Maintaining My Credential - Planning Ahead

It's almost ironic.  I work for a smaller company than I have in years, and they have more commitment to my personal and professional development than any corporate entity I have worked for.  My last employer only talked about what my new employer is doing.

What am I talking about?  In this case, I am talking about sending me to the Professional Development Day for our local PMI chapter, coming up in September.  Here come a few more PDUs!

Okay, that is the wrong attitude.  It will also be a great opportunity to possibly learn something new and network with other PM professionals in the area - believe it or not, contributing to the profession is important to me.  I feel like I have to mention the PDUs here because that is what I am blogging about.  After the event, I will post some info about the experience.

As I sit here thinking about ways to plan how I am going to obtain 50 more PDUs in the next 2 1/2 years, I am looking at an ad for the Microsoft Project Conference 2009.  A free copy of Project Professional 2010, free certification testing, and 32.25 PDUs is really tempting, but if you are like me, you don't have the budget.  Honestly, if I had worked where I work now, last year, I could have requested funding for this event for me and a couple of my teammates, and gotten approval. (I wouldn't mention the ad, except it is here, on GanttHead.)

No, I am not a sponsor for the conference.  This does lead to my point about planning ahead.  Pay attention to conferences and seminars that are next year, or the year after.  Plant the seed with your boss now.  My real intent in talking about planning ahead, though, is to encourage deliberate planning of what you will do, each year, to maintain your credential.

With what is left of 2009 I will be attending 3 more 1 PDU webinars (already scheduled) that I found through my local PMI chapter's website, and at least one 1 PDU webinar offered here on GanttHead - I just received an email re: a project portfolio management webinar and know what I will be doing after I post this blog...  That gives me 6 so far, this year.  I'm still bummed that I lost out on the opportunity to earn at least 20 PDUs, for free with a time commitment, this year because we moved, and more in subsequent years, but you can't plan for everything.  Whew.  That was a mouthful.

I need to doublecheck, but I think the Professional Development Day will give me another 8 PDUs, and I am sure to pick up a couple more 1 PDU webinars and another local chapter luncheon (they seem to do them quarterly, here), so that will be at least 17 PDUs my first year.  On a side note, if you care, make sure that any webinars you take are from registered education providers (REPs).  That way you don't waste your self directed learning PDUs.

I believe that I have mentioned, before, that I don't like to give free advertising to companies and promote their products.  With that in mind, I am going to mention a company's product, but not the company name.  If you want the name, send me an email and I will send you the company name and website.

I plan on almost doubling the amount of PDUs I have mentioned, so far, just by watching some videos.  I have purchased, ON SALE, video training for Project Management and MS Project - 1 set for each topic.  I need to doublecheck, but I am fairly certain that I can meet my 15 PDU quota for self directed learning with these 2 sets.  It won't be all fun and games, though.  I also need to takes notes and record the dates (and I think hours) that I view the training.  A small price to pay, but that puts me over 30 PDUs my first year.  Remember, if you email me for the company name, ONLY BUY THEIR VIDEOS ON SALE.  They go on sale often, even though the sales people won't tell you that.  Yes, I found out the hard way, with the expensive training.

But wait, there's more...

Because I spent a few months out of work, I will be cutting it close, but if I put in some overtime I am pretty sure I can hit the 1500 hours of PM experience that I will need to claim 5 more PDUs, this year.  That will put me at 35+ for the first year, and then 10 more over the next 2 years (total 45+), leaving me with only 15 PDUs left to plan.  I figure there will be at least 8 more 1 PDU luncheons over the next 2 years, but there is no guarantee I will be able to make all of them.  There will also likely be 2 more 8 PDU professional development days.  If I can get approval for them, I'll be set.

Of course, I will be sure to squeeze in a few more 1 PDU webinars, from REPs.  I also hope to publish an article, or two.  I am going to wait until year three to publish, though.  I am involved with a couple of unique projects that could prove interesting to write about, and worth reading.  I will need time to research and organize my thoughts.  More importantly, I want to make sure that I pass the 60 PDU mark during my third year so that I can roll over the extra PDUs.

This is another reason I am completing the self directed learning PDUs my first year - I don't think they can roll over.  But you can roll over up to 20 PDUs, of certain kinds as identified in the PMP handbook.  If I can get 80 PDUs and roll over 20 of them, I'll only need 40 new PDUs during the next 3 year cycle, although I'll probably try for 50-60 so that I can roll 10-20 over, next time.

You see, I am not just planning ahead for this 3 year cycle.  I could take the approach of "work hard this cycle and then take it easy the next cycle," but I have a limited training budget for training classes and can't keep buying training videos every three years.  Once I start writing, I hope to get published more than once every two years, but there is no guarantee that it will be easy to get more than 40 in coming years - too much depends on external factors, like employers having the funds to send me to conferences.  

I think that, in addition to getting published regularly, I am going to work on getting myself into the position where I can teach PM classes, again.  I am currently a COMPTIA Certified Classroom Trainer (CTT+).  If I can pass the Microsoft Project exam(s) I can qualify to become a Microsoft Certified Trainer.  With my MBA, PMP, and PM experience, I am also qualified to teach as an adjunct professor at several technical schools, both brick-and-mortar, and online.

To be honest, I have been planning ahead to maintain my credential for several years.  The 1 PDU webinars and conferences are great ways to get PDUs, but it is the teaching and publishing that will be my long term source for maintaining my credential.

My point?  When you think ahead about maintaining your credential, don't just think about the next three years.  Think about how you are going to contribute to the profession over the course of your career.  Things that you want to do simply because you enjoy them could end up earning you a significant amount of PDUs.

Good luck in your efforts, and feel free to leave comments regarding how you maintain your credential and contribute to the profession.