The Path to Certification: 4 Steps

Kenneth has 14 years of healthcare experience in government and private industry. Over eight years of experience managing healthcare IT projects, operations, contracts, and personnel. His work experience includes project management, contracts and procurements, data analysis, claims adjudication, business writing, and business process modeling. Kenneth was certified in 2006 as a Project Management Professional.

  Career Development  

Getting certified can be a big step for someone working in the field of project management. The benefits of certification are numerous and include increasing career opportunities and possibly better salaries. There are many different certifications that you can attain through the Project Management Institute. Each certification has its own requirements, including work experience, classes that must be taken, an examination that must be passed and possibly other requirements depending upon the certification program.

For someone who wants to get certified, it can be helpful to treat it just as you would a project, by creating a plan and a schedule that will take you down the path and to your goal of certification.

Identify the Goal
The first step in any project is to identify the goal. In this case you should decide what certification you are interested in pursuing. There are some minimum requirements that you must meet in order to obtain them that might limit the options. The other consideration when identifying your goal is the career goals that you have for yourself. Ask yourself what certifications will help you the most in obtaining your goals and spend some time reading about the different programs.

You should research any possibility and talk to others who have the certification to determine exactly what is right for you. Talking to others who have achieved…

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