Recently, I read article on "Why Project Management Certifications Matter" on the CIO website and since I am currently studying to take the CAPM exam, I started to think about how critical is it to an organization, an employer, and to the project manager to have a PMI Certification?
My answer - very critical!
I'm fortunate - the Director of the department understands and promotes employees obtaining a PMI certification. Because the organization and my direct manager see the correlation to obtaining a PMI Certification to project success - my preparatory courses and exam fees will be funded by the company!!
With that said, I wonder how many other organizations value and provide financial assistance to support their employees in obtaining their project management certifications?
What does having a PMI Project Management Certification mean to you? To an employer? To an organization?
Saving Changes...
Sort By:
saurabh mahajanPMP, ITIL, PRINCE2| vodafonePune, Maharashtra, India
More or less all organization do value the PMI certification. However the employee growth based on this certification may vary. But surely the PMP certification adds more knowledge to your understanding, way of working, way of handling things, way of communicating, etc. This inturn impacts project success,in more +ve way. Therefore the employer must respect such employees :-) Saving Changes...
arlene trimbleAssistant IT Director| Local GovernmentAlamo, Ca, United States
Having a PM title would indicate that the candidate is committed to his/her career development as a professional project manager. Passing the PMP means that the individual has demonstrated hard work, diligence, and focus while preparing for the exam. Being a PMP means that the candidate has the industry standard knowledge and skills of a professional project manager and has the ability to communicate in project management speak in the project management community. Having a PMP would mean also that this individual has met the required prerequisites prior to sitting for the exam: education and/or work experience. Saving Changes...
David HilmerChief Information Officer| SynagroBaltimore, Md, United States
I believe the value to the employer is what an employee does to continually improve the project management processes for that employer. We actively promote and fund PM education for our IT team. When I earned my PMP, I took my more in-depth understanding of the full spectrum of project management and redid our project governance processes in the IT department. This has resulted in a greater level of discipline on all projects we do in IT. The rest of the organization respects the organization we have put around projects because they see the value in better delivered projects from IT. This drive on project management methodology has also sparked interest of other team members to pursue their PMP certification. We have 3 certified team members today and another 3 actively studying to pass their certification. Saving Changes...
John KastlerPrincipal Project Manager| National GridCicero, Ny, United States
Keep in mind though that having a PMP does not make you a good project manager. It can make you a better one though. I've seen a few PMs with PMP certs that couldn't manage the simplest projects. I agree with @Arlene, getting your PMP cert demonstrates a level of commitment and knowledge. This is only part of the picture though. You need to translate that into action and results for your projects.
To @Lea's question, my opinion is that it is a very good thing, something that all PMs should aspire to, but not critical for all industries/companies.
I should note that I am preparing for my exam now. Saving Changes...
arlene trimbleAssistant IT Director| Local GovernmentAlamo, Ca, United States
I agree with you John. Having a PMP does not mean that a staff or candidate is or would be an excellent Project Manager.
Most importantly, the Project Manager needs to be able to stand on his/her own merit through his/her PM body of work - the project type, project role, project outcome, collaborative skills, and so forth. The PMP certification would provide an additional level of comfort to the PM and the organization that they have a staff who is cognizant of industry standard PM processes, knowledge, and tools. Saving Changes...
John ReilingSeeking new opportunities | AcroVision Business Systems, Inc.Mendham, Nj, United States
Great topic and discussion. I personally think that if you are thinking about it, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain by going for PMP certification. Interestingly, there are some surveys out there that include the CIO perspective, as well as that of the PMI, certified PMs, and non-certified PMs. Have a look at my blog post on this, entitled "Why CIO’s Value PM Certfication?" at http://blog.pmtrainingonline.com/why-cios-value-pm-certfication/ . Saving Changes...
Joanna NewmanHead of Innovation and Transformation , Telecoms| VodafoneCholderton, United Kingdom
Hi Lea! The benefit to me for all certifications is that there is a common level of understanding in my team. We work to certain processes, we understand terms in a certain way, we report progress consistently etc.
The benefit of the PMI certification is that it indicates knowledge and experience, or in the CAPM, knowledge and learning experience.
One further angle on this - yes the certification does matter, but only as evidence of your knowledge and training. As a great example, one past employer of mine would put all the PM staff through PMP training but would not pay for the final part and the exam themselves, on the basis that if people were qualified they would be more likely to move to another post elsewhere, and they wanted to retain their expensively trained staff. But of course, one's CV can state "fully PMP Trained" instead of "PMP Ceertified" and most prospective employers are fine with that.
Saving Changes...
John ReilingSeeking new opportunities | AcroVision Business Systems, Inc.Mendham, Nj, United States
Tim, could it be that your former employer does not have a combination of challenging projects, career ladder, and compensation to match its training program?
Also, "fully PMP trained" on a resume sounds shaky. Sounds like attending all classes in a college course without taking the final. Are you "fully trained" in that course? I think that at least half of the learning begins when you need to pull it all together to pass the test.
In addition, the PMP experience requirement is also worth something. For this and the reason above, I would question anyone "Why did you not apply and obtain the PMP certification if you were fully PMP trained?"
Of course, if a PM can otherwise sufficiently prove their worth, it does not matter anyway. Saving Changes...
Lea BongiovanniProject Manager| ConfidentialPhiladelphia, Pa, United States
Many thanks to everyone who responded to this discussion. I read everyone's responses and overall, I agree with the group - that there are many benefits for acquiring all PMI Certifications! I think when you work with a group of PMs who have attained a PMI Certification - it means that that they all share a common language and help each other work within a common framework.
I think that when paired with real-life experiences having a PMI Certifications on your resume, helps boosts your confidence and skills, demonstrate leadership and apply the skills to project challenges that help advance one's career. Saving Changes...
