Are you working as a project manager? You may want to improve
your prospect. There are many certification courses for project manager you
should do. We here bring the great options in project management certification.
Here you can know the various options available in certification and how to
continue in your post.
You as a project manager can increase your skill and prospects
of job sharp with certifications. A project manager who combines certification
with their degree get opportunities. In the past few years, the PM jobs have
got increased to 425%.
Behind all IT projects success, you can find a highly talented
and capable project manager. From software to hardware upgrades to security
patches, application development and software itself, a project manager has to
keep their teams on task and production.
Almost all IT professional can benefit from adding a
certification to their IT credentials. It shows how you plan, schedule the
budget, execute it, deliver and report them on IT initiatives. If you want a
hike in your salary, a certification can give you this.
If you are looking to gain all the above-mentioned points, you
can analyze and choose the best project manager certification for your
requirements.
First of all, you should know which the best certification is.
The top 5 certifications for project manager available are:
- PMP
- PRINCE2
- CAPM
- CSM
- PMI-ACP
Let us see, what all these courses have to offer you in details:
Project Management Professional (PMP)
One of the top credentials is the PMP certification (Project Management Professional) for
project managers. This is the most widely accepted and popular certification
you can find anywhere. The Project Management Institute is the accreditation
body for the PMP certification.
About the PMP certification exam
structure
The PMP training certification examination can be passed only if
you are perfect with all the techniques needed to plan and monitor a project
from its start to finish. According to the 8th edition salary survey of Project
management, a project manager who has PMP certification should get 17% more
monetary benefit than others.
The PMP exam isn’t easy to clear. To be successful, you need to
spend about +35 hours to prepare for the exam.
The exam has about 200 MCQs and runs for 4 hours. No extra time
is given to you for the exam unless specified otherwise.
No negative marking is awarded, so it’s best you answer
everything; even if you aren’t sure of the correct answer.
PMP certification prerequisites
To be able to do the PMP certification, you need to have:
- A
4-year degree - 4500
hours or 3 years experience in guiding and managing projects - 35+
hours of PM education
Or
- A
secondary degree - 7500
hours or 5 years experience in guiding or managing projects - +35
hours of PM education
You can pick a PMP training either from a university or from an
online training provider. In fact, in many cases, PMP is integrated into
certain master’s degree programs.
This project management certification ensures you possess
certain skill and qualification that is necessary for successfully managing all
phases of the project. This includes planning, initiating, controlling,
monitoring and closing the project.
A manager certified in PMP will be highly equipped in managing
every aspect of the constraints of cost, time and scope. The employers will
depend on the project manager to manage the budget, track costs and
expenditure, ensure there is no scope creep and to identify potential risk
factors that could impact the project and minimize such risk to protect the
investment of a project.
- PRINCE2
The PRINCE2 certification course is another important project
management credential project managers can take. was first introduced for
the government offices of UK. After the huge success, it came into the
corporate world. Now it has become an important certification program in much
organization all over the world.
PRINCE2 is accredited by AXELOS and focuses on managing, directing
and delivering projects throughout all phases from pre-project to initiation,
delivery, and the final delivery.
About the PRINCE2 Certification exam
structure
PRINCE2 is divided into two: foundation and practitioner. The
entry-level credential is Foundation that tests your basic methodology and
terminology of project management while in Practitioner tests the advanced
project manager who has passed PRINCE2 Foundation. The key features of this
exam are:
- Focuses
on business justification - Product-based
planning and approach - Defined
organization structure - Emphasis
is given on projects division into controllable and manageable stages
The Prince2 exam consists of 50 objective-type questions, each
of which weighs about 1 mark. The duration of this exam is two and a half
hours, with no extra time given for breaks. 30 marks or 60% is required to
clear the exam and get certified.
PRINCE2 certification prerequisites
The Prince2 foundation exam has no prerequisites. The Prince2
practitioner exam, however, needs proof that you have cleared at least
one of the following exams.
