[peppersasen]

who works in Project Risk Management? what's your background? did you need any schooling/training? do you need certification to practice? what exactly do you do all day everyday, apart from drawing tables and grids and creating matrices and OCPD checklists? how much interaction with the masses does it involve?

[Kitesurf]

Project risk management is just a small portion of my responsibilities. In other words, I've managed many projects thru out my career and I've had to define the risks and manage and report them to sponsors and customers.

It's not something that should be done in a vacuum, you'll need to work with many other people and teams. However I do find it fun because it's very challenging to quantify very subjective and political issues. Just look at all the big projects thru out the world that are running over budget and cost..

What types of projects are you applying to be a risk assessor for?

[Ein Mensch]

I work in the IT dept. of thecompany I work for and even though I am still studying I work on projects and already was responsible for some of them. The project mgmt was part of my studies and also included risk mgmt.

The risk mgmt in these projects was mostly about keeping costs and milestones as close to the plan as possible and also to asses different ways to solve a problem with minimal risks. It is very complex because of the wide field of expertise and skills you need to do a good job. You have to have soft skills en masse and the feeling for political and personal webbings of the project. And even though projects are all very similar, knowledge in the area the project is about helps very much. Learning it is good, certificates in my experience are not needed but help finding a job with good payment and perks
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.

You have to deal with the project team(s), the stakeholders, commitees and supporting ressources. The size of the crowd varies dependend on the size of the project.
Pure risk mgmt is mostly needed in large sized projects where the project leader has to manage too many things at once. So the risk mgmt gets sourced out.

[Mogura]

	Originally Posted by peppersasen To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
	who works in Project Risk Management? what's your background? did you need any schooling/training? do you need certification to practice? what exactly do you do all day everyday, apart from drawing tables and grids and creating matrices and OCPD checklists? how much interaction with the masses does it involve?

Project risk management respresents a sizeable portion of what I do (project managment). It's funny. I have no training or qualifications in PRM, but I fucking own it. Just being myself. Not to say that I woke up one day as a PRM Jedi master. But after having been involved in several failed projects (none that I've led, mind you), you tend to become an expert at how not to fuck up. From my perspective, it does involve a lot of communication and tact (people skills). Managers don't like to be told that their baby has birth defects...

[peppersasen]

i don't think this is a good idea anymore. i thought it would be fun since i've resorted to technical/general staff types of jobs since i lost my career-defining years (and now i'm reading vacanies that are limited to male applicants under 25-27). i just thought it was a good non-career job. but now i've realized that i need to be specialized and i'm not specialized in anything. i'm very dissapointed.

	Originally Posted by Kitesurf To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
	It's not something that should be done in a vacuum, you'll need to work with many other people and teams.

so, hypothetically (if i were to go for it), do people work in a team or what? how does one insert themself, are there entry-level positions for them? because i wanted to be researcher, so i became a research assistant at an international NGO. is it a one man show?

	Originally Posted by Kitesurf To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
	However I do find it fun because it's very challenging to quantify very subjective and political issues.

i'm sure it is. i'm happy for you.

	Originally Posted by Kitesurf To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
	What types of projects are you applying to be a risk assessor for?

oh, "assessor"? is that what you call it? does it basically mean you can't give recommendations for solutions, like you just do all the mapping? idk. public sector. but forget about it. i'm ready to die now (feeling floaty again. LOL). i just realized i'm not an expert on anything. i started off doing gender/labor for a few months, then legal aid/access to justice (with some environmental/gender issues here and there), and a little on environmental issues (deforestation and carbon credits), and technical on-the-surface work in development policy now. when i point this out in a cover letter, i honestly don't know if i'm giving a god/bad impression, it just makes people think i'm unfocused and i don't know what i want. i thought i wanted a job in public health until i started
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. truth is, the only thing i'm sure of right now is that i DON'T want a job in public health and i don't want a job that has to do with the UN. if i had a relevant job between ages 25-27, i would have been able to begin specializing in something. but i lost the opportunity when i lost that job offer.

	Originally Posted by Ein Mensch To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
	It is very complex because of the wide field of expertise and skills you need to do a good job.

yeah, i just realized this. i changed my mind about it. it's not entry-level and it's too late to start specializing. i think i'll just be stuck in general staff, non-career jobs for the rest of my life. it's okay. some people are just not meant to do big things in life. and it's
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, i just need to get out of the "i-need-t-do-something-meaningful" mindset.

