Can I leave medical device project management and come back?
Lacking formal experience makes it difficult to land a junior project management role in a new industry. This uncertainty makes people worry about how hard it will be to switch back to medical devices later, leading them to take online courses alongside their current jobs to prepare for the career change.
What the numbers show
Counted from the threads quoted below. How we count
- People have been saying this in most months since September 2026.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
Can I leave medical device project management and come back?
- 1Taking basic online project management courses to learn terminology and budgetingDid this help you?
- 2Volunteering with local conservation or non-profit groups to coordinate small events, volunteer days, or project budgets for hands-on experienceDid this help you?
- 3Applying for entry-level project coordinator roles while emphasizing transferable skills like scheduling, team coordination, and budget handlingDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“Has anyone switched from med device to a different type of project management and then switched back into med device? How difficult would this be?”source ↗
“I have worked in hospitality since I was 17 and currently work as a manager at a café/brunch type place. I have no clue what I want to do with my life.”source ↗
“I’m looking into potential online courses that I could do alongside my current job and that would help me start working towards a different career.”source ↗
“How difficult is it to get your first project coordinator or junior project management role without formal experience?”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 5Is it too late to shift from NetSuite to Oracle Fusion or DevOps?
- 9How do you transition out of a generalist IT management role?
- 2Should I leave property management because of burnout?
- 17How to transition from technical work to management with no background
- 7Starting a first sole sysadmin job with no documentation
- 2How to handle project management and coding at the same time