John TiesoAuthor, Lecturer in Business Management| The Catholic University of America, Busch School of Business & EconomicsArlington, Va, United States
George:
Really wish we had some of the PMI people on here for the ideas.
One thought with regard to the exam, as I mentioned above, is to allow people to sit for the exam, but after a minimum number of hours on projects, then give them the hours requirement and the need to submit verification of the hours within a fixed period, say 3-5 years.
In the meanwhile, if they pass the exam, the could use PMP(C) for candidate, or something similar.
In the academic world we have those aiming for a Ph.D Degree, but do not have the dissertation complete. Some schools allow the use of Ph.D Cand. for that period before the degree requirements are complete.
Just a thought. Saving Changes...
Eric SimmsSenior Program ManagerBaltimore, Maryland, United States
I consider the issue this way: If I needed to have emergency open heart surgery performed, would I choose a doctor whose only knowledge of surgery came from books and classroom instruction, or would I choose a doctor who has successfully performed open heart surgery multiple times? I would be foolish to choose the inexperienced doctor in this case.
Companies face this same situation constantly, and we can’t blame them for seeking experienced PMs to manage their costly projects. Instead, we need to increase the number of opportunities available for PMs to gain practical experience. Saving Changes...
Valer Eugen DemianMechanical Engineer| Whitewater WestPort Moody, British Columbia, Canada
Not sure what experience are we talking about here? I refer to the latest posts by John and Eric. In order to be accepted for the PMP exam you need to have a decent number of project hours as work experience (different based on education) and for those who do not have that work experience, there is the CAPM designation. Please review the requirements for certifications!
http://www.pmi.org/certifications/types
With all due respect, you cannot compare what a doctor does to managing a project; also I believe there are less experience doctors who also have to perform these surgeries in order to get the experience and there are acceptable conditions where they just do that.
In each profession there is a process in place to gain experience and that includes PM. It would be useful to refer to it when discussing this subject. Some might not agree with the existing requirements and that is a more to the point angle we can talk about instead!... Saving Changes...
Hello Everyone. Even though this thread is quite old. I would like to add my 2 cent to the conversation. I am a Masters graduate with an on and off work experience. I worked for 2 years after my bachelors then started Masters with research. Once graduated I started working on the projects again. My PMP training too spanned in a similar fashion. It started during the last phase of my masters education and I got certified after an abrupt and long pmp study duration. Probably 1.5 years.
All I could say is that at each phase of my pmp training , I learned something new which I could implement on my going work and there were instances when Learned about stuff which I have already implemented in the past.
So to the question at hand. I would say that there is no definative sequence for a pmp certification. Its all circumstantial and we must make out the best of what we get. Saving Changes...
Blair HawkinsEntrepreneur| Blair's Magazine of Lost HistoryCharlottesville, Va, United States
Mar 31, 2016 9:13 PM
Replying to Michelle Daigle
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I'm an example of the experience first path and am happy with how my career has played out, but I often recommend the other path to aspiring PMs, and agree with Mournir. I think a new PM will have an easier first break into the field with some formal education to give them an advantage over other junior candidates.
Usually management prefers generic qualifications over specific accomplishment. Certificate + Experience = Highly qualified = Over-qualified = Not qualified. The best workers fail as employees but succeed as consultants (you are a business working for another business, contract employee or independent contractor). Saving Changes...
Nandakumar ChoodamaniPMP, Project management, 11 years, Networking protocol testing projects.| NOKIA corp - former Alcatel-LucentPalakkad, Kerala, India
HI All, it seems that PMP for me is mere a show piece certificate. Its been 2 years for since i got certified and absolutely no opportunity in terms of application or new job role.
I am not really sure i started feeling that the PMP certification is only for show in the organization. Infact as of now technical certification carries more weight and opportunities.
I am dissapointed that the time and effort is wasted.
Not to be negative or sarcastic. But the fact remains as mentioned above. Saving Changes...
Samer AlhmdanSenior Project Manager, PMP, PMI-RMP, LEED AP, EDGE Expert| darDubai, United Arab Emirates
Knowledge, Experience, and certifications, in addition to the soft skills.
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1 reply by George Lewis
Dec 17, 2017 6:02 PM
George Lewis
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yes, in deed!
Saving Changes...
George LewisProgram/Project Manager| DXC Technology CompanyHeredia, Costa Rica
Aug 02, 2017 1:52 AM
Replying to Samer Alhmdan
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Knowledge, Experience, and certifications, in addition to the soft skills.
yes, in deed!
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1 reply by Darrell Kelso
Sep 27, 2018 2:18 AM
Darrell Kelso
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In my case I have 20+ years of experience but have no degree.
I've managed major builds in the Telecom/Wireless industry but was hands on field experience (except for purchasing management / logistics) SOW, Scope, Budget, QA, Safety, Contractor Management, Close Out assuring all aspects were maintained per the customer/employer requirements.
Now I'm to the point of needing a PMP certification, what is my best route?
Saving Changes...
Jim Sass, BusD.Principal Consultant| Principal Consultant, USfalcon, Inc.Charleston, Sc, United States
I'm old as dirt and when I was a young man there were no such thing as certifications and can you believe it, buildings still got built and bridges and roads were built too. I seem to remember the pyramids got built and I don't believe there were any PMPs back then. Now we're in the 21st century and no one can do anything without a certification, so my recommendation is study and pass the test so you can get certified.
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1 reply by Darrell Kelso
Sep 27, 2018 2:17 AM
Darrell Kelso
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In my case I have 20+ years of experience but have no degree.
I've managed major builds in the Telecom/Wireless industry but was hands on field experience (except for purchasing management / logistics) SOW, Scope, Budget, QA, Safety, Contractor Management, Close Out assuring all aspects were maintained per the customer/employer requirements.
Now I'm to the point of needing a PMP certification, what is my best route?
Anyone else with comments on this interesting topic?
It is very true! PMI requires hours of experience in PM for teh certification, then: Experience is required! BUT: PMP is the start to a new level in a real Project Management Profession (really professional work), before PMP certification the projects can fall and are in desorder! Saving Changes...
I think somebody should come up with a way to breed a very large shrimp. That way, you could ride him, then, after you camped at night, you could eat him. How about it, science?
