jonathan sackner-bernstein ⋅ Dobbs Ferry, NY ⋅ 20 years experience

Another way to think about use of the military decision making is in the context of civilian environment. Many leaders in biotechnology and health care are accustomed to making decisions, but very unfamiliar with project managers and project management lingo. By evaluating the types of decisions these tech/corporate leaders need to make, perhaps translation into that context - skipping traditional project management - provides them with more direct insight into your value.

John Stevens ⋅ Middletown, MD ⋅ 20 years experience

Ashley,

Military officers perform project management functions all the time. However, we call it the Military Decision Making Process. Typically at the senior O3s usually receive fundamental training in the process and heavily used within staffs.

The trick is to translate the Military Decision Making Process terms into terms used by Project Management Institute or other standardized project management bodies.

Hope this helps - John

Gary McKelvey ⋅ U.S. Navy, Petty Officer First Class ⋅ 9 years served

When I separated I used Orion International to help in my search for a good career. Since my separation I have used Orion to hire many veterans. I would suggest contacting them and see how they can help. They are a top notch organization and very helpful in providing information about companies to help you decide what the best position is for you and your next career. If you would like specific contacts or ore information just let me know.

Thank you for your service and good luck on your search!

Heather Gillbanks ⋅ Houston, TX General Electric ⋅ 26 years experience

Project managers generally grow from a speciality (example: I was a programmer/ technician, then a project manager, then a program manager, then a department head). Why the switch from pharma? That would raise questions for me, as a potential hiring manager. Ditto for the MBA --> you have that already, why PM?

But to answer your actual question: The lowest rung in the PM world is typically a Project Coordinator (title varies). Check out the PMI's content -- they have some good material on how to become a PMP, but to get certified you must have a significant number of hours of experience.

Many industries use PMPs (construction, oil & gas, energy, IT, etc.) - so you may be able to parley your pharma education into a PM role there. Once certified, it would be easiER (still not easy) to switch industries.

Hope that helps!