The increase in demand for skilled professionals has made the PMP training is amongst the most desired certifications. Irrespective of the country, city or state you are living in, a high volume of people is rushing to get certified as a Project Management Professional. With this training, you can not only work in any part of the globe but can also apply the techniques and skills you acquire to any industry. PMP is truly global, thus there are 833,025 active PMP professionals as of March 2018 and the number continues to grow.

You must be wondering, why are so many people taking the certification, what exactly is PMP and how will I benefit from it. That’s why we have brought a comprehensive guide to help you understand if PMP is the right course for you and how you will benefit from it.

What is PMP?

Project Management Professional or PMP is a certification provided by the Project Management Institute (PMI). The course is based on the Project Management Book of Knowledge (PMBOK – 6^th edition) and understanding of the guide, demonstrates that you as a project manager possess the knowledge, experience, skills, and expertise in project management. The certification equips you with the skills required to lead and drive a project successfully towards its completion. PMI picks up the most valuable nuggets that give you the best understanding of project management. It provides you with a framework that helps you sort your projects effectively and deliver them on time within the assigned budget. PMP Practitioners acquire a higher position in comparison to their peers as they are competent and experienced enough to lead and direct projects.

How will you benefit from PMP?

Since there is a dearth of skilled Professional Managers, the increase for PMP certified professionals is high in demand. How will you as an individual benefit from PMP? Here are a few ways, the Pmp Certification will help you and increase your value for your employers:

1. Credibility and ability to handle challenging projects

When you apply for a job, the first thing the employer checks is your resume is expected to be impressive as it highlights your potential. The employer looks minutely to see what sets you apart from the other candidates and how can you add value to the organization. That’s exactly where the PMP certification helps.

The PMP certification shows your seriousness and determination towards your career. Project Management can be very rewarding if you are the kind of person who loves taking on new challenges and is motivated enough to drive a project towards its successful completion.

Acquiring the certification is no cake walk as PMI takes you through rigorous training, making you an expert and a skilled professional who can handle the most complex projects. It is your prerogative to ensure that everyone and everything is working smoothly. You must be willing enough to embrace and overcome any challenge that comes your way and being the best project manager, you can be.

1. 1. Speak the same language

The PMP certified professionals are often thrust with a long list of terms that you need to be well versed with in order to be articulate with others. You may learn these terms while you are at the job but with the training, you will acquire proficiency over the project management language.

The course ensures that you have a thorough understanding and of the terms and have internalized each of the concepts. This, in turn, to not only confidently use these terms but also deal with your stakeholders with the utmost confidence and the faith that what you are doing is right.

2. Higher salary with job security

The ninth edition of PMI’s salary survey states that PMP Practitioners can expect a 20% higher salary in comparison to those without a PMP certification. Since you have a credential to your name, the certification increases your worth, resulting in a higher potential of earning more and advancing ahead of your peers

Companies understand the value of PMP certification, and all that it implies along with the skills and expertise it provides, thus they willing to pay more for what they know that they will get. In case you are considering doing the course then this is one point you should keep in mind.

A PMP certified professional in Bangalore, India will earn around Rs1,800,000 pa, in London, UK will take home a package of £57,500 pa while in New York, US he will be paid $139,217 pa.

Don’t think that because you will take home a better package you are at a higher risk of being thrown out in case calamity strikes. The demand for Project Managers and that too experienced ones never ceases. Also, according to the PMI’s Job Growth and Talent Gap Report, “Across the globe, there’s a widening gap between employers’ need for skilled project management workers and the availability of professionals to fill those roles.” This trend was first noticed in 2008 and has been growing ever since.
However, if a company is undergoing downsizing, your retention cannot be guaranteed, however, the certification gives the confidence that you are still an asset to several other employers who are waiting to take you aboard.

3. Better opportunities through networking

One of the most effective ways of moving ahead in a career is through networking, as you build instant connections within your field. Once you become a PMI member and get certified as a professional, you can join a PMI chapter closest to you and get access to other Project Management Practitioners in your own sector as well as across the globe. The benefits of this international community are extensive and one of its major benefits is getting a suitable job within your area or across the globe.

Project management is a rapidly growing need, and the supply has been negligible in comparison to the demand in the last several years. This is good news for especially for those project managers who have the certification. Since the demand for project managers is high in various industries, it has almost become a need to give get a competitive edge over other project managers. Without a doubt, the best jobs will be given to those who have the training, experience, and knowledge that comes that can be acquired through the PMP certification.

4. Adapt and add value to your organization

Certified Project managers will always be beneficial and add value to any organization. When an experienced project manager overlooks a project, the company can rest a sure that the entire project will be handled professionally, and the person knows what he or she is doing. This way they are aware that the employees are in able hands and are being led by an individual who has the expert knowledge to make sure that the team is working to the best of their abilities. Thus, companies know and value your worth.
As a certified project manager, you will have extensive knowledge and ability to manage risks as well as avoid unnecessary mistakes that could potentially lead to monetary loss. When the clients start trusting you and your abilities as a project manager and believe that you give the best service, the company will start trusting and valuing you more.

