If you are a project manager seeking an increase in salary or looking to switch to a higher position in the management sector, then you must have thought of becoming PMP-certified. Going by a recent survey, the majority of the high-performing projects come under the hood of PMP-certified project managers. Well! This, indeed, sounds to be a great deal. Through this post, we are going to attempt to answer an obvious question in your mind as to what a PMP certification does for your career. However, before that, you must know some basic things about the PMP certification.
What is PMP Certification?
PMP or Project Management Professional comes under the category of the most respected and recognized certifications. Offered by the Project Management Institute (PMI), based in the United States of America, PMP Certification Dallas, nowadays, is exceedingly essential for the project managers who are looking to take the next leap in their career.
Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) is the guide utilized by the PMP aspirants to study for the examination. Following are the five performance domains on which the PMP examination tests the aspiring candidates.
- Initiating the project (13%)
- Planning the project (24%)
- Executing the project (31%)
- Monitoring and controlling the project (25%)
- Closing the project (7%)
Please note that PMP is a closed-book test and contains 200 multiple choice questions. Out of these 200 questions, 25 questions do not add to the final score. However, these 25 questions do not come up together in the examination. Distribution of these questions is random and the primary purpose of these 25 questions is to improve the overall standard of the examination.
What are the requirements for sitting in a PMP Certification Examination?
A candidate must have either:
- A secondary degree (high school diploma, associate’s degree, or the global equivalent.
- 7,500 hours leading and directing projects.
- 35 hours of project management education.
OR
- Four-year degree.
- 4,500 hours leading and directing projects.
- 35 hours of project management education.
Now, since you know the basics of the PMP certification, check out the following points highlighting as to what a PMP certification does for your career or how PMP certification is beneficial for your career.
- Significant Increase in Salary
The demand for PMP certified project managers, nowadays, is more than ever. Almost, all the hiring managers of the reputed organizations put up PMP Certification as a compulsory criterion for the job openings in the project management sector. Even the clients of these reputed organizations lay heavy stress on them to hire PMP-certified professionals for their projects. Generally speaking, more the number of PMP-certified professionals in an organization more are its chances of acquiring good projects from respectable clients.
As a consequence of all of this, PMP-certified professionals enjoy a 20-22% more salary than their non-certified peers. If we go by the latest trends, none of the certifications pays more than PMP and it is highly likely that the salaries of PMP-certified professionals will continue to increase in the future.
- Improved Job Security
You cannot say with a guarantee that your job in the organization will stay forever. During downtime, employees holding senior positions are the primary targets. However, an organization will think twice before targeting a PMP-certified employee. This is because you will have the required skills to manage projects effectively and efficaciously during downtime. Hence, if you are a PMP-certified project manager, you are pretty much safe during downtime.
- Interact with Like-Minded People
There are more than 7, 00,000 PMP certification holders across the world. When you acquire the PMP certification, you become one of these numbers. Since, in order to retain the validity of your PMP certification, you require earning Professional Development Units (PDUs), which fulfill the Continuous Credential Requirements (CCRs), the Project Management Institute (PMI) arranges get-togethers for members in various cities of the world.
In these sessions, you can interact with like-minded people and build a network for yourself. There are many advantages of this interaction including acquiring the knowledge of new job opportunities. Apart from these meetings, PMP has great online as well as offline communities. Overall, the professional network that you can develop and construct for yourself with PMP certification is unparalleled and unequaled.
- Displays your dedication and commitment towards your job
It takes serious time-management and dedication to acquire PMP certification while dealing with your personal as well as professional lives. An employer is always in the lookout of candidates who are dedicated, committed, and possesses outstanding time-management skills. With PMP certification, you do not need to verbally communicate to your employer about your commitment towards work as the PMP certification itself will speak for you. The employer knows how challenging and tough it is to acquire PMP certification while managing the personal and professional life. Overall, acquiring PMP certification goes in your favor in all the phases of your professional life as none of the other certifications validates your dedication towards work to the extent PMP does.
- PMP certification is valid for most of the industries
Not only IT, but various other industries like telecom and finance have projects too. Whatever the industry might be, the presence of projects indicates the strong requirement of PMP-certified professionals. Hence, with PMP certification under your hood, you are not limited to a single type of industry; instead, you can jump easily from one industry to another if a better opportunity is available. This is because a project can belong to any industry, the standardized approach towards project management and the processes remain the same. With PMP certification you have the required knowledge to manage projects in almost all the industries.
Also, when you have the PMP certification in your hand, you are bound to get new and better job opportunities. You don’t even have to work hard to look for them. Hence, whenever boredom starts banging you in your current job, a PMP certification allows you to jump easily to a better paying and more challenging job opportunity.
- Good Investment for your future
You might think that the PMP examination is difficult and expensive. Moreover, you might approach formal training as well for the same which will escalate the cost further. Some persons might say to you that there are similar certifications available which cost less and eats up less of your time. However, please keep in mind that it is, indeed, difficult to acquire the PMP certification, but once you acquire the same, the security that you develop for your future is unparalleled and unequaled. None of the other related certifications proves to be an investment as good as PMP for your future. Hence, instead of listening to others, it is you who should decide.
Final Words
We hope that the above points are sufficient enough to provide you with the answer to your question as to what a PMP certification does for your career. Overall, the rate of career progression achieved after acquiring PMP certification is not achievable through other relative certifications. Therefore, if you are thinking of going for PMP, we urge you not to think more, convince your mind, and immediately go for it.
