MBA Job Profile: Technical Program Manager
Most successful businesses involve many moving parts. To coordinate personnel and logistics in a rapidly evolving technological landscape requires large teams of individuals and a solid technical background. This is precisely where technical program managers come in handy: they steward all aspects of a program from initiation to implementation.
What is a Technical Program Manager?
Technical program managers handle company technical needs, leading teams in product development and software implementation. They ensure that deadlines are met, and any technical issues are swiftly resolved. This requires the marriage of two traditionally unrelated skill sets—personnel management and technical proficiency.
Since every business has unique technical needs, the specific skills required may vary from company to company. However, there are certain elements that hold true regardless of a company’s specific focus. The most important attributes of an aspiring technical program manager are an acute intuition for leadership, the ability to adapt, and a keen sense of the inherent logistical needs that arise from the combination of these two areas.
Technical program managers aren’t just required to oversee projects; they must also be diligent in tracking issues within the programs they manage and successfully troubleshooting them. They are also required to utilize their expertise to assess the large-scale technical needs of a company and initiate programs accordingly. This requires the identification of all action items necessary for a program’s success as well as schedule and budget development.
Technical Program Manager Salary Expectations
According to Payscale, the median income for technical program managers is $121,627, while Glassdoor cites the average salary at $125,219. Generally speaking, experience affects pay. Technical program managers with less than one year experience earn around $90,000. Those who have been working for over 20 years earn approximately $132,000.
Infosec, an institution that offers educational resources focused on cybersecurity, offers different statistics that are less optimistic. It quotes the national average salary for technical program managers as $89,000 a year. Less experience managed often make $71,000. Senior-level managers typically see around $99,000 per year. Those in urban areas are likely to receive a higher salary than those in less densely populated areas.
However, Infosec is quite optimistic about the future for aspiring technical program managers. It estimates that number of positions will grow by roughly 15-20 percent over the next eight years.
Getting Started
Becoming a technical program manager means having at least a bachelor’s degree in fields like management, business administration, or computer science. Some businesses might hire someone who does not have a bachelor’s degree if they do have prior experience working in a related field. Naturally, if you have both experience and a relevant bachelor’s degree, or an advanced degree, you will stand out to potential employers.
Typically, this means earning an education in an engineering school, rather than a business school. However, business schools offering dual degrees can help provide a path for future technical program managers.
For instance, Harvard Business School offers a MS/MBA option. Earning an MS/MBA from the world’s most well-known academic institution means having world-class career preparation, leading to a similarly world-class career. Harvard MBA graduates, in general, can expect an average annual salary of around $140,000—and that’s before one takes signing bonuses and other benefits into account.
Many of the world’s best business schools, like HBS, offer special dual degree MBA programs for hopeful technical program managers.
Top 5 Paying MBA Careers: Marketing
MBA graduates in marketing can experience exponential career growth. According to Payscale, graduates in marketing often earn a starting salary of $55,700, which may double to $116,000 by mid-career. As the job is links to sales success, bonuses can also be lucrative.
Those who relish the thrill to sell might be curious about what positions can maximize their salaries. The benefits of these positions can vary by location, experience, and company.
Top 5 Paying MBA Careers: Tech
In recent years, there has been a major shift in where MBAs end up after graduation, both in terms of geography and career paths. While plenty of MBA graduates still pursue traditional Wall Street careers in finance and marketing, many more have begun making in-roads into tech havens like Seattle, Austin, and, of course, the Bay Area.
Top MBA Recruiters: T. Rowe Price
T. Rowe Price Group, founded in 1937 by Thomas Rowe Price Jr., is a leading global asset management firm offering services to individual clients as well as institutions and financial intermediaries.
Headquartered in Baltimore with offices in 47 countries, recent MBA graduates with an eye toward investment would do well to consider a career at T. Rowe Price.
Why MBAs Love T. Rowe Price Group
T. Rowe Price’s commitment to responsible corporate stewardship and social engagement with their immediate communities has earned them respect from a lot of its peer companies. Its been recognized by Fortune World as one of the world’s Most Admired Companies in Securities and Asset Management, and one of Forbes America’s 50 Most Trustworthy Financial Companies.
Salaries for MBA grads can greatly vary at the firm. According to PayScale data, senior business analysts earn an average annual salary of $88,524, with max compensation as high as $120,000. Financial consultants—a position more readily available for entry-level employees—earn an average annual salary of $62,792. Overall, SimplyHired data indicates that MBA grads can expect to make around $67,471 per year, with the top 25 percent of earners making over $100,000.
Additionally, T. Rowe Price offers both short-term and long-term benefits for its employees. In the short-term, it offers valuable tuition assistance to employees completing a degree program. In the long-term, it offers retirement plans, investment plans that includes matching contributions, and life insurance plans. It stresses the importance of a healthy work/life balance, reinforced by benefits like extensive health care coverage, family support for working parents, various wellness initiatives, and passes for local recreational attractions. T. Rowe Price also offers PTO and matching donation programs through their Workplace Giving Program, boasting more than 40,000 hours volunteered by associates in 2018 and $11 million dollars donated by associates in 2017 through the program.