	Originally Posted by Ein Mensch To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
	Learning it is good, certificates in my experience are not needed but help finding a job with good payment and perks To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. .

so you're implying that it's not fairly compensated? i'm kind of tired of not being able to afford even a 1-bedroom apartment. i really want a good-paying job that will allow me to move out of my parents' even if they disown me for it.

	Originally Posted by Mogura To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
	From my perspective, it does involve a lot of communication and tact (people skills). Managers don't like to be told that their baby has birth defects...

thanks. i was just going to ask (last time i asked a friend at the alumni association for some reason she automatically began talking about Disaster Management, not exactly "God's fault" because she said it was a hot sector to be in with global warming and such). because at the UN internship, they were supposed to give me this Project Assistant job (it was already mine, i would track down everyone's work and make sure they were progressing within the timeframe (and of course the underperformers disliked me for what i did). the position didn't exist before and i was supposed to get the job because i proved to be helpful). the project's coordinators hated that there was this new role/function in the project and they bullied me and ignored me (refusing to cooperate, because those people were NOT afraid of the Project Manager) to the point that the job offer was cancelled. i couldn't find a job after. i also learned that at that same UN project, there used to be this Dutch lady. she was the M&E expert. i think they bullied her to resignation. i was thinking about that, i wanted to know whether i would be the public enemy again. thanks for letting me know.

---------- Post added 06-15-2012 at 06:19 PM ----------

anyway, since i no longer have a chance and i'm only asking out of curiosity, don't feel obligated to respond to this thread. sorry i wasted your time, but i am still very grateful for your help.

[Ein Mensch]

	anyway, since i no longer have a chance and i'm only asking out of curiosity, don't feel obligated to respond to this thread. sorry i wasted your time, but i am still very grateful for your help.

:P <-- Crybaby

I wasn't implying that this is only for pros. But the more knowledge you have the easier the job - because you can ask the right questions. Self-studying can be enough though. It normally earns a living, but the payment is better if you are certified - that is the rule for Germany.
If you are willing to learn and if you have the soft skills needed for the job in generall, well, try it.

[peppersasen]

	Originally Posted by Ein Mensch To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
	If you are willing to learn and if you have the soft skills needed for the job in generall, well, try it.

no soft skills. i can't stand "stakeholders". you know, there are stakeholder and then there are "stakeholders". stakeholders are institutions/authority that actually give a shit about a given issue/problem/situation, while "stakeholders" are mandated but don't really give a shit (in corrupt countries, they're usually in the government). i have no patience for them. and i don't want to have any run-ins with the UN. i don't know what i was thinking.

---------- Post added 06-15-2012 at 06:56 PM ----------

i don't appreciate the "crybaby" remark. you probably don't understand it and i don't expect you to. sorry for the trouble. if you don't want to help it's okay.

[Kitesurf]

Sorry to hear the project manager was spineless. Good project managers have to have excellent people skills while still being tough as nails. (that's my experience and opinion)

Sounds like you got caught in between a spineless twit and a few nepotic "rice bowling" teams. Not fun, yet it's still not a good enough reason to stop pursuing what you want. Success is mostly tenacity, salesmanship and networking (I.E. relationships). Also there's nothing wrong with being an opportunist.

I work in the engineering field, so my context may be a little different than yours.

Good luck

[peppersasen]

	Originally Posted by Kitesurf To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
	Sorry to hear the project manager was spineless.

are you kidding me? my Project Manager was ANYTHING but spineless! he was a foreigner (not a national) and all the nationals had been "coup"-ing to take over all the foreigners' positions in that office. they wanted a national to replace him and yet he NEVER caused any casualties (like sacrifice me in the process).

they also wanted to replace the Programme Manager (also a foreigner) with a national, and she ended up stabbing me in the back to save her own job. they even wanted to replace the Country Director with a national (and i think he wasn't even aware of the dynamics, the dumbass... if anyone was "spineless", it was him). i keep saying, they need to have foreigners in these key positions to maintain impartiality (people with minimum ties to the government and minimum business interests in a given country, not that foreigners aren't allowed to invest in the country i lived in back then). the advisers should always be nationals (because they know best), but the decision-makers should always be outsiders. but the outsiders should be very competent ones.

i think it was brave and noble of the Project Manager to never have harmed me to protect his own interests despite the pressure (unlike the Programme Manager).

