General contractor vs Project manager

[Tyrone L. Robinson]

As a kid I was obsessed with shows like This Old House (before HGTV) and I love all the flipping shows on tv right now.

I'm wondering what are the differences between a General Contractor and a Project Manager on a house flipping project? 

Are there always both on a house flipping project? And how do you learn how to become a GC or PM for house flipping projects?

Listening to the BP Podcasts I always hear how hard it is to find a good General Contractor. I haven't heard as much about Project Managers and I think I may favor that over General contracting since I don't have skills in construction or plumbing or electrical or anything like that.

[Manolo D.]

I think there is a confusion. But GCs are supposed to be hiring the subs and not the owner/investor, hence the name GC. Your PM is supposed to be overseeing the GC and their workers, monitors timeline, approves draws, etc. I am a GC and will never sign off any work that my sub or I didn't do, or supervise. In other cases, a PM with a GC license can hire subs and oversee the work. In CA, it is considered an unlicensed activity and illegal if you hire a PM and hire subs yourself, with a few exceptions of owner builder (owner must occupy within 1 year, and/or property is not subject for resale).
In short, you get PM when you can't oversee the project, but they usually only do a monitoring activity and not contracting activity.