I’m sure that it’s not it’s not all of them but project manager seems like a pretty ******** job.
BS jobs
- Thread starter RezClone
- Start date
Since I used my bachelor of science degree from ISU to get a job as a project manager I guess it was technically a BS job.
I remember hearing about BS jobs while I was in one. (There’s a whole book about this subject.)
I worked for a large construction company (5000+ employees). I was in a part of the company that was small in size but our group made significantly higher margins than the other groups in the company. What that meant was that management basically let us do whatever we wanted because our profits per person were extremely high.
The VP hired me because he liked me but didn’t actually have anything for me to do. Most weeks, I had a one-hour meeting on Monday and then 1-2 hours of actual work the rest of the week. I was paid in the low 6-figures and my job function was pre-construction and business development.
I repeatedly asked for things to work on with no luck. Eventually, I got so frustrated, I told my boss “most days I come in, surf the internet for 8 hours and go home.” He said “well, that’s how it goes here.”
I stayed for a year before I left. I was too early in my career to coast like that. I wasn’t learning or growing as a professional.
I did train for and complete two half marathons though. Easy to do that when you’re taking 2+ hour paid lunch breaks on the daily.
I worked for a large construction company (5000+ employees). I was in a part of the company that was small in size but our group made significantly higher margins than the other groups in the company. What that meant was that management basically let us do whatever we wanted because our profits per person were extremely high.
The VP hired me because he liked me but didn’t actually have anything for me to do. Most weeks, I had a one-hour meeting on Monday and then 1-2 hours of actual work the rest of the week. I was paid in the low 6-figures and my job function was pre-construction and business development.
I repeatedly asked for things to work on with no luck. Eventually, I got so frustrated, I told my boss “most days I come in, surf the internet for 8 hours and go home.” He said “well, that’s how it goes here.”
I stayed for a year before I left. I was too early in my career to coast like that. I wasn’t learning or growing as a professional.
I did train for and complete two half marathons though. Easy to do that when you’re taking 2+ hour paid lunch breaks on the daily.
I've had many PM jobs over the years. In theory, you are correct that if the people that actually did the work were able to do it on time and budget, prioritize their activities effectively, and communicate effectively, then PM would be a BS job. However, in my experience that NEVER happens and someone needs to heard the cats.
As my username indicates, I live in NJ. We are the only state in the country where it is illegal to pump your own gas and it ain't changing anytime soon. Gas station attendants has got to be up there on this list.
I lived in New Jersey for a year, moved out last month. But having these attendants just makes the process longer than it needs to be due to one attendant covering all pumps.
I thought it would be nice in the winter time to have someone pump my gas, but it really wasn't a game changer.
A good PM makes a huge difference. But most in my company are worthless and create problems. When you rely on someone to organize communication, track project notes and meet with business owners it takes a lot of stress off individual contributors.
I know someone that used to have a job at the vet med building cleaning up pens and cleaning up after procedures. Literally shoveling BS. One time the bull decided it didn't want to be in its pen, and they weren't about to tell it no, so a bull was running around the vet med building.
People overestimate the amount of time I (or CPA's) spend on taxes. Tax is only 3 months and 20% of my revenue. Most of my time and effort is bookkeeping and payroll for my clients which is year round and consistent revenue.
Most CPA firms have Audit as their overwhelming source of income.
- Mar 27, 2006
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100% this. The difference between a good PM and a bad one couldn't be more stark. Bad PMs actively make projects worse. Good ones facilitate and keep things together.
At my workplace, we have a Project Management Office that all projects are run through, and you hold your breath, when you submit a project to them, praying you get one of the good ones assigned to you.
Having worked with a number of PMOs across the country… none are mediocre. It’s not really a BS job, because there is always plenty of work to do. The question is whether the PM is doing all the things you say, or whether they are a spreadsheet shuffler/gatekeeper.
If it were Minnesota I am guessing the attendant would love it when I pulled up in the winter at -15 and asked them to put a gallon of petro in the small gas can for my snowblower.
Here's where it gets really silly. If you are filling up a gas can, you must get out and remove the cap, but allow the attendant to squeeze the trigger.
Similarly, motorcycles are exempt from the attendant filling law. Probably a result of disputes over spills on their custom Harley tanks.
Oregon did change recently. New Jersey is the only hold out.
Power at the gas pump: Oregon lets drivers fuel their own cars, lifting decades-old self-serve ban
Oregon has ended a decades-old ban on self-serve gasoline. For the first time in 72 years, motorists across the Pacific Northwest state can grab a nozzle and let the gas flow.
apnews.com
I had an encounter that setup in a similar way, but the lesson was different. The grasshopper was my very young, very energetic, very smart but very inexperienced manager. (but he had his MBA!!! lolol) We were working in two week "sprints" (if you know, you know). There was a lot of pressure on all of us and the manager was riding me particularly hard. Constant pop-ins, checking to see if I was going to reach the deadline, asking how it was coming, was I having any trouble...he was driving me crazy. I was the senior person, I didn't need a coach and he should have known that.
I finished my work 4 days into the two weeks and started on the next batch, but didn't tell the manager. He just kept stopping by, driving me insane with his micromanagement. Every day I told him it was fine. Three days left, he's losing it. I'm acting calm on the outside but on the inside I want to tear him to pieces. Demanding to see the work despite not knowing what it was supposed to look like. Last day, he comes storming in. IS IT DONE YET?!?! WE'VE GOT A DEADLINE?!?
IT'S BEEN DONE FOR A WEEK AND A HALF, GO BACK TO YOUR DESK AND LEAVE ME ALONE
He yelled at me to come to his office, I went. We had it out. I told him if he ever hawked over me like that again, I was done. If I need help, I'll ask for it. If you want to lose a bunch of talented people, keep doing what you're doing.
That was almost 20 years ago, we're still friends today.