1. 1. Create a healthy business culture

According to PMI reports businesses are integrating project management into their vision for promoting a healthy work culture. Once the organizations recognize that the effectiveness of “change the business” initiative increases only with a formal project and program management they are ready to embrace project management and increase their business value. This is when they require a certified PMP professional to lead the project and take things forward. The onus of promoting a healthy work culture lies in the hands of the Project Manager to actively engaged executive sponsors in aligning projects and programs to the organization’s strategy.

5. International and sector-wise acceptation

In 2007, Project Management International earned ISO/IEC 17024 accreditation for its PMP certification program. With this standardization, PMP certification got credibility in over 85 countries that have adopted and endorsed ISO standardization practices. Thus, making the PMP certification an internationally recognized qualification.

This further goes on to show that the global community recognizes certification to be a valuable one and gives you an edge over the non-certified managers. If your company aims to have a strong global presence and influence, this certification will be highly valued by you as well.

Sector-wise requirement

There is a requirement for Project managers across different sectors and companies are constantly seeking talented and qualified professionals to make sure that their projects are executed with excellence.

Today, more companies and businesses are seeking certified project managers who could help organize their various future endeavors. Amongst them, finance and insurance, manufacturing and construction, utilities, oil and gas, and information services and publishing are the leading sectors.

Knowledge gained through certification increases your value and your worth to companies that require this kind of management techniques and skills. While you may need to learn details based on the company you are working for, while managing for them, most of the principles can be learned during the certification. These principles can be applied across the board, prepare you to manage projects for anyone and from anywhere.

6. Stay abreast

The only thing constant is change. With evolving trends and technology it is important to be up-to-date about what’s happening around you. To ensure this, the PMI requires you to renew your certification every three years and be informed about the changes or updates in the system.

Am I eligible for the PMP certification?

After getting a better understanding of what the PMP certification has to offer, the first thought that is bound to cross your mind is that if you are eligible. To apply for PMP Certification, you must fulfill the following education and experience requirement criteria,

• A secondary Diploma (High School or Associate Degree)
• 7,500 hours or 5 years of experience in leading and directing the projects

OR

• Four Year Bachelor’s degree or Global Equivalent
• 4,500 hours or 3 years of experience in leading and directing the projects
• 35 contact hours certificate obtained through the PMP Exam Prep certification training course is an additional requirement

Applying for the PMP Certification 

Step 1: Submission of the Application: Once you start filling the application, you have 90 days to complete it.

Step 2: Reviewing the application: Once the application is submitted online, PMI takes 5 days to review it.

Step 3: Audit Process: If your application is selected, you must send your audit within the next 90 days. Following which PMI will take 5-7 days to process the audit materials. The eligibility period begins when the audit has successfully completed.

Step 4: Applicant payment process: You need to make the payment in order to schedule the exam.

Step 5: Multiple-choice Examination Eligibility: After your application has been approved, you have one year to take the exam. You can take the re-exam twice in the same year in case you fail in the first attempt.

Step 6: Certification Cycle: Your certification cycle begins from the day you pass the exam and are given the credential.

Step 7: Credential Maintenance: Simply acquiring the certification is not enough, you need to maintain it by earning and reporting 60 PDUs within a 3-year cycle.

Step 8: Credential Renewal: Your credential can be renewed once you have reported the earned 60 PDUs as per the requirement and submitted the renewal fees.

Step 9: Credential Suspension: Exactly three years after passing your exam, if you have not fulfilled the ‘Continue Certification Requirements’, your credential will be suspended for a year later.

Step 10: Credential Expiration: This happens at the end of the suspension period in case you are unable to fulfill the ‘Continue Certification Requirements’. If you would like to hold the credential again, you are required to reapply.

All you need to know about the examination

Preparation time:

The average time required to prepare for the PMP certification exam is around 2-months with 3 hours of exam prep studies each day. If you have enough time in hand and could manage around 8 hours of study each day, you will be able to complete the study in 23 days. These figures are based on a survey conducted on PMP aspirants.

Exam format:

The PMP Certification examination consists of 200 Multiple Choice Questions with four options to choose from. The candidates will be given 240 minutes to complete the test where the questions range from simple to complex. Each question carries the same weight and the candidate will finally be marked based on their response to 175 questions.

Percentage required to pass:

PMI refrains from disclosing the exact passing score, however, initially, they had set 61% as the passing score for the PMP Certification Examination. Now, since the level of difficulty of the questions attempted differs from individual to individual, the passing percentage also varies.

Application for PMP re-examination:

Those participants who have unable to pass the examination in the first attempt will be allowed to apply two more times in the same year. Those attempting the exam for the second and the third time will have to pay an additional fee of $275 (PMI members) or $375 (non-members). However, if the applicant is unable to pass in the third attempt as well, he will have to wait for a year to re-appear for the examination.

Retaining the Certification

Once you have earned the Project Management Professional (PMP) certification, you are required to earn 60 PDUs over a span of three years to fulfill Project Management Institute’s PDU requirements to retain the credential. In case you are unable to do so, your credential will be suspended and will expire a year later. If this happens you will have to reapply for the credential.

Conclusion

With a clear picture of what PMP has to offer and how you can accelerate your career as a Project Manager, it is best that you take the PMP Certification Training. It will help you understand the PMBOK- 6^th Edition Guide better and pass the exam with ease.

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