Intro – Should You Become a Change Manager? Everything You Need to Know about Change Management Salary, Skills, & More
Embarking on a Transformative Journey: Your Guide to a Change Management Career and Salary Insights
Hey there, career explorers! If you find yourself at the crossroads of professional growth and are curious about the dynamic world of change management, you’re in the right place. Join us as we unravel the exciting realm of change management careers and delve into the fascinating landscape of salaries in this ever-evolving field.
In this friendly guide, we’ll walk hand in hand through the corridors of change management, exploring not just the career paths but also shedding light on the financial landscapes you might encounter. Whether you’re a recent graduate contemplating your next move or a seasoned professional seeking a change, the possibilities in change management are as vast as they are promising.
So, fasten your seatbelts and get ready for a journey where transformation is not just a buzzword but a thriving career path filled with challenges, opportunities, and a dash of excitement.
Eager to unveil what lies ahead? We’ve put together a concise summary just for you. Brace yourself to delve into the realm of the Change Management Career Path & Salary. Rest assured, we’re here to accompany you on this exploration journey.
Quick Summary
Considering a Role in Change Management: Is It Right for You?
Exploring career paths, a change management career stands out for its diversity, challenges, excitement, and long-term job security. Organizations undergo constant changes driven by technological advancements, efficiency improvements, expansions, resource reallocation, regulatory compliance, and process reengineering. These changes require strategic planning, and a change manager plays a crucial role in guiding organizations through successful transitions.
The role is akin to that of a transformational leader, making it an enticing career choice. The article invites readers to delve into the details of change management careers, including average salaries, job responsibilities, necessary skills, and guidance on starting a career in this field.
Unpacking the Position: A Closer Look at What Change Managers Really Do.
A change manager plays a crucial role in guiding organizations through transformative changes. The job involves developing a strategy to manage the human aspects of change, implementing it to enhance change adoption, and ensuring the change’s overall success, often referred to as reinforcing the change. Specific examples include facilitating the transition from landline phones to a cloud-based system or integrating an enterprise-wide ERP/CRM system. The change manager oversees training, engagement, communication, and reinforcement in such scenarios. Salaries vary based on experience and the scope of responsibilities, whether overseeing the entire change project or specific aspects.
The key responsibilities include creating and executing change timelines, meeting project objectives, adhering to budget constraints, collaborating with stakeholders, developing training materials, coordinating necessary activities, and providing progress reports on the change initiative.
Future-Proofing Your Career: The Case for Change Management
A career in change management is deemed favorable based on various factors, including salary, industry trends, future prospects, and job availability. With over 38,000 job postings on platforms like Indeed, the field presents ample employment opportunities. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a 14% growth rate for “management analytics,” encompassing change management, from 2018 to 2028. Moreover, the versatility of change management opens doors to various opportunities, whether working for large corporations, change management consulting firms, or establishing an independent consulting business. Whether starting a career or making a career change, pursuing a path in change management is considered a wise choice.
Unlocking the Doors: Your Guide to Entering Change Management and Required Skills
To enter the field of change management, a business degree, preferably in a business-related field, is a recommended starting point. Many firms hiring change management consultants prefer candidates with at least a Bachelor’s Degree. Additionally, a background in business or organizational psychology is beneficial for those aspiring to become transformational leaders in change management.
For a specialized career in change management, obtaining certification in a change methodology, such as The Prosci ADKAR® Model, is crucial. Familiarity with popular change management methodologies is also advantageous.
In addition to educational qualifications and certifications, certain skills enhance success in change management careers. These skills include leadership, effective communication, training and coaching abilities, organizational proficiency, problem-solving acumen, trust-building, attention to detail, and project management capabilities. Proficiency in these skills can contribute to a higher change management salary.
Embarking on Change: The Process of Becoming a Change Manager and Getting Started
To become a change manager, after acquiring the necessary education and knowledge of change management practices, there are two main routes: seeking employment with large corporations that have in-house change management teams or joining a change consulting firm. A change manager salary typically ranging from $60,000 to $120,000 or more annually, depending on factors like employer, education, and experience.
