Lau noted that, while a lot can be learned by online classes or real-world classes, what drives project management is interpersonal dynamics.

“That’s the day-to-day team dynamics, and a lot of that is really hard to teach, and a dimension that isn’t there theoretically,” he said. “Based on my experiences, I find the best training ground is actually not any of the certification programs, because nothing beats learning by doing.” 

That being said, many project managers find certifications (more on those below) and formal training a necessary part of their project-management journey. Goli said Coursera offers quite a few resources on its platform for IT project management training, including the Introduction to Project Management Guided Project (for the true novice), as well as professional certificates such as the UCI Project Management Professional Certificate.