Candidates seek new career opportunities for reasons such as growth, learning, challenges, higher compensation etc. A career switch is an important decision to make and needs a lot of self-assessment. It is mainly influenced by personal requirements and opportunities in hand. However, before taking the career switch decision, evaluate the opportunity against your goal and then settle for a favorable outcome. Now if you've been looking to make a career change, PMP® certification can help you do just that.
Preparing for PMP® Certification? Take this test to know where you stand!
Project Management Professional (PMP)® is an industry-recognized course for project managers, which makes a job switch easier and gives you ample opportunities to learn and grow. Earning a PMP® certification can get you a higher position and a better salary, even with an experience of 3-5 years! Practitioners who hold the PMP® credentials are usually admired to provide the professional assistance required for managing projects.
PMI® 2014 Pulse of the Profession study reports that organizations with more than 35% PMP® certified project managers have better project performance. As per the 2007 Price Water House Coopers survey, 80% of the high-performing projects use a credentialed project manager.
A best way to showcase your experience, education, competency, and problem-solving skills to cater a project management requirement is to get a PMP® Certification.
Advantages of PMP®
1. PMP® - A Differentiator
Getting PMP® certified not only adds credibility but also makes a world of difference to your resume. While applying for a job with this credential in hand, will put you one step ahead of those who don’t have one! Also the learned set of practices can derive benefit and growth to one’s own business.
2. Financial Benefits
Indeed PMP® is a key to success as certification not only helps you to better present yourself to prospective employers but also has a positive impact on project managers’ salary. A study shows that PMP® certified project managers receive an average starting salary of $90,000 a year.
As per another industry report, overall PMP® credentials will gain you a 20 percent increase in salary over non-credentialed project managers with similar qualifications.
The 2010 PMI® Salary Survey states that the PMP® certified project managers in six major countries report a $10,000 USD salary advantage over non-PMP®-certified project managers.
3. Evaluation and train other employees
PMP® is all about managing a project and with the discipline to master the project management, you are in a better position to evaluate the skills of others. You can easily jot down one’s strengths and weaknesses as per the project requirements and work accordingly. As you yourself have undergone the process of earning the certificate, you now have a better understanding of all the project management tools, which ultimately makes you to better mentor, teach, and train others.
4. Encourage professional growth
You never have to worry about a PMP® certification becoming obsolete. With the knowledge and training that you get, sky is the limit.
According to a survey, out of 13 advertisements for project manager jobs posted on CIO.com and Dice.com, eight ads either require or prefer project management certification. Another survey reports that out of eight jobs posted for project managers, five prefer a professional certificate for project management.
PMP® definitely encourages you to grow professionally by raising your profile against thousands of other candidates.
5. A Common Language
In addition to improving job prospects and salary, PMP® certificate familiarizes you to the typical project management language. This makes it easier for you to effectively communicate with executives, project peers, and customers alike.
PMP® provides you with the standard framework for initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and closing a project, which includes project goals, risks, and the resources needed.
6. World renowned
PMP® certification courses have international recognition i.e. giving increased exposure to the certificate holders globally. PMP® gradually gained global recognition and now commands a higher salary for certified individuals over their non-certified peers.
7. Networking opportunities
Being a PMP® certified professional, associates you to many other PMP® professionals across the world. The August 2011 issue of PMI® today states that there are 357,770 PMI® members across the globe and the number is increasing by the day. Thus your network database of project managers is quite big and as they say, knowledge and experience sharing always results in great numbers (growth and profit). Furthermore, you always remain updated on what new is happening in project management world.
8. Efficient Projects and invaluable experience
A PMP® certificate showcases that you have a solid hold on the set of tools to utilize and deliver projects efficiently. Therefore, you now manage projects faster and cheaper along with the high quality results and minimal risk.
As a part of the training program that one needs to attend to get certified in PMP®, you are actually put into diverse corporate situations basically out of your comfort zone which helps you gain appraisable experience on how to solve complex and diverse project problems.
Taking up PMP®
Eligibility:
- Secondary degree with at least five years of project management experience with 7500 hours leading and directing projects and 35 hours of project management education.
Or
- Four-year degree with at least three years of project management experience, with 4500 hours leading and directing projects and 35 hours of project management education.
PMP® course categorization:
According to PMP® Examination Specification, the course mainly covers five stages of project, which include:
1. Initiating the project
2. Planning the project
3. Executing the project
4. Monitoring and controlling the project
5. Closing the project
Job prospects with PMP®
In the current scenario, where thousands of candidates with the same skills-set are vying for a similar pool of jobs, it is the need of hour to differentiate yourself from others. And for those who are in project management industry - PMP® is the solution!
A survey indicates that PMP® salaries are continuously increasing. There are plenty of online sources which indicate that PMP® professionals make 6,000 to 10,000 USD per year more than non-PMP® professionals; few others say that PMP® professionals make 10-15% more money than those who are not certified!
It’s time to update your resume and position yourself ahead of others, and one impactful way of doing so is earning a PMP® certification!
PMP is a registered trademark of the Project Management Institute, Inc.
