I'm a newcomer to this forum, and like many, have kind of been sucked into reading the "PMP or not..." debates.
I am currently an IT Project Manager in a large and globally recognized organization. I have been in my role for 16 months, and prior to that, was an IT Business Analyst doing a lot of PM related tasks for a large national bank for 6 and a half years. (Though I do consider myself to have a fairly decent technical bend, I have never been a developer or pure-tech analyst type, and my undergrad degree is in economics...). I am not PMP certified, but recently completed my MBA. To the point of the specific PM role I am in now, I will say that the PMP certification was not a requirement or even an issue with my current employer, but this may be due in part to some local or departmental standards. Out of 4 PM's on my immediate team, only 1 is PMP certified. My current manager scoffs at certified PM's that he considers to be horrible, and I doubt I would get much support if I asked my company to help out with paying for the PMI membership, classes, and exam fees. This may not seem like a big deal to some, but I am still paying on student loans for my MBA, and until those are paid off...spending additional $ of my own for certifications will be somewhat of an issue for me and something that I'd like to avoid. I digress...
This brings me to my question - what is the consensus on the importance for certification if it is my goal (eventually) to move on to general managment in IT - such as being a Business Systems Manager, Director, or one day maybe CIO? While I like my role and PM tasks at the moment and consider this to be an important waystation in my career, I am not yet 100% convinced that I want to be a PM forever, or moreover that PMP-type certification is a requirement for overall IT Management. In both of the organizations that I have worked for in my IT career, I know of know of absolutely no high-level IT managers / executives who are PMP certified. Though I know you likely WILL see more of that in the future, and the certification certainly wouldn't hurt - if I only plan to be directly in the PM field for a few years, I would hope that my MBA would be enough later to qualify me for higher-level management jobs. If I decide after more time that I absolutely love PM work, want to run a PMO and move ONLY in that direction, then obviously I will get certified. But was curious as to other routes. On that note, is there any reference material out there that discusses other career paths in general IT management? Many thanks. Saving Changes...
For me, answering the question of "PMP or not" is all about your individual goals. What do you hope to achieve with the certification?
One of the best reasons to get the PMP within the IT industry is the increased compensation it often brings. For your current employer, the certification will clearly not get you any more money. Many people have found that their employers will pay their certified PMs more.
Do you think that you might be looking for a job elsewhere, though? If so, you might want to get the PMP certification as a form of risk management. Some employers require it and others pay more for it.
You ask if the PMP is a requirement for general IT management. The answer is clearly, "No." I have never seen a job listing for senior IT managers requiring a PMP certification. I see more and more former project managers moving into those jobs, and some of them have a PMP certification, but I doubt it would ever be required. I knew one that dropped his PMP after becoming a senior department manager, because he said it was not worth his time to document the PDUs. Your MBA is definitely more valuable if you are trying to show that you are qualified to be a senior manager.
You say, "If I only plan to be directly in the PM field for a few years, I would hope that my MBA would be enough later to qualify me for higher-level management jobs." You may be working towards top-management jobs for more years than you plan on. Most senior managers take strange and varied routes to get to their corner office. It is hard to predict when and how you will break into that level of management. I know that I had fast advancement in my career in the early years, but advancing beyond middle management is difficult. I only just broke through that barrier, and I did it by starting my own business.
Also, your MBA will not be enough to qualify you for senior management jobs. MBAs are quite common now, and many people with them are working in lower-level management jobs and even non-management jobs. In some industries, people without MBAs rise to senior management roles. To break into a department manager, director, or CIO, you are going to need to find a way to stand out, and you need to be in the right place at the right time. There are ways to position yourself for these jobs, and you are taking a lot of the right steps to get there. Trying to set a schedule for getting these jobs is impossible, in my view. Saving Changes...
