Real experience matters a lot. Certification will only test it. Also in real life situations are different, you must know what you did right or wrong by experience first.. Saving Changes...
David TodorovProgram Planner| Northrop GrummanDarien, Il, United States
I am going to have to say experience first, then certification. But to be more precise, industry specific experience would be what is more valuable. You can be a PM in the Aerospace industry and do well, but if you try to go into the construction industry as a PM you may be completely lost.
The certification will illustrate that you have the basic fundamentals and understanding of how to apply them. The experience will develop these fundamentals so you have some understanding of the concepts when you get certified. Then after a certification is achieved, you gain more experience that builds off of the fundamentals increasing your knowledge and abilities to handle more complex or abstract situations. Saving Changes...
I would say get some basic certfication first (like CAPM or PRINCE 2) then some work experience and afterwards go for higher Certifications like PMP etc
I think that prince2 is very different to PMP. Maybe My answer is uninspired, but the better way is to have a experience work first. Saving Changes...
Kavita GoelSenior Program Manager| Microsoft CorporationRedmond, Wa, United States
Acquire experience and then obtain a certification, really helps to tie the knowledge with past situations and apply to future projects Saving Changes...
Christopher UnroeFounder & Principal Consultant (RET)| uprojx, LLCLittleton, Co, United States
Experience over certification "all-day-long," candidly I want (and setup an environment to develop) both. Saving Changes...
Keith KennedyInfrastructure Delivery Leader| Gainwell TechnologiesWalland, Tn, United States
I was experienced long before my certification. Experience gains working knowledge. A customer required a percentage of PMs be certified. As a result, I obtained my certification. I've never been a big fan of someone who has lots of acronyms behind their name as the first priority is to be able to do the job. Some folks study and test well, so they have lots of letters after their name. Other don't. I have 40+ years of IT experience and some of the worst technical resources had all sorts of certifications but simply could not perform the job. I'm not saying all are like that, but certified or not, you must be able to get the job done. But many employer's are now asking for specific certifications so my acronyms will continue to grow. I will say that I'm happy to have obtained my PMP and it has allowed me to expand my knowledge and experience.
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1 reply by Rolf Dieter Zschau
Sep 15, 2016 2:41 AM
Rolf Dieter Zschau
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Sounds very familiar, Keith. Unfortunately many customers and employers take the acronyms for an insurance - which they are not in every case. But it makes life easier for purchasing and HR: They don't have to test the experience which they usually aren't capable of.
I would say you should gain the experience before earning the certification. The exam covers so much which can fill in gaps for some. There are areas on the exam which some Project Managers may not actually cover during their actual project work. There are some areas on the exam which you have to "been there and done that" to understand from experience or at least it helps you to better understand the material. Saving Changes...
I was experienced long before my certification. Experience gains working knowledge. A customer required a percentage of PMs be certified. As a result, I obtained my certification. I've never been a big fan of someone who has lots of acronyms behind their name as the first priority is to be able to do the job. Some folks study and test well, so they have lots of letters after their name. Other don't. I have 40+ years of IT experience and some of the worst technical resources had all sorts of certifications but simply could not perform the job. I'm not saying all are like that, but certified or not, you must be able to get the job done. But many employer's are now asking for specific certifications so my acronyms will continue to grow. I will say that I'm happy to have obtained my PMP and it has allowed me to expand my knowledge and experience.
Sounds very familiar, Keith. Unfortunately many customers and employers take the acronyms for an insurance - which they are not in every case. But it makes life easier for purchasing and HR: They don't have to test the experience which they usually aren't capable of. Saving Changes...
Trinanjan BhattacharyyaSenior Business Process Consultant| SAP NederlandEindhoven, Netherlands
Mar 29, 2016 9:33 PM
Replying to Bala S Duvvuri
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IMO second one is the best and i think it depends on certification to certification for example for Certified Scrum Master(CSM) you don't need any experience,just attend 2 days training and then get certified but in case of PMP you need to have experience and solid understanding of the concepts then only you can go and attain the certification.
I guess it depends on what field/role we're working on.. I've been working as a SAP consultant for years now and we've been gathering experience first in projects before certification as SAP doesn't offer certification on all the modules. However, Project Management is a specialists job and I guess certification is necessary, as this will provide all the necessary knowledge on Project management and being certified in PM will be a huge confidence booster to an aspiring project manager. Saving Changes...
Jamal SearlesProject Manager| Sun River Service CompanyWilson, Nc, United States
I am the answer to this question. I have the wonderful opportunity to have the title. Along with the title comes great responsibility. To meet job description requirements you need to have at least a working knowledge of PM. I am working on my CAPM as I grow into the position.
Which came first, chicken or the egg? Saving Changes...