---------- Post added 06-16-2012 at 06:53 AM ----------

	Originally Posted by Kitesurf To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
	Success is mostly tenacity, salesmanship and networking (I.E. relationships).

i don't really have a "network", do i? i used to try to ask the UN for references, but it seems they've decided to pretend i no longer exist because if they acknowledged that i interned with them, the'd have to acknowledge the office politics they dragged me into and they don't want that. anytime i email them, i get no response. so, now i feel like i have
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. how do you establish a relationship when every time to initiate contact, they never respond? i can't get references, and i can't get jobs (even if i'm too traumatized by the UN's work environment and i just want a job elsewhere).

[Kitesurf]

	Originally Posted by peppersasen To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
	i think it was brave and noble of the Project Manager to never have harmed me to protect his own interests despite the pressure (unlike the Programme Manager).

Sorry, it's a little tough following these forums sometimes.

Sounds like you should consider the project manager as part of your network. Even if he can't help you right now, at some point in the future something could come up. So you should stay in touch with him.

As a matter of curiosity, what country were you working in/for? I'm just curious and nosy, don't answer if you feel that will be too compromising.

[Qjiggy]

project managers, especially certified PMI, follows a strict code of conduct. They forever have to maintain Professional Development Units (PDUs) to have their certification recognized - so im guessing he did what he's supposed to.

and i agree with your "stakeholders" comments. in fact, i think everyone around me are stakeholders haha. i just need to recognize which ones are the domain, so that i capture their requirements and just "listen" to all other stakeholders - keyword, listen, doesn't say anything about action haha
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[peppersasen]

	Originally Posted by Kitesurf To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
	Sounds like you should consider the project manager as part of your network. Even if he can't help you right now, at some point in the future something could come up. So you should stay in touch with him.

i do. i send him Christmas greetings/email him once a year. he's quite kind. he told me when his wife had a new baby and things like that. we have little in common, but i respect him a lot. he's in Africa now and sometimes sends me leads to things i should do (like sign up for a volunteering program, which i did, but they never responded to my application--i thought i had a better chance since most people from the country i currently live in would NEVER agree to relocate to underdeveloped countries/LDCs, but i was never even considered).

i don't want to ask the Project Manager for favors, because he's been so nice to me so far (even his wife is kind to me). he had the office politics the hardest and he NEVER dragged me into it. at point during the internship, i was even used as a weapon against him. because i met him at a little embassy gathering where i babbled about how much i wanted to work in developement, bla-bla... and then he offered me an internship. so the national staff who wanted to replace him with a national used me against him, saying that i shouldn't have been brought in in the first place, and if i made a mistake, they blamed him for taking me in. and he NEVER took it out on me. he was the only person there (who was aware of the politics) who wanted the best for me.

the Programme Manager was faking it all along, she never responded to my emails, even if i had her back. always. literally had to brief her. i used to have a neutral opinion of the Country Director. but now in hindsight i think he never wanted me there. he was so fake, never meant anything he said to me. i feel like a fool trusting him like that. to be honest, i see the Country Director as some sort of airheaded bimbo these days. i feel humiliated just thinking i ever trusted the Director.

so, yes, the Project Manager is my friend. i just don't want to burden him with anything anymore because i've caused him enough trouble already and he's a good man.

Originally Posted by Qjiggy To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

and i agree with your "stakeholders" comments. in fact, i think everyone around me are stakeholders haha. i just need to recognize which ones are the domain, so that i capture their requirements and just "listen" to all other stakeholders - keyword, listen, doesn't say anything about action haha To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

don't they just frusturate you?
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and, no, stakeholders just sit around on their asses reading recommendations they never act out on, do they? i don't think i have the people skills to handle them. i mean, i'm a decent actress and i can act (literally, i've done some acting gigs in the past). i just don't think i'd have the patience to handle them.

i don't know where you are, but in corrupt developing countries, the government officials are just... ugh, where do i even start? you can't even have a conversation with them. am i making sense? they are NOTHING like US/European government officials. they will drive you INSANE. at my first job, i had to go to the departments/parliament with my first boss. my boss is very passionate about what he does, one time he almost lost it. like i think he was on the verge of crying. and he's a grown man. i don't even know what i ever wanted these jobs.
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it's easier being a sex worker. and frankly, i think prostitutes are
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. i mean i have the acting abilities required to do professional sex work, but REAL prostitutes have more patience and assertiveness than me.

