximately one-quarter (28%) reported increases of at least 5% over that time period.

Those with the globally-recognized Project Management Professional (PMP)® certification from PMI® report considerable earnings gains in the majority of the nations studied. Those with the PMP® certification earn a higher median salary (22% more on average across the 42 nations examined) than those without a PMP® certification.

Median salary varied significantly depending on a number of key demographic factors, particularly the following:

Country of employment
Number of years of experience in project management
PMP® Certification Status
Position/role
The average size of projects managed, including average project budget and average project team size

Salary by classification of each factor will be presented below:

1. Country of Employment

As demonstrated in the table below, the median income (when translated to US dollars using standard exchange rates) differs greatly across project professionals from nation to country.

Switzerland (US$132,086), the United States (US$116,000), and Australia (US$101,381) have the highest median incomes for project professionals, while Pakistan (US$14,914) and Egypt (US$13,933) have the lowest median salaries.

2. Number of Years of Experience in Project Management

The median pay for project managers is expected to rise in tandem with their duration in project management.

3. PMP® Certification Status

The PMP® credential is held by the vast majority of survey respondents (82%). Most nations covered in this study indicate higher median wages for PMP® certification holders; however, this varies greatly by country. Those with the PMP® certification have the highest income gains in the Philippines and Indonesia, where PMP® holders report a median compensation that is more than 80% more than those without the certification. The duration of your PMP® certification is also important. The median pay of survey respondents in most countries rises gradually with the amount of time one holds a PMP® certification.

4. Position

Salary increases are associated with increased responsibility in almost all of the nations included in this study. Once again, the pace of increase differs greatly amongst countries. The most dramatic increase is seen in the Philippines, where the median salary increases from US$17,247 for a project manager I to US$24,524 for a project manager II, and US$36,167 for a project manager III.

5. Project Size

Those managing larger projects in terms of the average number of team members and average project budget also reported higher median salaries in most countries included in this study. Again, pay disparities between those managing larger projects and those managing smaller projects to vary substantially by country.

In short, the salary of a Project Manager depends on the 5 factors outlined in the article. Of course, if you have a PMP® certificate, your salary will be higher than those without.

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