In 2021, there were nearly 800,000 project managers in the United States. Many of them focus on enterprise project management, which involves handling many complex projects at the same time.
If you’re looking to make a big project management career move, enterprise project management may be a natural next step. We put together this guide to help you understand what you can expect in terms of the average enterprise project manager salary.
You'll also learn more about what an enterprise project manager does and what factors go into determining the base salary. Take this information and use it to land the job of your dreams.
Average Enterprise Project Manager Salary
As of 2022, the average salary for an enterprise project manager is $105,876. We calculated this average using salary data from Salary.com, Glassdoor, ZipRecruiter, Payscale, and Talent.com. Many factors affect the national average salary for this job (more on that below), so an enterprise project manager may earn anywhere from $85,000 to $145,000 per year.
Senior Enterprise Project Manager Salaries
An enterprise manager with several years of experience may advance to the role of senior enterprise project manager or senior project manager. If you’re interested in this position, you should know that it pays an average salary of $110,000 per year. The salary range is broad, starting at about $99,000 per year and increasing to $125,000.
Learn more about becoming a senior project manager here.
Remember that these salaries are just averages. Some enterprise project managers make much more, and others make less. When reviewing a job offer, you also have to consider your total compensation package, or the value of your salary and benefits combined. In some cases, it makes sense to accept a lower salary in exchange for a better benefits package. Here’s an example.
One company offers a base salary of $98,000 per year for a Sr. project manager, with fully paid health insurance coverage and $2,700 per year to put in a health savings account. The second offers an annual salary of $104,000 per year, but you have to pay for 50% of your health premiums. In this case, the first offer is better even though it has a lower salary.
Learn more about average project manager salaries for other roles here.
What Does an Enterprise Project Manager Do?
Project managers usually manage projects for one department or business unit. In contrast, an enterprise project manager is responsible for projects taking place throughout the organization. One of the main purposes of having an enterprise project manager is to ensure that every project is well-aligned with a company’s goals.
What makes enterprise project management different from other project manager jobs is the unique reporting structure. A project manager usually reports to a program manager or department head. In the information technology industry, a project manager may report to an IT project manager.
Enterprise project managers report directly to a firm’s executive team. As an enterprise project manager, you may be responsible for the following:
- Reviewing projects regularly
- Solving project-related problems
- Managing project resources
- Coordinating project-related activities
- Establishing best practices for project planning
Skills Required for Enterprise Project Manager Jobs
Whether you’re looking for an entry-level project management role, such as a project coordinator, or an enterprise project manager job, there are some universal skills you will need:
- Communication: You must be able to write reports, give presentations, and have productive conversations with project stakeholders.
- Time management: Every project has a set of milestones that must be met. As an enterprise project manager, you’re responsible for making sure team members are on track.
- Risk management: You must be able to identify project-related risks and take steps to mitigate those risks.
- Estimation: The most successful enterprise project managers are skilled at estimating project costs and determining how long it will take to complete each step of a project.
- Coaching: One of the most important duties of an enterprise project manager, especially at the senior level, is to coach team members. You may need to provide coaching if someone misses a deadline, turns in low-quality work, or needs help understanding their role.
What Factors Affect Enterprise Project Managers' Salaries?
When reviewing salary estimates, you may notice that some enterprise project manager jobs pay a lot more than others. These are just a few of the factors that can affect how much you earn as an enterprise project manager.
Geographic Location
Due to differences in the cost of living, your location makes a big difference when it comes to how much employers are willing to offer. New York and California have some of the highest costs of living in the country, so you can expect higher offers in New York City, Los Angeles, and San Francisco than you can in a smaller city like Topeka or Cleveland.
Another reason location affects salary is because some places have a larger labor pool than others. For example, a company in Miami may have hundreds of applicants interested in an enterprise project management role. A company in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, may have just a few qualified applicants. Therefore, the company in Wilkes-Barre may have to offer a higher yearly salary to find just the right employee.
Certifications
If you have any relevant professional project management certifications, you can typically command a higher salary than someone who doesn’t. Consider obtaining the Project Management Professional (PMP) or Certified Project Manager (CPM) certification to make yourself more marketable.
Education
Some employers are concerned more with your skills and experience than your educational credentials, but others want to hire candidates who’ve completed some type of degree. If you have a bachelor’s or master’s degree, you may make more money than someone with an associate’s degree or high school diploma.
If your preferred employer requires a degree, you usually earn more if your degree is extremely relevant to the job. For example, if you have a bachelor’s degree in business administration or IT, you’re likely to command a higher salary than someone with a bachelor’s in literature or history.
Work Experience
When a big project is on the line, experience counts. Entry-level roles tend to pay the least, as hiring managers know they’ll need to spend time training the new employee and providing regular feedback. Experienced project managers earn the highest paying salaries because they require less supervision, know how to get things done quickly, and have a wider variety of skills.
Industry
Some industries require specialized knowledge, resulting in higher-than-average starting salaries for enterprise project managers. For example, the average salary in the IT industry is about $5,000 more than the average for all industries. The healthcare, pharmaceutical, and aerospace industries also offer higher-than-average salaries.
Job Duties
Salaries also vary based on an enterprise project manager’s job duties. Someone who oversees 25 team members is likely to earn more than someone who manages three team members, for example. Small companies may even try to maximize their return on investment by combining enterprise project management with other duties, leading to increased compensation.
A Note About Job Titles
Remember that you may be doing enterprise project management duties even if your company doesn’t call you an enterprise project manager. In some companies, enterprise management falls to someone on a PMO or EPMO.
Your company may even have department heads or directors serve as EPMs. If you’re in the market for a new job, keep an eye out for other titles to ensure you don’t miss out on a great opportunity.
Build a Career in Enterprise Project Management
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