Planning for a Project Management Career

Shobana Ramamurthi’s goal to level up in her career got a boost after she began our Certificate Program in Project Management in July 2023. Not even a year later, Shobana had already fulfilled the requirements for our shorter and newly revised Professional Program in Project Management. Now just three months after completion of the courses, she is on her desired path—and headed for product managerial roles in the tech industry. 

Her path to project management started in serving her community. After graduating from Ragas Dental College and Hospital in Chennai, India, and immigrating to the Bay Area with her husband, Shobana decided not to pursue the dental field. Instead, her commitment to serve others in her community showed itself in a variety of ways: from PTA and school site council leadership roles, to volunteering for the Obama for America campaign, to becoming a vote director in 2014 for Congressman Ro Khanna. 

Shobana also saw a need in her Indian community for people to meet, connect and find life partners. She became the founder/CEO of the now-defunct Love Beckons, an app that jump-started her path in managing projects. 

“I conceived this unique opportunity for people to meet online and receive personal assistance in dating by providing professional counseling, makeovers, dating tips and suggestions,” she tells me. 

Shobana and her CTO built their dating application from scratch. During the process, she began to learn how to: 

• do a competitive analysis
• create a business plan 
• hire and build a development team 
• write project requirements and 
• design, test and deliver a great product on time and within budget. 

“I was also in charge of marketing,” she adds. “I became a radio jockey at an Indian radio station (Radio Zindagi), organized and hosted meet and greets for my clients, hired a blogger to write articles about dating and finding love, et cetera.

“This experience taught me incredibly valuable lessons about projects, people and business management. 

“Though I was doing all the work, I didn’t have a clear understanding of what I was doing,” she admits. “If I had done UC Berkeley Extension's program before this, I feel I would have succeeded in my venture. I did not know how to properly create a charter or a business case, or how to manage time, scope or the budget. I didn’t know the importance of risk analysis or how to respond to risks. 

“I wish I had taken these classes before I started Love Beckons.” 

Career Shift to Help Others Attain Success 

After her own venture, Shobana’s interest in startups was piqued. 

“I joined Smartmoney.co and helped build a meaningful and impactful product when the opportunity came up,” she says. “They had the right idea and potential to help many people with minimum capital to invest and build a nest egg. 

“Here, I learned everything about being a business analyst; I communicated with SMEs and stakeholders—understanding their needs and requirements, documenting these requirements, communicating with designers and engineers, conducting demos—and I also played the Scrum Master role.”

It was during this time that Shobana realized she wanted to grow into leadership positions and began thinking a project management program could move her in the right direction. 

A consultant role as a product owner at Wells Fargo in early 2023 was the push Shobana needed to thoroughly learn project management processes for both her professional and charity work.

“I was discussing with many of my friends who are in a similar field as me,” she says, “on how to further my career goal and reach management or executive level in the tech industry. They suggested that I register for your project management certificate and start applying for project management jobs.”

That’s exactly what Shobana did.

From Certificate to Professional Program

While fulfilling the certificate requirements, Shobana took the following courses:

• Project Management
• Project Planning and Initiation 
• Project Execution and Control
• Project Leadership and Building High-Performing Teams
• Software Project Management
• Agile Principles and Practice

Project Management and Project Planning and Initiation provided that foundation she needed.

“I learned how to create a charter, communication plan, RACI matrix, change management plan, risk management plan, and cause and effect analysis, as well as budgeting, scheduling, et cetera,” she says of the learning experience.

“The instructors were knowledgeable and patient—excellent teachers. They made the classes interesting and interactive. It was a treat and a blessing to be in those classes and learn from them.”

Over the course of the program, Shobana applied what she was learning in the classes to her work at Wells Fargo. 

“As a consultant, I joined Wells Fargo as a product owner to help build software applications that are used in corporate investment banking and commercial real estate,” she explains. “I collaborated with a line of business users, SMEs and the development team; created, prioritized and maintained a backlog; and conducted all Scrum ceremonies. I wore multiple hats by being a Scrum Master, tester and a product owner.

“I employed many tools and techniques in managing my team, communicating effectively with my managers and in delivering product and process improvements.”

After Shobana completed the required classes for the professional program, she felt confident in applying for a project manager job. And her dedication to learning and to the field paid off: In September 2024, she began a new job with Wells Fargo as a senior digital product manager.

“The courses—and especially Software Project Management—gave me the knowledge and confidence to apply for the manager role and land it,” Shobana lauds. “I learned how to build a product that is innovative and customer-centric. Instructor Patricia Reed taught me how to think differently, approach a customer's needs and arrive at a solution. She gave me tools like empathy mapping, user personas to understand the customer and their pain points, how to create value for the user and the business, how to conduct discovery sessions and develop a prototype. It was truly a treasure trove of information.

“Completing this program gave me the skills, credibility and confidence to land the new job,” she adds. “A formal education in project management has made me see the big picture, and to be able to understand the objectives, strategize to create business value, and plan and execute projects successfully.”

On a personal level, Shobana continues to be passionate about public service and building community. In 2022, she was appointed by the mayor of Fremont to be the planning commissioner, following her five-year role as the human relations commissioner previously. Her community events involvement will require a solid knowledge in project planning and management, too.

“I have organized fundraisers for Safe Alternatives to Violent Environments, a nonprofit in Fremont to help domestic violence victims,” she tells me. “My most recent work was in 2023, when I conducted a free event called Suit Up and Slay, a workshop to help women get back into the workforce, as many women had a hard time getting back to work after the pandemic.”

As for her own career, the Professional Program in Project Management provided Shobana with the opportunity to learn and to confidently explore and grow. She plans on continuing her education with UC Berkeley’s Executive Education Product Management Studio. 

“As someone who wants to build innovative products to add value and help people, the product management program seemed like a natural progression,” Shobana says of how her personal and professional goals are coming together. 

“I'm sure that what I learned in my project management classes is going to continue to help me immensely in understanding customer needs and product market fit, formulating a value proposition, and building and delivering high-quality products. I'm excited to use these skills and the ones I will gain in my next program in my future jobs.”