[merrua]

I'd recommend reading the PM canon, its useful even if you just want to work better with them. Don't know the canon, find out. What books/podcasts do all the PM's you know own and listen to? You could get the cert (PMBOK). Certs can mean the difference between someone taking a chance on you or not. Ask the PM's/BA's in your company for advice (you can word it as your friend/kid is interested). Another useful thing is to look at job ad's, what are they asking for, do you have those skills? Can you demonstrate them?