In Nigeria, and in most other countries, there are legalised bodies set up to monitor and regulate the practices of some professions. It’s not easy for persons without a formal knowledge or training or registered licence to practise or break into those professions. In addition, these professions, when hiring persons for low-level or mid-level positions, tend to understand the value of persons with a Bachelor’s degree relating to that profession. Can we say the same of the project management profession? What percentage of organisations globally know that there are persons with Bachelor’s degree in Project Management?

I was reading one of Lindsay Scott’s articles titled “Project Management Degrees – Challenges and Opportunities” at http://www.arraspeople.co.uk/camel-blog/projectmanagement/project-management-degrees-challenges-and-opportunities/ and quoting her from that article she said, “Should a Bachelor’s degree in project management even exist? The focus should switch to Masters degrees that require so many hours of practical project management experience to qualify to undertake it.” I’m a Bachelor’s degree holder in Project Management Technology, and if persons like us do not come out to let the project management world know the value of our degree, the world might think it’s valueless.

If a Bachelor’s degree in project management should not exist because of the “lack” of practical experience of graduates at that level, then…

A Bachelor’s degree in most medical or health professions should not exist also because of the same “lack” of practical experience of graduates at that level. Just imagine a recent graduate with Bachelor’s degree performing a major surgery on you!
A Bachelor’s degree in law should also not exist because of the “lack” of court experience of new graduates at the Bachelor’s level. Just imagine a young lawyer with only a Bachelor’s degree representing you on a billion dollar case!
Furthermore, a Bachelor’s degree in architecture should not exist too. Just imagine your organisation awarding a 50-storey building plan to a young architect with only a Bachelor’s degree qualification!
Now my question is: Would any of these aforementioned professions scrap the Bachelor’s degree because of the “lack” of experience of new graduates at that level? If no, then why the project management profession?

All well-structured professions know that any new graduate with just a Bachelor’s degree qualification doesn’t have enough experience yet to manage big or complex projects. However, they also know that these young graduates, with just Bachelor’s degree qualifications, are very much relevant for the continuity of their profession. Except we want to keep encouraging the fact that the entry-level and mid-level positions in the project management profession be filled by “accidental” project managers, then maybe we should stop the universities from awarding a Bachelor’s degree in project management. And then, just imagine the medical profession and the legal profession being totally dominated by “accidental” medical practitioners and “accidental” legal practitioners, respectively, in the future, I bet you know what would happen next to their system of practices.

The project management profession is not well-structured yet (some even argue if project management is a profession!) like these other professions mentioned above. For entry-level and mid-level positions, those who have a Bachelor’s degree in project management seem to be less favoured to those who have a certification. And there a lot of certification holders who can’t even defend their certifications! So, we still have a long way to go in properly structuring the project management profession.

Lindsay also asked if universities could include modules that are more practically focused. That’s a very good point and some universities are already offering practical opportunities to their students. I graduated from FUTO (Federal University of Technology Owerri) here in Nigeria. At the end of your 200 level, you are asked to go for a 3-month industrial training. Then after your first semester at your 400 level, you must do a 6-month industrial training. These industrial trainings are part of the school curricular and you must submit an official report regarding your experiences learnt and defend that report at the start of a new semester or asked to re-do the training if you fail your defense.

Most persons would encourage or advice the young ones who just finished their secondary or high school to go and pursue a degree or diploma that’s directly connected or relating to their career choice. For example, if you want to practice accounting in Nigeria, most persons would advise you to go and pursue a degree or diploma in accountancy, and then after graduating, maybe do the ICAN (Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria). Such advice are given so you would have a sound foundation knowledge of the profession.

Now let me ask you, “What advice would you give to someone who just finished his/her secondary or high school and wants to pursue a career in project management?” Share your answer in the comment section.

The project management profession is an open ground. Anyone and everyone is invited. There are no legal framework or body regulating its practitioners or monitoring their practices in most countries. So anybody with or without a formal training and with or without a licence can claim to be a “professional” project manager and freely practice the profession.

There are some very good points though in Lindsay’s article concerning the project management degree. I would advise you to read it up if you are interested in the development of the project management education.

This article was originally published on JerryIhejirika.com at http://jerryihejirika.com/should-the-bachelors-degree-in-project-management-be-scrapped-off/.