Stages in project managers' careers: Learning and growth opportunities

Despite the extensive literature on career development and project management, there is no standalone systematic review examining the career paths of project managers based on academic studies. To fill this gap, we summarize a sample of papers selected from a systematic literature review (SLR), involving research papers published from 1985 to 2019. Based on a review of this literature, we: (1) Characterize three stages within the careers of project managers, namely start-career, interaction-career, and end-career; (2) Use Selye's general adaptation syndrome (GAS) model to link stages and intra-stage periods with learning and growth opportunities for project managers. We enhance our study through a focus group of 18 senior project managers in order to obtain a richer picture of the career path landscape. Our study adds a new theoretical dimension to career path planning for project managers. It can also benefit organizations in designing their talent management structures for project managers and serve the academic community by providing valuable insights into research on the careers of project managers over time.