Are you looking for a career change? Want to become a project manager, but does not know how or you are debating whether there is a benefit in doing a PMP certification or not? If so, please read on..
There are two ways to look at this question.
- You want to be a Project Manager and acquire skills and experience and are moving from some other non-managerial role.
- You are already a Project Manager and are doing well, but you want to become certified by PMI either because the company mandates it or you want to get familiar with the PMBOK(Project Management Body Of Knowledge) standards or to gain growth and recognition.
If your goal is falling under the first category, then you don’t necessarily have to become PMP certified right away. You can first enter into an entry level project manager role and walk your way up. And slowly when you are interested and are able to invest time and effort, you can study for PMP certification and complete it.
If you are thinking in the direction of the second category, get PMP certification. PMP certification has its own set of benefits and value in the marketplace. It requires your time and money and also commitment. Because first you have to apply(allow 4-6 weeks time) and get trained(allow 6-8 weeks time) and then prepare for the exam(another 4-6 weeks). That timeframe is on average, it might vary from person to person. Some people do it faster, some people take longer. Whatever may be the case, once you pass the exam, you have to still need to recertify every three years. Recertification requires you to claim 60 PDU’s(Professional Development Units) every three years, otherwise, you have to sit for the exam again. That is why it is important that you are committed to being a PMP certified Project Manager.
Is it worth being a PMP certified PM?
A single big response is by all means, YES. Definitely. Project Management Institute(PMI) is highly accredited and PMP certification is recognized all around the world. Furthermore, there are many organizations that are mandating that the applicants for the Sr. Project Manager roles to be PMP certified. For those that are already working in the same company, that are non-PMP certified are required to get the certification in a certain amount of time. So, it is definitely totally worth being a PMP certified project manager.
If you want to look for full information on the application process and handbook from PMI, check the PMI website- http://www.pmi.org/certifications/types/project-management-pmp.
Also, note that you do NOT need to be a PMI member to write the exam. However, it is recommended because the PMI members have less exam fee than the non-PMI members and furthermore, the members will have access to a ton of knowledge base and also gets a free download of latest version of PMBOK guide.( Project Management Body Of Knowledge)
