Professionals often get confused while deciding to go with a certification as they don’t feel it worthy. The same happens with the PMP or Project Management Professional Certification.
Let’s look at why you should take a project management course and get PMP certification added to your resume.
- As stated on the website of PMI (Project Management Institute), a PMP-certified project manager can earn around 20% more than a non-certified project manager.
- Organizations are gradually realizing the importance of project managers to execute their projects and are therefore looking for PMP-certified professionals.
- There is a lot of room for you as a project manager because only around 58% of organizations realize the value of project management.
- This certification enables you to stand out from the competition by making your resume more valuable and serves as proof to your employers that you have the skills that are required to become a perfect project manager.
- Around 40% of IT executives state that they are looking forward to hiring project managers who have earned the PMP certification, according to a survey report by ComputerWorld.
Moreover, as per the “Project Management Job Growth and Talent Gap, 2017-2027” published by the PMI, the future for certified project managers is bright because there is an expected surge in project management jobs, competitive salaries, as well as an opportunity to make the difference.
So, are you ready to become a Project Manager?
Read below to have an overview of the highly in-demand PMP certification and career paths you can have by getting certified.
What is PMP?
Project Management Institute or PMI, which is a US-based non-profit professional organization, issues the PMP certification which is specifically meant for project managers who wish to show their project management expertise across the globe.
The certification is referred to as the gold standard for professionals across the globe as it sets your resume to stand out by giving you global recognition. This is also because today project managers are in demand in every organization across every industry.
The PMP certification is the world’s leading project management certification that includes different approaches to project management including agile, predictive, and hybrid approaches.
Attaining the certification proves to your employers that you have the required experience and project leadership in any mode of working.
Apart from supercharging your career, it can help organizations have professionals who can perform better and work smarter.
PMP Certi fication Exam
As updated on 2nd January 2021, the PMP certification exam consists of:
- Number of questions – 180
- Duration – 230 minutes or 3 hours 50 minutes
- Two breaks of 10 minutes each
- Questions format – Multiple choice, Multiple answers, hotspot, matching, and some fill-in-the-blanks questions
The most important thing about PMP is that it is specifically curated by the project professionals, for the project managers. It demonstrates to your employers that you are properly skilled in:
People: this section focuses on the soft skills that are required to lead a team of project professionals in the evolving environment effectively. (42%)
The People section comprises questions based on creating and leading teams, assisting virtual teams, managing issues, mentoring, and more topics related to these.
Process: This section, which makes 50% of the certification exam, validates your expertise on the methodology of overseeing a project through completion. The topics of this section include maintaining a budget, human, and other resources; handling and scheduling changes in the project, and identifying the best possible methodology for executing a project. It is all about strengthening the technical aspects of managing the project successfully.
Business Environment: the last section of the certification exam, which makes about 8%, is all about business-minded aspects of the project. Some of the topics covered in this section may include delivering value, ensuring compliance, and bringing out organizational changes.
Specifically, this is meant to underline the connection between organizational strategies and projects.
From the above aspects of the PMP certification exam, you can notice that around half of the questions are related to the agile approach of project management, while the other half is related to predictive or hybrid approaches.
Benefits of Getting PMP Certification
Did You Know?
There are more than 1,000,000 PMP certification holders across the globe.
These professionals are said to have gained universally recognized knowledge and skills required for project management.
Some of the benefits of getting PMP certification are:
- You get huge career options with PMP certification. PMP certification has become a prerequisite in many organizations.
- It enhances your earning potential. A data by PayScale states that the median annual salary of a PMP-certified general project manager is around USD 88,000. On the other hand, an IT project manager can make up to USD 98,000 and a senior project manager can earn up to USD 117,000.
- A PMP certification validates your competency as a well-qualified project manager and proves to your employers and stakeholders that you can make the project deliver the desired value.
- It enables you to improve your skills. While preparing for the PMP certification exam, you learn to apply the best practices and principles of project management. The validity of certification is for three years. To keep up with the certification, you are required to earn PDUs or Professional Development Units. These PDUs prove that you are updated with the latest developments in project management.
Career Prospects
Today, PMP-certified project managers are hired in almost every organization. Some of the big names looking for certified project managers are Intel, WSP, Rovi, the Knot, Solusoft, Capgemini, IBM, Microsoft, Suncorp Bank.
You can enter into the world of project management across any industry including financial services, aerospace, pharmaceuticals, defense, logistics, and more. You can visit this site to know about the PMP Certification in Manila.
You can go with a PMP certification or Prince2 (Project Management in Controlled Environments).
Conclusion
Now that you are acquainted with the fact that a PMP certification can work wonders for your career and make you earn huge salaries, it is the turn of coming to the how-to section.
To earn a PMP certification in your first attempt, take up an online training course. There are online training courses offered by accredited institutes that make sure that you are prepared well to pass the exam by making you hands-on with real-life projects.
Enroll Now!!