To initiate a career in change management and aim for a leadership role, follow these steps:
- Assess your education: Ensure you have a relevant degree in business or a change management-related field. Degrees in education or psychology can also apply.
- Obtain certification: Consider getting certified in a change management model like ADKAR, or familiarize yourself with popular change models.
- Update your resume: Highlight skills and experiences related to project management, leadership, and other qualities pertinent to change management.
- Seek job opportunities: Look for change management positions that align with your salary expectations, considering remote work options.
By following these steps, individuals can lay the groundwork for a change management career, exploring diverse opportunities in various organizational settings.
Detailed Deep Dive
When you’re reviewing potential career paths, there are few that can offer as much variety, challenges, excitement, and future job security as a career in change management.
Organizations go through change all the time. They need to keep up with advances in technology, improve their efficiency, expand operations, reallocate resources, comply with regulations, reengineer business processes, and a myriad of other activities that all involve change of some type.
Those changes don’t just happen overnight, and without the right guidance, they may not happen at all. A change manager is the one that creates a strategy and does the legwork to move an organization successfully through a change.
Review of Change Management Salary, Skills, Outlook
Have you ever wondered how to become a transformational leader? Sounds exciting, right? Well, that’s, in essence, what a change manager is.
If you’re interested in learning more about a change management career path and how to become a change manager, we’ll tell you everything you need to know.
In this year’s best guide on change management career paths and salary, we’ll answer:
- What is the average change management salary?
- What does a change manager do?
- What skills do you need for change management?
- How do you begin a career in change management?
Read on to learn more about the change management career path and how to become a transformational leader by guiding change projects.
Do you have questions or comments on change manager salary or change management careers in general? We’d love to hear from you, click here to contact us.
First, What Does a Change Manager Do?
The first stop on your journey of how to become a change manager is to understand the main description of what one does.
A change manager helps organizations through a transformational change. The change management career job description includes developing a change strategy to manage the people side of change, implementing that strategy on behalf of an organization to increase change adoption, and ensuring the change happens successfully (also known as reinforcing the change).
For example, if an organization is moving from landline phones to a new cloud-based phone system, the change manager will be involved in ensuring that transition goes smoothly, and by the end, everyone is successfully using the new system.
Another example is when a company is integrating an enterprise-wide ERP or CRM system. In this case, the change manager drives training, engagement, communication, and reinforcement.
A change management salary can vary according to how experienced a change manager is, and what duties they’re responsible for, i.e., are they in charge of the entire change project or just one part of it?
In general, here is what a change manager does:
- Creates and carries out a timeline and strategy for an organizational change
- Ensures a change project meets its objectives
- Keeps a change project on budget
- Coordinates with stakeholders (leaders, employees, etc.) to progress the change
- Creates training materials
- Coordinates meetings and activities needed to drive the change forward
- Reports on how the change is progressing
Is Change Management a Good Career?
We looked at several factors, and all point to the change management career path being a good one, both now and in the future.
We reviewed things like change management salary, trajectory of the industry, future prospects, and availability of jobs for someone with a career in change management.
It turns out that the question, “How to become a change manager,” is the right one to ask, whether you’re just starting out after college or changing careers.
Here are some reasons a career in change management is a good bet:
- Jobs are plentiful: A search on Indeed for “change management” pulls up over 38,000 job postings.
- Upward trajectory: According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “management analytics,” which includes change management, is projected to have a 14% growth rate between 2018 and 2028.
- Multiple opportunities: Change management is used everywhere. If you’re wondering how to become a transformational leader, opportunities are there. You can work for a large enterprise corporation, for a change management consulting firm, or start your own change management consulting business.
Got more questions on how to get into change management or change management certifications. Drop us a message and let us know.
How Much Do Change Managers Get Paid?
Just like any other career field, there are different levels of change managers, so a change management salary will depend upon things like education and experience.
The average change management salary across all levels, according to Glassdoor, is $100,235 per year.
