Go Where the Action Is

GO WHERE THE ACTION IS! Maybe you are like me and have a fascination with project management. Maybe Nicholas Wojnowski, facilitating meetings excites you, or maybe you are just PMP, CSM, MCTS, MCP really good at managing IT Security Specialist things. Either way, you have U.S. Federal Government decided that project management was the right career path for you!

So now what? (Yes, that dreaded question that you have been hearing from your parents since you have moved that tassel to the left.) You have earned your Bachelor’s Degree and maybe you took it a step further and decided to become a Project Management Professional (PMP). Now you are ready to reap the benefits of your hard work. But the real question is, which industry do you want to work in?

“The outlook for project managers is better than it’s looked in years.”

After a quick search on one of the top job search engines, one can quickly notice that the options seem endless. But why? Does every project manager across the country have these endless options? Actually, yes! Demand for project managers is growing faster than demand for workers in other occupants. According to Project Management Institute’s (PMI) Project Management Job Growth and Talent Gap 2017-2027 report, 22 million new project-oriented jobs will be created in the next 10 years (PMI, 2017). So the outlook for project managers is better than it has looked in years. But what are the top industries that are growing and boosting with job opportunities? According to an article written by bestcollegereviews.org, these are the top five industries hiring project management professionals: Healthcare; Finance; Information Technology; Construction; and Energy (Five Top Industries Hiring Project Management Professionals, 2019). Lucky for me these industries are right in my backyard of Baltimore, Maryland, a city and state that flourishes with top companies in these industries and is home to twelve Fortune 1000 companies. Baltimore and Maryland also thrives because of its close proximity to Washington, D.C. home of politics and policy making, and the job opportunities that come with that. In this article we’ll take a deeper look at some of the top PM industries such Healthcare, Finance, and Information Technology in and around Baltimore, Maryland and why it should be your top landing place to jump start your career (Search Fortune 500, 2019).

Healthcare

Some of the world’s most respected medical institutions are found in Maryland. Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the University of Maryland School of Medicine, are leaders in healthcare paving the way for a healthier future. These leaders along with other healthcare shareholders are undergoing radical transformations with technology, building new hospitals, and providing outreach service in hard-to-reach communities. Project managers will find plenty of opportunities in this industry especially since there’s a necessity to move from paper-based records to digitizing patient medical data and the need to secure Protect Health Information (PHI) data (Baltimore Key Industries, 2013).

Finance

Financial project managers do not need to go any further than the Greater Baltimore region as it continues to maintain a lofty position within the financial services industry. Project managers are an integral part of the way financial services and businesses operate striving to find smarter ways of working and implementing technical changes while organizing and managing resources and costs (Baltimore Key Industries, 2013).

Information Technology and Cybersecurity

The Baltimore-Washington corridor is the strongest IT market in the U.S., ranking higher in IT employment concentration than areas such as the Silicon Valley and Boston. With the industry continuing to grow and being the forefront of hiring project management professionals, project managers have an endless range of work to lead development and infrastructure projects (Baltimore Key Industries, 2013). The cybersecurity industry is rapidly growing and project managers are needed to help support cybersecurity projects to ensure that they stay on budget and schedule. Maryland is home to important agencies and local offices of leading national cyber security companies located in Anne Arundel, Howard and Baltimore counties, including the National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Booz Allen Hamilton and Raytheon. As if those top industry picks are not enough for a project manager to land a dream job in Maryland, just a short drive from our nation’s capital, Baltimore is home to more than a dozen federal agencies. Such agencies include U.S. Cyber Command, National Security Agency, Social Security Administration, and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services as well as a high concentration of government contracting firms. The U.S. government has recently incentivized the need for project managers and PMPs, as former President Barack Obama signed in the “Program Management Improvement and Accountability Act” (PMIAA). This PMIAA creates an increased awareness and the need for certified experienced PM professionals (Baltimore Key Industries, 2013). In conclusion, whether you have a strong interest in a particular industry or still testing the waters, why not go where the action is? Baltimore! Whether you know this or not, one of the main advantages of a project management career is the flexibility to work in almost any company or industry you prefer. The elements of project management are standardized in such a way that switching from one industry to the other is seamless.

“You decided to become a Project Management Professional (PMP). Now you are ready to reap the benefits of your hard work. But the real question is, which industry do you want to work in?”