---------- Post added 06-17-2012 at 07:17 PM ----------

meh. sorry if my responses are all over the place. i'm tired after a long workday. now i'm off to watch some soccer. i can't think, so sorry.

[Qjiggy]

it was entertaining, nonetheless. lol but i say that with deep understanding to your situation, but your reference to sex workers be better equipped to handle intolerable male egos is funny.

little about myself, i've worked in retail grocery for over 15+ years and in customer service, i deal with a lot of frustration by customers and staff members. the underlying problem is communication. sounds simple, really its not. sometimes i do give the answer that customers would like to hear, sometimes customers just want to be heard, others want me to do what they expect me but under no circumstance would i let a customer dictate how i do my job (i handle those types of customer in a very different way, which involves the business rules and my authority to banned them from the store).

with that said, i deal with problems on a daily basis. if i go through a day at work without being paged about a complaint by worker to worker, or customer to worker, or worse is customer to customer - then there's something wrong is going on. customer service is by far the most complicated job that i've come across. there are no governing rules around people's behaviour, unless of course they are actually breaking a law such as stealing, assaulting, or causing disturbance of the peace - but many have different needs, different views, different morale. finding and standing on neutral grounds is a challenge, but with enough practice, anyone can master it.

sex workers have excellent customer service skill - but if i receive a resume highlighting experience on a sex trade - unfortunately i will not hire them due to the standards i have with the people i work with. or maybe i would, i never have come across such job application
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[peppersasen]

	Originally Posted by Qjiggy To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
	little about myself, i've worked in retail grocery for over 15+ years and in customer service, i deal with a lot of frustration by customers and staff members.

OMG. really? i've been dying to know: so you people map possible complaints in a way those old games/open-ended Goosebumps books/magazine quizzes were structured? like "disgruntled customer says X and wants Y, you should offer Z." and "if customer refuses Z, then you should take action A." i thought you people would.

	Originally Posted by Qjiggy To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
	sex workers have excellent customer service skill - but if i receive a resume highlighting experience on a sex trade - unfortunately i will not hire them due to the standards i have with the people i work with. or maybe i would, i never have come across such job application To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

i don't think it's something they'd include in their résumé, would they? it reflected in their interview, though, i'm pretty sure of it.

---------- Post added 06-21-2012 at 02:34 PM ----------

personally, i wanted to do PRM because it seemed like fun. but i don't think i'd be so excited if i were just mapping about and nobody would listen (or even give me an opportunity to suggest a solution). i've always kind of seen myself as a "Producer" and not a "Director" type. i don't have the patience to deal with ditzy, annoying, self-important actors, but i'm like the Director's boss and i tell him how the film's produced. he does the dirty work for me. LOL.

i personally like controlling by creating/setting rules and systems (i think i'd really enjoy drafting an SOP as lame and nerdy as that may sound). when i was in school, i read Code 2.0 (Lawrence Lessig). it was one of my ultimate favorite text books... not into being bossy and asserting power, quietly in the background. bossing the boss around by setting rules. nice.

[Qjiggy]

I like creating a project, or even managing it - it's probably what I will pursue once I finish my school on business analysis (BA). BAs though are like trouble shooters and makes things work between business units, stakeholders, project managers - to name a few. I dunno, it has the makings of what you mentioned above "not into being bossy and asserting power...bossing the boss" type of deal. I'm working to learnthe discipline of a BA, as well create opportunities for work. Some companies have BA roles but far too many has never heard of them. Coming that it became known just in 2006.

But back to the customer service thing, yeah I could make a simple decision diagram for customer service. But if I over simplify it, then everyone would be doing it-that would be me less thing that I'd be asked to do. Even so, would open criticism from others which I find are just plain stubborn to accept new ideas and would be complete waste of energy to convince them. The ones who'd be best to just suffer the repo-caution or have them pay you lots on something you find easy to digest.