Hello, I am new to the world of Project Management with only about 6 months experience in a commercial furniture/wholesale hybrid company leading projects. I am considering taking a Project Management Certificate course at my local University (Denver University) in order to advance my career. I have an undergrad degree in Philosophy and have the time to take the certificate course.
Curious if I still need many hours of experience in order to become PMI certified? The university course is aligned with PMI Project Management Body of Knowledge to set students up to take the PMI Certification Exam. Wondering how one might get experience without the certificate... and dually, how one would have experience prior as a requirement in order to get the certificate ....Please advise! Saving Changes...
I am also a student at Penn State and I am planning to get my CAPM. I will be using my internship for project experience which will count towards certification. In addition to this, classes with long-term projects related to PM may also count. Internships should give a ton of experience which would count towards PMI certification.
You can get the CAPM certification without the experience. With a degree, you still need 36 months of PM experience to get a PMP certification rather than 60 months without the 4 year degree.
A 3 credit hour university course will cover your training requirement for either certification. The PMP requires either the CAPM cert, or 36 hours of training so you don't need the CAPM to get a PMP but the CAPM can make you more marketable and you don't have to worry about relying on 2+ year old training when you apply.
Although many jobs as a dedicated PM do list a PMP or equivalent as desirable, many others with less autonomy do not. I often see it required in mid to senior level roles. Assisting PMs in a facilitator or admin role is one way to get experience as is working pieces of projects rather than managing the whole thing. Organizations with less PM maturity and less formal practices also don't often require a cert. In places where there are not dedicated PM positions, technical experts in the domain are often assigned to lead projects on top of managing the technical development even if PM is not part of the job title itself. Saving Changes...
I agree with Keith, you can apply to CAPM, which requires less experience than PMP Cert. Also, working as a project assistant or project coordinator would help you to gain more expertise and knowledge. Saving Changes...
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