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How many levels do project management ladders have?

Data collected on

We read 9 project management ladders that public employers and companies publish for their own staff and counted their levels. The median is 4 levels for project managers who do not manage people, and 3 and 4 are the most common counts. Every source is linked below, and the data is free to download.

Key findings

  • Ladders run from 3 to 6 levels. The median is 4. The most common counts are 3 and 4, used by 4 ladders each.
  • 4 of the 8 ladders that use job titles have a Senior level. Its median position is step 3 from the bottom.
  • 5 ladders publish a separate track for managers. The 4 that say where it starts put it between step 3 and step 4, and the median is step 4.

How many levels project management ladders have

Each bar is the number of ladders with that many levels for project managers who do not manage people.

  • 3 levels4 ladders
  • 4 levels4 ladders
  • 5 levels0 ladders
  • 6 levels1 ladder

Which titles the ladders use

The bars cover the 8 ladders whose levels are job titles. The other one uses grades or scope names instead of job titles, such as “Expert-Level (GS 12-13)” or “Senior-Level (GS 14-15)”. One ladder can use several of these words.

  • Associate2 of 8
  • Senior4 of 8
  • Project5 of 8
  • Program3 of 8
  • Delivery2 of 8

Senior counts a level titled Senior or Sr., not Senior Staff or Senior Principal. “Project/Program Manager” counts for both Project and Program.

Where the manager track starts

This chart shows the step, counted from the bottom of each ladder, where the first people-manager role sits. It covers the 4 ladders that say where it starts. Of the rest, 1 has a manager track but does not say where it starts and 4 do not say whether they have one.

  • Step 31 ladder
  • Step 43 ladders

Download the data

One row per ladder: its name, who publishes it, the source link, the number of levels, the level names, the manager track and the step it starts at.

Download the CSV

All 9 ladders

Levels for project managers who do not manage people, lowest first, as each publisher names them.
LadderLevelsLevel namesManager track
Dropbox6
  1. IC1 Technical Program Manager
  2. IC2 Technical Program Manager
  3. IC3 Technical Program Manager
  4. IC4 Technical Program Manager
  5. IC5 Staff Technical Program Manager
  6. IC6 Principal Technical Program Manager
Not stated
GitLab3
  1. Professional Services Project Manager
  2. Senior Professional Services Project Manager
  3. Staff Professional Services Project Manager
Separate; start not stated
King County, WashingtonPublic employer4
  1. Project/Program Manager I
  2. Project/Program Manager II
  3. Project/Program Manager III
  4. Project/Program Manager IV
Separate, from step 4 (level with Project/Program Manager IV)
Made Tech3
  1. Associate Delivery Manager
  2. Delivery Manager
  3. Senior Delivery Manager
Separate, above the top level (step 4)
NASAPublic employer4
  1. Team Practitioner
  2. Team Lead
  3. Project Manager
  4. Program Manager
Not stated
State of OregonPublic employer3
  1. Project Manager 1
  2. Project Manager 2
  3. Project Manager 3
Not stated
State of WashingtonPublic employer4
  1. IT Project Management - Entry
  2. IT Project Management - Journey
  3. IT Project Management - Senior/Specialist
  4. IT Project Management - Expert
Separate, from step 4 (level with IT Project Management - Expert)
UK Government Digital and Data ProfessionPublic employer4
  1. Associate delivery manager
  2. Delivery manager
  3. Senior delivery manager
  4. Head of (Agile) delivery management
Not stated
US Office of Personnel ManagementPublic employer3
  1. Mid/Full Performance-Level (GS 9-11)
  2. Expert-Level (GS 12-13)
  3. Senior-Level (GS 14-15)
Separate, from step 3, level with Senior-Level (GS 14-15)

How we did it

We read 9 project management ladders that their publishers use for their own staff: 3 from companies and 6 from public employers, on their own sites or in documents they publish. We kept only those whose levels we could read as text. We left out templates written by individuals, professional bodies’ standards and ladders only for product managers, business analysts or engineers.

Levels are the steps a project manager can climb without managing people, lowest first. Interns and trainees are left out. When a ladder splits one title into numbered steps, each with its own expectations (like “Project Manager 1” and “2”), each step counts. Pay bands inside one level do not. A level above both tracks that the ladder does not open to individual contributors is not counted.

The manager track starts where the ladder puts its first people-manager role: the same band or level number, the same row of its table, or the step where it says the tracks split. When that role sits above the top level, it counts as the next step up. When a ladder has a manager track but does not place it, we do not guess.

Title shares only count ladders whose levels are job titles. A level counts as Senior when its title says Senior or Sr., but not Senior Staff or Senior Principal. Project, Program and Delivery count when the word appears anywhere in a level’s title, so “Project/Program Manager” counts for both Project and Program.

This is a sample of the ladders people chose to publish, mostly from US and UK public employers, and some are several years old. It shows what public ladders look like, not what every employer does.

We store only public facts: how many levels a ladder has, what the levels are called and where the manager track starts. Each ladder belongs to its publisher, so follow the links for the full text. None of them has reviewed or endorsed this study, and Competrace is not affiliated with them.

Spotted a mistake, or a public ladder we missed? Email support@competrace.com with the link, and we will update the data.

See levels with their skills

The study counts levels. To see what each level needs, browse our project management career path with the skills each level expects, or read what a career ladder is.

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