Life at T. Rowe Price
T. Rowe Price has earned a reputation for their ability to facilitate workplace morale. In 2017, Forbes named it one of the best mid-sized firms in the U.S. for its ability to keep employees feeling satisfied and well-compensated. Pensions & Investments named it one of the “Top 50 Best Places to Work in Money Management“—a distinction it was also awarded in 2015.
An important component of these achievements is T. Rowe Price’s work with respect to office diversity. In 2016, the Anita Borg Institute named it one of the Top Companies for Women Technologists, boasting 44 percent women in its total global workforce. In 2019, it was named one of the “Best Places to Work for LGBTQ Equality” by the Human Rights Campaign. T. Rowe Price also seeks to improve their diversity through initiatives like WAVE, which facilitates the development of talented women; PRIDE, which focuses on the LGBTQ+ community; and MOSAIC, focused on building ethnic diversity.
Landing a T. Rowe Price Career
Associate positions at T. Rowe Price require the following from a prospective employee:
- Strong analytical skills
- The ability to communicate and work with employees from different departments
- Strong relationship management and collaborative proclivities
- A college degree
Additionally, T. Rowe Price has a few important preferred qualifications. Of course, high on the list is either the completion of an MBA program—or progress toward the MBA degree.
As mentioned above, the company sometimes offers tuition assistance for employees who are in the process of completing a graduate program. Another attribute that will help you stand out is experience the field, especially in the given area that the position for which you are applying.
Current T. Rowe Price Career Openings
Associate General Manager, Investments – Baltimore, MD
For applicants with at least eight years working experience in financial services, corporate strategy, and/or management consulting, this might be a promising job opportunity. A CFA or MBA will also give you a leg up on the competition. This job focuses on big picture investment strategies and presents these ideas to employees and stakeholders.
Associate Portfolio Analyst, Equities – Baltimore, MD
For applicants with financial analysis chops, this position might be ideal. In this position, one would assist a team of portfolio specialists to create strategies for investment. This is also ideal for those in the process of completing their MBA or CFA.
MBA Jobs: Accounting Manager
If there is one thing that unites all businesses, whether they are Etsy storefronts or multinational conglomerates, it’s that everyone needs to know how much money it has coming in and where it is going. At large companies and firms, this responsibility falls onto accounting managers. If you are someone with an eye for detail who knows their way around a budget, you might be an excellent fit for this job.
What Is an Accounting Manager?
The accounting manager is, largely, the head of a company’s accounting department. With the assistance of a small staff, the accounting manager keeps track of an organization’s finances and makes sure that the organization is following all necessary financial laws.
Accounting managers prepare reports for executives, letting them know where they are in relationship to their monthly, quarterly, and annual goals. Accounting managers also help to forecast the company’s financial future.
The following represent a few key responsibilities of accounting managers:
- Conducting audits
- Planning annual budgets
- Evaluating financial data
- Defining accounting policies
- Establishing financial standards
Accounting Manager Salaries
According to Glassdoor data, the average annual pay for an accounting manager is $88,160. Accounting managers can also earn an average of $8,426 in cash compensation. Compensation can range from $2,120 to $23,206, depending on the company, background, and academic experience. This generally translates to higher salaries for MBA grads.
For instance, accounting managers at EY (Ernst & Young) will likely earn over $100,000 on average, according to PayScale data.
Where Do You Start?
Candidates for accounting manager positions must have at least a BA/BS in Accounting or Finance. Most positions require candidates to be licensed Certified Public Accountants, or CPAs. This is not an entry-level position; businesses generally expect candidates to have had some previous supervisory experience.
Given the nature of this position, ideal candidates are ethical and able to think critically. Small errors can cost either a client or a firm a considerable amount of money, so it is essential that accounting managers are thorough in their work, always ensuring that their records are accurate and complete.
In addition to the technical skills, accounting managers need to have excellent written and interpersonal skills, because they are required to manage staff, which entails interactions with a wide variety of people.
One way to gain the skills needed for this position is to get a MBA from a top-notch program. We’ve outlined three programs, which provide the skills needed to be a successful Accounting Manager that stands out from the pack.
University of Texas’s McCombs School of Business
The McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin is home to one of the country’s finest accounting programs. Students can gain considerable accounting knowledge while expanding their management abilities. They will be able to do this while living in Austin, one of the country’s most livable cities.
University of Illinois – Urbana-Champaign’s Gies College of Business
Students in the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois can develop their financial skills in the college’s flexible MBA program. The training will prepare graduates to take on the role of accounting manager at firms of any size.
Brigham Young University’s Marriott School
Among the top business schools in the United States, the Marriott School at Brigham Young University does not get its fair share of attention, which is unfortunate as it is home to one of the country’s top accounting programs. MBA students can go on the Finance track, which will prepare them for their futures as accounting managers.
Top MBA Recruiters: Merck
Global health care is one of the fastest growing sectors in 2019, with Deloitte expecting spending to reach $10.059 trillion by 2022. Thanks to aging and growing populations, you can expect a greater prevalence of chronic diseases, ultimately translating to exponential advances in innovative technologies, medicines, and care.
For MBA graduates, this translates into a huge potential for job opportunities in the health care sector. In particular, there are opportunities for:
- New innovative technologies and personalized programs to engage with consumers.
- Better data security and ownership.
- Increased health care delivery and mobility.
One of the companies at the leading edge of this sector is Merck. Continue reading…
