Bob Tarne is an accomplished consultant, speaker and writer. He is a senior program manager at IBM, where he specializes in leading business process improvement initiatives following lean/agile project management techniques. Tarne holds a master's certificate in project management from George Washington University, a B.S. in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois, and an M.S. in business from Johns Hopkins University's Carey Business School. Tarne has also presented and spoken at many conferences, meetings and events about project management and leadership and shares some of his stories and tips on his blog,  Zen, Project Management, and Life.

Why did you decide to pursue this career field?
I was an officer in the U.S. Navy at the time. I got moved from an operational position to a position that involved running projects to put electronics on spy planes. At the same time, I was working on my master's degree in business and taking classes on project management and software development. I came to the conclusion that this was the type of work I liked.

What type of preparation did you do to get into this field?
I started out with some courses in graduate school. I also had on the job training while I was in the Navy. This prepared me for my first civilian PM [project manager] job.

What types of classes and projects did you have to do?
One class in particular in grad school was on project management. I remember the teacher wanted to keep my class project because it was one of the best project plans anyone had turned in for the class.

How did your education help you in your career?
The work in graduate school opened the door for me. At another company, I completed a master's certificate in project management.

What was your career path like in this field? 
My first PM job was while in the Navy. That helped me land a job as a software PM with a manufacturing company. After a couple years, I moved on to a telecommunications company. It was at this time I became more involved with PMI [Project Management Institute], earned my PMP [project management professional] and my master's certificate in project management. After that, I went on to a boutique consulting firm specializing in project management, so now I was advising clients on how to run their projects. After that, I moved to my current position as a program manager. I am still doing consulting and advising clients how to run projects, as well as running projects myself.

What types of skills is someone required to have to work in your position?
A good PM needs to be able to work with a variety of different styles of people. One minute it may be a technical discussion with a programmer, the next minute it may be the director of sales explaining how their sales cycle works.

What do you do on a typical workday?
As a program manager, I'm overseeing a handful of projects. In some cases, I'm more directly involved, so I may meet with the end user to review the requirements, then meet with the developers to provide them direction. On other projects, I am providing direction to a project manager. I start the day with a meeting of my project managers and team leads. We discuss current status and critical items that need to be addressed. I meet with one or more of the end-user teams to review progress. I am also tracking the budget and forecast for the program and at the project level as well. I am also meeting with my client to discuss the project and review staffing levels.

Do you plan to advance to another position within your career field? 
For now I am enjoying working at the program level, so I don't have any immediate plans to change positions.

What type of person do you think is best suited for a job in your field?
Someone with patience, quick to pick up concepts and able to interact with effectively with individuals across the organization.

Do you have any advice for those who are looking to launch a career in your field?
Volunteering is a great way to get some experience and see if you like the field. I have been active with PMI for 10 years in various positions. I think that has helped my career in a number of ways; getting exposed to the concepts of project management, networking and the ability to have leadership positions that have helped me with skills.