Project Management Specialists
SOC 13-1082 · 2024-2034
Analyze and coordinate the schedule, timeline, procurement, staffing, and budget of a product or service on a per project basis. Lead and guide the work of technical staff. May serve as a point of contact for the client or customer.
How the U.S. Department of Labor describes this work. Published in English only.
What California expects of this job
- Typical pay in California
- $122,938per year
- Projected openings
- 89,550
- Projected change
- +6.8%
- Usually needs
- Bachelor's degree
Bright Outlook — a U.S. Department of Labor designation
Rapid Growth · Numerous Job Openings
The Department's own designation, made from its national projections. It is not this project's assessment and it is not California's: every other figure on this page comes from California's projection, which can point the other way and for some occupations does.
Pay by region
| Region | Typical pay in California | Projected openings |
|---|---|---|
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA (San Benito and Santa Clara Counties) | $138,776 | 7,500 |
| San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City MD (San Francisco and San Mateo Counties) | $137,336 | 8,440 |
| Oakland-Fremont-Berkeley MD (Alameda and Contra Costa Counties) | $133,914 | 7,970 |
| San Rafael MD (Marin County) | $124,419 | 480 |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom MSA (El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, and Yolo Counties) | $120,402 | 5,200 |
| Hanford-Corcoran MSA (Kings County) | $111,734 | 40 |
| Vallejo MSA (Solano County) | $110,654 | 550 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad MSA (San Diego County) | $109,880 | 9,870 |
| Santa Maria-Santa Barbara MSA (Santa Barbara County) | $109,045 | 900 |
| Napa MSA (Napa County) | $108,699 | 290 |
| Santa Rosa-Petaluma MSA (Sonoma County) | $107,792 | 780 |
| Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine MD (Orange County) | $105,745 | 10,750 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale MD (Los Angeles County) | $105,744 | 20,890 |
| Santa Cruz-Watsonville MSA (Santa Cruz County) | $104,054 | 370 |
| Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura MSA (Ventura County) | $103,474 | 1,180 |
| Salinas MSA (Monterey County) | $103,392 | 360 |
| El Centro MSA (Imperial County) | $103,300 | 140 |
| San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles MSA (San Luis Obispo County) | $103,107 | 500 |
| Bakersfield-Delano MSA (Kern County) | $102,842 | 1,230 |
| Chico MSA (Butte County) | $102,587 | 240 |
| Stockton-Lodi MSA (San Joaquin County) | $102,526 | 790 |
| Yuba City MSA (Sutter and Yuba Counties) | $102,007 | 120 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario MSA (Riverside and San Bernardino Counties) | $101,477 | 5,680 |
| Fresno MSA (Fresno and Madera Counties) | $100,062 | 1,380 |
| Visalia MSA (Tulare County) | $98,717 | 360 |
| Redding MSA (Shasta County) | $97,770 | 200 |
| Merced MSA (Merced County) | $97,261 | 160 |
| Modesto MSA (Stanislaus County) | $97,261 | 600 |
| Eastern Sierra-Mother Lode Region (Alpine, Amador, Calaveras, Inyo, Mariposa, Mono, and Tuolumne Counties) | $93,125 | 170 |
| North Coast Region (Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, and Mendocino Counties) | $86,963 | 290 |
| North Valley-Northern Mountains Region (Colusa, Glenn, Lassen, Modoc, Nevada, Plumas, Sierra, Siskiyou, Tehama, and Trinity Counties) | $84,335 | 280 |
What the pay actually ranges across
- The lowest-paid tenth earn under
- $70,341
- A quarter earn under
- $87,056
- Half earn under
- $122,938
- Three quarters earn under
- $158,465
- The highest-paid tenth earn over
- $191,723
A median is one point. These are the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics' 2026 figures for California, and they say how far apart the people doing this job actually are. Read them as the spread across everyone already in the work — not as a starting wage and not as a promise about where anyone lands.
Similar work
O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupation database, names these as occupations involving work similar to this one — its own reading of the job, not a grouping by code. They keep O*NET's order, and only those California publishes a projection for are shown.
| Occupation | Typical pay in California | Projected openings | Projected change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Computer Occupations, All Other | $138,203 | 59,320 | +11.1% |
| Management Analysts | $103,162 | 154,880 | +11.5% |
| Computer and Information Systems Managers | $221,952 | 82,270 | +16.5% |
| Logisticians | $94,448 | 38,460 | +19.5% |
| Construction Managers | $135,394 | 47,800 | +10.9% |
| General and Operations Managers | $126,477 | 264,410 | +6.7% |
Programs that train for this job — 20
Project Management
Glendale Community College · Glendale · $2,540
Lean Six Sigma Green Belt
Glendale Community College · Glendale · $2,700
The Complete Project Manager with CAPM & PMP Prep
Loyola Marymount University - LMU Extension · Los Angeles · $4,228
Project Management Essentials with CAPM Prep
Loyola Marymount University - LMU Extension · Los Angeles · $2,233
Project Management With Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Combo Certificate Program
University of La Verne · La Verne · $5,298
Project Management Certificate Program
CSU Bakersfield Extended University Division · Bakersfield · $2,635
Project Management (Online)
UC Irvine Continuing Education · Irvine · $6,425
Project and Program Management
UCSC Silicon Valley Extension · Santa Clara · $7,320
Six Sigma Green Belt and Project Management
Amfasoft · Fremont · $7,500
Six Sigma Yellow Belt and Project Management
Amfasoft · Fremont · $6,700
PMP & MS Project
Amfasoft · Fremont · $6,775
Professional Certificate in Grant Writing Online
SDSU Global Campus · San Diego · $990
Professional Certificate in Construction Project Management Online
SDSU Global Campus · San Diego · $4,482
Professional Certificate in Project Management Online
SDSU Global Campus · San Diego · $5,050
Six Sigma Lean Black Belt With Project Management
Career Development Solutions · Orange · $7,500
Project Management Essentials
Pacific Union College · Angwin · $3,000
Scheduling Professional (PMI-SP)
AAA Institute · Van Nuys · $3,999
Google Applied Digital Skills Entry Level Project Management
Mountain View - Los Altos Adult School · Mountain View · $720
Certificate in Project Management
California State University, East Bay, University Extension · Hayward · $2,500
Computer Information Systems: Project Management Certificate of Accomplishment
Diablo Valley College · Pleasant Hill · $721