Project Manager
Some businesses are process-oriented; steel mills, for example, churn out steel in a continuous process that, ideally, never ends. But many businesses are project-oriented. You build a skyscraper and you're done. You then move on to the next project.
Within any business, there are jobs that need doing temporarily until they're done, and then they're over. Modernizing the accounting information system is an example of a project (modernizing) performed on an ongoing process (accounting). So in any business, there is a need for project managers.
A project manager breaks a complex project down into relatively simple parts; determines what resources are needed to complete each part; and coordinates the completion of all parts so that they are done when their products are needed by other parts. Project management requires the ability to track many small tasks and keep them all moving along on schedule to come together in the final result on time and under budget.
An IT project manager, for instance, must determine what hardware, software, Internet service, cooling systems, power sources, and other things are needed and arrange their acquisition in the right order. It does no good to have a million dollars' worth of software if the computers needed to run it haven't arrived yet. Of course, you also need people with the right skills to install and program the new system. You can see that an IT project manager must juggle many balls without dropping any.
Project management software is used to help track the many components of a project. Because the software won't be needed when the project is done, online project management software is often rented on an as-needed basis.
If you enjoy multi-tasking; analyzing and breaking down complex problems; dealing with a wide variety of vendors to secure many different resources; scheduling an monitoring many activities at once; then project management jobs may be for you. The delightful thing is, project management careers are not limited to specific types of projects.
The skills of a project manager are transferable from IT to construction to trade show or convention projects, and to many other sorts of projects. This lateral mobility helps protect project managers against vicissitudes of business cycles. If the economy in general goes sour, you can always find work managing the delicate project of choosing who to lay off and arranging their severance from a firm. If new construction is down, projects involving demolition or renovation of old buildings often need management.