References:

Project Management Institute. (2017). Project ManagementJob Growth and Talent Gap. Project Management- Job Growth and Talent Gap. Retrieved from: https://www.pmi.org/-/ media/pmi/documents/public/pdf/learning/job-growth-report. pdf?v=c304efd3-8c2a-48dc-9489-a945a8a07614&sc_lang_ temp=en

Five Top Industries Hiring Project Management Professionals. (2019). Retrieved November 1, 2019, from: https://www.bestcollegereviews.org/lists/five-top-industries-hiring-project-management-professionals/

Search Fortune 500. (2019). Retrieved November 1, 2019, from https://fortune.com/fortune500/search/?hqstate=MD

Baltimore’s Key Industries. (2019). Retrieved November 1, 2019, from https://baltimore.org/info/baltimores-key-industries

STUDENT TEAM Biographies

Akinbowale Ayeni, CAPM MSPM c/o 2019

Akinbowale Ayeni graduated from Lagos State University with a Bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry in 2002. He then obtained a Masters of Business Administration with concentration in Financial Management at Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, both in Nigeria. Before his sojourn to the U.S. to pursue his MSPM degree, Wale was a successful banker based in Lagos Nigeria. He left an impactful footprint across the institutions by building his career from Wema Securities and Finance, Fin Bank, First City Monument Bank and Providus Bank. After 13 years of work experience in the financial services sector, Wale decided to pursue a Master of Science degree in Project Management at Morgan State University. He is a professional risk manager and a member of the Beta Gamma Sigma (the international Business Honors Society). He decided to take a career break in December 2017 to strengthen his managerial skills, especially in the field of project management. Wale has implemented various special projects over the course of his career; stemming from the implementation of Basel in the banking industry of his home country, Nigeria. Upon graduation, Wale plans to get his Project Management Professional (PMP) certification, using his financial and risk management experience to provide support for project teams in governments and organizations across the globe.

Emmett Ayomanor MSPM c/o 2019

Emmett Ayomanor is a financial management professional. He has diverse experience in private and government capacities. In 2009, he began his career as a banker and internal auditor at the Ecobank Liberia Ltd in Monrovia, Liberia. He helped reduce fraud and loss to the bank by 50%. He earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting at the African Methodist Episcopal University in 2006. He would go on to earn a Master of Business Administration in Finance at the University of Liberia in 2011. In 2018, he began working as a corporate business partner at Toyota Financial Services. During his time there, he received recognition for his accuracy and quality of his work. He is currently studying project management at Morgan State University and works at the Maryland Transportation Authority in the accounting division. As an Accounting Specialist, he has received recognition for taking the initiative to tackle the most cumbersome reconciliation the division had ever seen. He is also a member of the Project Management Institute (PMI) Baltimore Chapter. After his graduation from Morgan State University, he plans to start a charitable foundation that will raise funds and support initiatives providing safe drinking water in Africa and other third world countries.

Satova Blackwell MSPM c/o 2019

Satova Blackwell is an information technology specialist with DC Government. He has an undergraduate degree in computer engineering from North Carolina A&T State University in 2015 and is currently pursuing a degree in Project Management at Morgan State University. He believes the combined knowledge from his undergraduate and graduate degrees will assist him in understanding the challenges of the “working man” and will also prepare him to manage these individuals. Acquiring a graduate degree in project management has taught him how to manage time, people, and forecast costs. Which are required skills that are imperative within management. He’s currently enrolled at George Washington University to acquire his Certified Project Manager certification in conjunction with a DC government program called the Certified Public Manager Program and has hopes of acquiring his Project Management Professional certification. These certifications and degrees will assist in propelling his career to the next level.

Michael D. Bryant, Jr MSPM c/o 2019

Michael Bryant Jr. is currently enrolled in the Masters of Science in Project Management (MSPM) program at Morgan State University. Born and raised in the Baltimore area. He earned his undergraduate degree in industrial organizational physiology from Johnson C. Smith University in 2008. Michael currently work in banking and finance at MECU credit union and performing a project management internship for the same company. Michael assists within MECU’s Project Management Office (PMO) and is responsible for coordinating project plans, project schedules and relaying the status of projects. He has a passion for learning and developing the effectiveness of organizations and the individuals that work for them. Alongside graduating from MSPM program. Michael strives to gain more experience applying his newly acquired project management skillset to the field of banking and finance.

