[Icemaster]

Souk's right.

To answer your question directly, MSProject is going to be needed, you can pick that training up anywhere. I believe I have some stuff that I used to teach still floating around that I'd be willing to share with you - PM me.

I got my PM cert in 04, it resulted in a lot more job opportunities at the senior level and about 35% higher pay over someone who doesnt have one. It's good for getting you in the door, however I've had PMP's that worked for me who couldn't manage to put the toilet seat down to keep their asses from getting wet - once you get the cert, you still need to be able to perform at a high level, the cert wont guarantee you that. What it does is give you the background and understanding of the basic tools. PMI's got a lot of info on their site.

One key thing to remember though is that being an effective PM is about 15% science, 35% communication skills, and 50% relationship. Putting a pretty project plan together in Primavera or Project wont do you crap if you don't know how to manage the people and learn to see around corners.

When I hire PM's, those are the keys I'm looking for. How well can you communicate; how well can you lead, facilitate and build consensus, and handle conflict; how well do you know the fundamentals of PM.

If you want to stay in IT (best paying...) make sure that you understand the different approaches to PM (RUPP, SCRUM, Waterfall etc), as well as the two basic areas that you would be involved in (infrastructure or software development). You sound like you'd be comfortable starting out in the infrastructure area, I'd focus there.

When I found people that also have a fundamental knowledge of IT as well, such as understanding the difference between an LPAR and VMWare instance or an OC3 and a T1, that's a healthy value-add that they bring to the table. I always approached my job such that I was the BS detector. I didn't need to be the subject matter expert, but I did need to know when someone was talking crap.

It takes a strong personality and a lot of finesse, and a lot of discipline.

One of the most important things to learn ties in with Seahawks points - above all else, learn how to mange expectations. Second most important, document document document - archive every email. You'll thank me later.

I've been doing this for a while and I'd be glad to talk with you in person if you want. PM me and we can set something up.