- PRINCE2
Foundation - Project
Management Professional (PMP)® - Certified
Associate in Project Management (CAPM)® - IPMA
Level A (Certified Projects Director) - IPMA
Level B® (Certified Senior Project Manager) - IPMA
Level C® (Certified Project Manager) - IPMA
Level D® (Certified Project Management Associate)
-
CAPM
The CAPM certification or Certified Associate in Project
Management is the precursor of the PMP certification and is also accredited by
the PMI. If you are a professional without graduation or project management
experience or you want to pursue PMP certification next all together, then CAPM
is the first step toward this.
About the CAPM certification exam
structure
The CAPM certification in project management is a renowned
program for the IT professionals who want their career to grow as project
manager. The CAPM certification exam has 150 MCQs that needs to be completed in
3 hours. A candidate needs to retake the exam every 5 years to maintain his or
her CAPM credentials.
CAPM certification prerequisites
The eligibility for this certification is:
- Secondary
Degree or High School Diploma or an associate degree or any equivalent degree
accepted globally - And
you must have a 1500 hours project experience
or
- Secondary
Degree or High School Diploma or an associate degree or any equivalent degree
accepted globally - 23
hours of project management education
If you are interested in shifting your career to the project
management, get this certification done. When you get CAPM certification, it
shows the commitment of yours learning new skills. This also shows you
understand the processes and terminology used in this project management.
- CSM
We cannot mention project management without bringing up
the CSM Certification. The Agile methodology has become the
standard of all IT organizations. Therefore it is not at all surprising that IT
professionals must be qualified uniquely to manage any projects. A CSM
certification offers a big jump to project managers starting out as Scrum
professionals.
Scrum Alliance is the parent organization that accredits the CSM
certification. The Scrum Alliance helps organizations follow Scrum and Agile practices,
promote user group and also provide resources for development professionally.
CSM certified project managers can facilitate teams in using scrum effectively
for successful project organization.
About the CSM certification exam
structure
The CSM exam consists of 35 MCQs, out of which you need 24 or
more correct answers to clear the exam. Candidates are given an hour to
complete their tests, with extra time given for breaks. You can pause and take
breaks as and when required.
CSM certification prerequisites
This is a great certification for anyone who is a beginner in
the field of project management. There is no set prerequisite for candidates to
take this course. While a working knowledge of how scrums work would be
beneficial, this isn’t mandatory. Having said that, there are prerequisites
that need to be fulfilled for you to take the exam.
These are:
- Attend training sessions conducted by a Certified Scrum Trainer (CST)
- Register and attend the exam within 90 days of completing the course
- Clear the CSM exam
- PMI
ACP
ACP stands for Agile Certified Practitioner. The PMI-ACP certification carries a high level of integrity
professionally because it includes agile training by examining the tools and
fundamentals of agile projects.
About the PMI-ACP certification exam
structure
PMI-ACP helps people address the need of their organizations. It
helps professionals apply their skill on different projects in a proper manner.
To get certified, you need to take the ACP test, which consists
of 120 MCQs. To successfully clear the paper, you need to answer about 100 of
these questions in 3 hours.
PMI-ACP certification prerequisites
If you are a project manager who works in rapidly changing
environments, or if you have to deliver products in a short developmental
cycle, then you should explore this certification. Its requirements are:
- A
secondary Degree - 2000
hours general experience in project management - 1500
hours experience in agile projects - 21
hours training on the agile practice
The PMI-ACP certification helps you discover techniques for
managing the project scope actively and learn the principles of Agile to
improve the performance of the team and collaborate that to ensure better
delivery.
Regardless of choosing which certification is better for you,
ensure they are well-versed in all concepts of the project methodology, and you
are capable of handling all the aspects of all projects successfully. Now that
you understood the basic principles of these top 5 certifications; it is going
to be easier for you to choose anyone. You should prepare properly for
appearing the certification examination.