Lloyd Anthony Davis MSPM c/o 2019

Lloyd Davis attended. graduated and was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant of Armor. US Army from Morgan State University in May of 1981. From

May 1981 until August of 1996 Lloyd served in the United States Army and attained the rank of Captain. Lloyd holds a Graduate Certificate of Project

Management from Western Carolina University, is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP). Scrum Fundamentals Certified (SCF). and a Master Project Manager of the American Academy of Project Management. Lloyd is currently an employee of Booz Allen Hamilton assigned as the Senior Program Scheduler for the Veterans Administration Electronic Health Records Modernization program.

Tajiri Gourdine MSPM c/o 2019

Tajiri Gourdine began her undergraduate studies at Morgan State University in the fall of 1992 and remained through the spring of 1995. Tajiri returned to Morgan in the spring of 2018 to finish what she had started and received her B.S. in Applied Liberal Studies that same semester. In the fall of the same year. Tajiri applied and gained admittance into Morgan’s Graves School of Business and Management where she began the pursuit of her M.S. in Project Management. Currently Tajiri is a retired NYC Correction Officer. a NYC Substitute Teacher and a graduate student slated to complete her project management studies in the fall of 2019. Post-graduation, Tajiri plans to utilize the tools she has acquired through her studies to work towards building and running a nonprofit organization entitled. ‘’Love Doesn’t Hurt”, whose aim is to help survivors of domestic violence.

Esther O. Mesioye MSPM c/o 2019

Esther Mesioye earned her Bachelor of Science degree in banking and finance from Osun State College of Technology, (OSCO TECH) Esa-Oke, Osun state, Nigeria in 2008, She is currently enrolled in the Master of Science in Project Management Program at Morgan State University. Esther has worked as an account officer with companies in Nigeria such as Vego Product Limited. She also worked as a residential counselor with different agencies that care for the people with physical and intellectual disabilities and the National Children Center located in Silver Spring, Maryland. Esther’s area of interest in project management include human resources management, quality management and risk management. After graduation, Esther plans to further her career in a well-established project management firm that will build her skills in project management. She also plans to set up a non-profit organization in Nigeria that will care for the people with special needs.

Tope Oluwadare MSPM c/o 2019

Tope Oluwadare obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in politics and international relations from Lead City University, Nigeria in 2009. He began his career in banking but has spent most of his career in procurement, sales and supply chain management in the Nigerian petroleum sector. He has been at the forefront of driving growth and sales in different oil and gas companies. He is currently enrolled in a Master’s Program in Project Management at Morgan State University where he plans to combine his wealth of experience in sales and supply chain management with his newly acquired project management expertise.

Bilal Rahim MSPM c/o 2019

Bilal Rahim is currently employed with the Social Security Administration as an international Legal Specialist in the Division of International Operations. He graduated from Morgan State University with a B.A. in Philosophy with a concentration in Pre-Law studies in Spring of 2015. He has been working in the public sector for four years, and has achieved outstanding business results within his component. Leadership and project management is not foreign to him, as he has served in leadership capacities in his division at the Social Security Administration and other organizations in Baltimore, as well as the surrounding metropolitan area of Washington D.C. He currently is a Masters of Science in Project Management candidate at the Earl G. Graves School of Business and Management. During his journey here, he has gained practical knowledge on how to manage a project from start to finish and logistics of managing the project life cycle. His passions are urban city and regional planning and health and human services. He plans to gain knowledge on how to manage people, processes and technology as a project manager, all skills being crucial in developing innovative cities and health care practices around the world.

Khari Whitmyer MSPM c/o 2019

Khari Whitmyer currently serves Morgan State University’s Office of Procurement and Property Control as their Business Diversity Manager. He works to provide opportunities for small and minority business vendors by incorporating contractual mandates for minority business participation, reserving contracts to be bid on exclusively by Maryland certified small businesses, and actively engaging business owners interested in working with the university. In 2015, Khari received his Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology from Morgan State University, taught English 13 to Chinese students for a year, and then returned to his Alma Mater in 2016 to begin the pursuit of his Masters of Science in Project Management. Post his fall 2019 graduation, Khari is currently flirting with the idea of embarking on yet another adventure abroad, but this time in the realm of arts administration.