You Are Not a Real Project Manager Without PMP Certification. Why?

PMP (Project Management Professional) is a globally recognized and respected credential that validates the individual’s experience and skills in project management. The certification is offered by Project Management Institute and it is a prestigious certificate for any project manager. To display your expertise and experience in the field, a recognized certification is required. This is why PMP has remained a strong validation for those professionals who want to demonstrate their expertise in the industry. Earning the credential comes with a lot of benefits and as a matter of fact, you cannot be said to be a real project manager without the PMP certification to show your skills and knowledge.

How Does PMI PMP Help Project Managers Improve Their Career?

The PMP credential is designed to help professionals acquire knowledge and gain access to the PMBOK methodologies and concepts, which serve as the common language for professional project managers all over the world, irrespective of their industry. Without enrolling for the PMP credential, there is no way you can have access to this industry guide. With the PMBOK, a project manager is able to develop, plan, and execute strategies for completing different project tasks. The credential program also equips a project manager to facilitate easier and better collaboration between geographically different team members. No doubt, the credential is of immense value to professionals in terms of achieving credibility in the eyes of prospective hiring manager and acquiring the required skills to succeed in the field of project management.

The market place is a very competitive place, and the professionals must be able to distinguish themselves from the rest of the crowd. One way you can set yourself apart is by adding a credential to your resume. The PMP certification is a credible credential that validates your experience and skills. In case you are wondering how relevant this PMI certificate is to your career as a project manager, the points highlighted below will help you understand the importance of this prestigious certificate to your career growth in the industry.

Top 7 Reasons to Earn PMI PMP

1. Global Recognition

If you want the freedom to work in any part of the world, PMP is the perfect tool you need. This certification is one of the credentials that have global reputation. It is sought-after all over the world. There have been over 750,000 PMP certified project managers in the world. Earning the credential validates your knowledge, expertise, and skills in the field of project management and it sets you apart during recruitment process anywhere in the world.

2. Higher Salary Potentials

Project managers get good salaries, but a certification such as PMP increases your earning power significantly. If you are looking for a justifiable reason to earn this certificate, the possibility to enjoy a salary hike is a strong foundation to make your decision. According to the 8^th edition of the Salary Survey carried out by PMI, an average professional with PMP earns about 18% more than their noncertified colleagues. Project managers with the certification earned an average salary of $111,969 per annum within the border of the United States in July, 2017.

3. Opportunity to Expand One’s Market Scope and Reach

As a professional project manager, you cannot afford to work separately. You need to network with others in the field. In fact, you cannot go far in your career if you do not have the necessary network that will be beneficial to your career growth. The PMP certification opens you up to a global but closed group community of professionals. There are many online communities and forums on project management that are created by the PMP professionals from all over the world. As a certified professional, you can become a part of these communities where everyone shares insights, tips, and pool of experience. This helps everyone within the community to stay updated with the latest trends and developments in the industry.

4. Better Job Potentials

Being a project manager means you are on your toes when managing and implementing projects in your field. There are many professionals by the name ‘project managers’ who have not had the privilege of leading and executing a project alone. They have always worked as a part of a team. The PMP credential takes you from this level to the position of a real project manager. When potential recruiters see this credential on your resume, they know that you have what it takes to deliver as a project leader. What this means is that this certification can earn you a real project manager role in an organization of your choice. According to a survey carried out by PricewaterhouseCoopers, about 80% of high performing projects utilized the PMP certified project managers as their project team leads. In addition to this, it has been reported that over 35% of certified project managers with PMP displayed better project management performance when compared to those without the credential.

5. Access to Challenging Projects

If you want challenging job roles as a project manager, you have to consider getting the PMP certification. This is because the credential validates that a professional is dedicated to a high-level project management while showcasing his experience and knowledge in handling very challenging projects. In addition to this, the prerequisite for taking the certification exam includes both experience and education. A professional taking the exam must display experience in previously handling projects for a stipulated period of time.

6. Better Performance in Project Management

No doubt, not all project managers are PMP certified. Those professionals who do not possess this credential are believed to perform less effectively than their certified counterpart. The certified PMP professionals have the skills to perform better because of the rigorous exam process that they have gone through while pursuing their certificates. The standard of PMP is higher than many other project management credentials. The exam tests professionals on five different project management processes, including initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing. These processes provide project managers with standardized, detailed, and actionable set of best practices in the field of project management. In addition to this, to qualify for the exam, they must have an intensive understanding of the knowledge scopes of project management. These include project scope management, human resource management, quality management, integration management, time management, procurement management, and cost management.

7. Applicable to Different Industries

Irrespective of the industry, the PMP certification is the perfect credential that qualifies you for the role of a project manager. Whether you are in Information Technology, telecommunication, commerce, research, business processing, finance, or any other industry, the PMP certification is very relevant to your role as a project manager. Research has shown that recruiters across industries prefer to hire the PMP certified project managers in organizations instead of the non-certified specialists. As a matter of fact, the certification is the standard in the field of project management.

Conclusion

The PMP certification is a great investment into your career for the long term. In spite of the economy downturn that many nations of the world are experiencing and the frequent loss of jobs, the project managers with the certificate are usually the last to be laid off in an organization. This is because of the belief that the PMP certified professionals demonstrate strong and fundamental competencies that make them valuable even in a recession. If you want to be a project manager indeed, earning the PMP credential is almost a must for you. It will give you the platform you need to explore your potentials in the job marketplace and also enhance your career growth.