Salary.com shows the average change management salary for a Change Management Specialist at $127, 441 per year.
Annual change management salary according to positions are on average:
- $62,000 for a Change Management Analyst
- $64,000 for a Change Manager
- $75,000 for an Organizational Development Consultant
- $77,000 for an Organizational Consultant
- $100,000 for an Organizational Change Manager
How Do You Get into Change Management?
If you want to know where to start on how to become a change manager, a business degree is the best place to start. Most firms hiring a change management consultant will require at least a Bachelor’s Degree in a business-related field.
A background in business or organizational psychology can also help you in learning how to become a transformational leader as a change manager.
Specific to a change management career path is a certification in a change methodology, such as The Prosci ADKAR® Model, and an understanding of the various popular change management methodologies.
See Also: Change Management Plans
- Change Management Playbook
- Communications Plan
- Coaching Plan
- Stakeholder Engagement and Management
- Change Champion Networks
- Change Management Roadmaps
- Tracking and Measurement Plan
- Resistance Management Plan
- Training Plan, Development & Delivery
Do you looking for answers to questions like “Is change management a good career for me?” or “How to get into change management?” or just looking for more information on change manager salary, send us a message with your questions or comments.
What Skills Do You Need for Change Management?
Beyond education, there are certain skills that can help you in your career in change management. Those with proficiency in these skills will usually command a higher change management salary.
Change managers will typically have the following skills:
- Leadership
- Communication
- Training/coaching
- Organization
- Problem-solving
- Trust-building
- Detail-oriented
- Ability to manage projects
How Do You Become a Change Manager?
Once you have the educational background and knowledge of change management practices, there are two main routes you can take on how to become a change manager.
One of these is to search for companies that are looking for a change manager for their own organization. These are typically large enterprise corporations that have their own in-house change management team.
The other route is to look for a change management career path with a change consulting firm. Several firms offer change management services to corporations. This option would allow you to work with many different organizations’ change projects.
The change management salary will vary according to the type of firm you work with. Still, most will fall into the general range of $60,000 to $120,000 or more per year, depending upon your employer, education, and experience.
Are you looking for more information on organizational change management jobs, careers in change management, or change manager career path? Drop us a message with your questions.
How Do I Get Started in Change Management?
If you’re looking for ways on how to become a transformational leader through a change management career path, then here is a road map for getting started.
Ask: Do I Have the Necessary Education?
If not, look for classes to help you get a B.S. in a business and change management career-related field. Note: If you have a B.S. in the areas of education or psychology, these can also relate to change management skillsets.
Get Certified in Change Management Model (Or Learn Them)
ADKAR is one of the most popular models for certification. However, if you can’t get certified yet, at least become familiar with the popular change models. You may be asked to apply one or another to a change management project.
Update Your Resume
Make sure to update your resume to include skills and experience you have with any type of project management, leadership, or other things that would translate well to a change management career path.
Look for Job Opportunities
Begin searching for job opportunities with a change management salary in the range that you want. There are plenty of them out there, so you should have several options to choose from, and some may even include remote work.
Conclusion – This Year’s Change Management Salary, Job Prospects, and Skills Needed
The change management career path is about being a good leader, strategist, communicator, and organizer all at the same time.
If you enjoy working with people, then becoming a change manager will be a great fit and allow you the opportunity to work with organizations of all types and help them transform through some of their most important projects.
It also doesn’t hurt that the change management salary range is attractive, even at the starting levels, and there is plenty of opportunity for advancement.
All in all, a career in change management is a good bet for future job security and flexibility to work with a variety of processes, companies, and people.
Note: Content on OCM Solution's ocmsolution.com website is protected by copyright. Should you have any questions or comments regarding this OCM Solution page, please reach out to Ogbe Airiodion (Change Management Lead) or the OCM Solution Team today. OCM Solution was previously known as Airiodion Global Services (AGS).
Images: https://www.pexels.com/photo/group-of-people-sitting-indoors-3184360/