You will undoubtedly come across project management certificates as you develop and enhance your project management career. By earning these professional credentials, you can improve your abilities, broaden your knowledge, and show that you are an authority in your field.
All of this is fantastic news for project managers in the industry. The problem is that there are numerous different project manager certificates available. Establishing an effective innovation management system can substantially enhance an organization’s capacity to recognise, rank, and execute ground-breaking concepts.
It can also be perplexing, even while it allows you a wide range of choices to further your education. How can you possibly choose which project management qualifications are worthwhile pursuing? Which ones will have the greatest influence on your career as a whole, your reputation, and the field you choose?
We’re analyzing some of the most well-known project management certifications available in this guide. We’ll also explain why certificates are advantageous in the first place and what factors to take into account when making your decisions. In this way, you may focus more of your time on perfecting your trade and less time on performing research.
Why is a project management certification necessary?
You surely have a lot of responsibilities as a project manager. You may feel as though pursuing a professional certification is yet another task to add to your already long list of obligations.
However, project managers might gain a variety of compelling advantages by getting this kind of accreditation. Let’s examine a handful of the more important ones.
Best PMI project management certifications
Now that you have some requirements, it’s time to get to the meat of the matter: the qualifications you can really pursue.
The Project Management Institute (PMI) is the recognized leader in the field when it comes to project management certifications. Since the organization began providing certifications in the middle of the 1980s, the number of certifications it now offers has increased.
Currently, PMI offers a number of certifications that cover a wide range of project management topics. Here, we’ll give you information on a number of its most well-known and well-liked ones.
PMP
Experienced project managers who wish to obtain a well-known qualification that is in demand across all industries should choose this certification.
$405 for PMI members and $555 for non-members for the exam fee.
With good cause, PMI refers to the Project Management Professional (PMP) credential as the “gold standard” in the field. It’s without a doubt the most well-known and prestigious project management certification available.
To be eligible to take the 180-question PMP test, candidates must fulfill a number of requirements. Project managers must fulfill one of the following requirements in order to qualify for PMP certification:
a four-year degree, 36 months of project management experience within the previous eight years, and 35 hours of project management training from authorized training partners, on-demand courses, and webinars
a secondary education diploma or its equivalent, 60 months of project management experience during the previous eight years, and 35 hours of project management training from approved training partners, such as on-demand courses and webinars.
If you fulfill the requirements, gather your supporting evidence (such as records of the projects you’ve managed and the training you’ve completed), submit your application, and you’ll get instructions on how to schedule your exam and pay the exam price.
The exam concentrates on widely applicable project management ideas and best practices in PMI’s five stages of project management: Initiation, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling, and Closing because this credential is sought after by firms in a variety of industries.
You get 230 minutes to finish all of the questions on the exam, which you may take either online or at a Pearson Vue Testing Center. You get three chances within a year to retake the exam if you don’t pass.
CAPM
The best candidates for this certification are entry-level project managers who wish to master the basics of project management and position themselves for a fruitful initial step in their careers.
The exam cost is $300 for non-members and $225 for PMI members.
In that it covers broader project management ideas, the Certified Associate of Project Management (CAPM) title is comparable to the PMP. The CAPM certification is designed primarily for project management professionals who are just starting out, in contrast to the PMP certification, which is targeted toward more seasoned project managers.
According to PMI, in order to be eligible for the exam, you must satisfy both of the following conditions:
possess a secondary qualification, such as a high school diploma, GED, or equivalent internationally
Before the exam, you should have completed at least 23 contact hours of project management education (PMI indicates that its online Project Management Basics course can help with this).
When you are certain that you are eligible, you can schedule your test online, apply for the exam, and pay the exam price. There are 150 questions on the actual exam, and you have three hours to do it. Similar to the PMP, if you don’t pass the first time, you can retake the test up to three times in a calendar year.
Regarding the exam’s subject matter, consider it a test of all the fundamentals of project management. The responsibilities of project managers, communication, risk management, project scope, scheduling, resource management, and other subjects will be covered in the questions.
Before you get additional experience and eventually go on to the PMP certification, earning this certification is an excellent way to jumpstart your project management career.
