Project Management Professional Certification

[bob]

Does anyone here have their PMP or any opinion of it? Is it worth taking the time and spending the money to obtain my certification? Any advice would be appreciated.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

In most corporate and government enviroments, it's absolutely essential if you want to be a project lead. You can get a job just about anywhere if you have it. It's well worth the effort and money to get it if you're interested in project management or are a project lead at a smaller company and want to move to a bigger one.

[sterlingice]

We get a new email announcement every week it seems that someone gets this damn certification within either the local area I work now or my previous work.

{rant}
I swear, no one in this country does any work any more- they all just create processes for others to do work and then outsource the work. Or it's a lot of sitting on bridge lines with 5 different levels of project managers, all of whom have no idea what they're actually talking about. I think the United States is just becoming the world's middlemen which is really profitable until both sides realize they don't need you.
{/end rant}

That said, if people keep getting it, it might be worthwhile to make some more bucks.

SI

[lighthousekeeper]

i've got one. get your work to pay for it.

[MacroGuru]

In my past business life, I was a PM and a BA and I was told if I ever wanted a pay increase I needed to get PMP certified.

I did the studies back then (04) and it basically boiled down to someone that was PMP certified was worth a lot more than just a normal PM. We are talking around the ranges of 30k+ a year in the job areas.

If my businesses and contract work ever tank, I will definitely get PMP certified and move forward with a BA certification as well.

[bob]

Originally Posted by lighthousekeeper

i've got one. get your work to pay for it.

How long did it take you to prepare to take the exam? I am about to finish my MBA, and since I'm in the groove of spending time working on school stuff after work, I figured i would roll straight into this.

No chance work will help pay for it though.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by bob

How long did it take you to prepare to take the exam? I am about to finish my MBA, and since I'm in the groove of spending time working on school stuff after work, I figured i would roll straight into this.

No chance work will help pay for it though.

Given that you're still in the 'study' mode, I'd guess you could prepare for it in 90-120 days. Just get a prep book and hammer through the examples.

If you have an extra $1500-2000, I'd highly suggest a 2-3 day prep course that is offered by a lot of different companies. They'll usually offer them in a city where a test occurs. You'll take the test the day after the class ends. That way you can go right from the crash course to the test before you forget anything.

[lighthousekeeper]

One of the requirements of getting the cert is 35 hours of course work. When I did it, I took an online course (pmpcampus.com i think) which was the cheapest i could find (couple hundred bucks). You never had to actually attend any classes - simply take some of their online practice exams.

If you have an extra $1,500-2,000, I'd highly suggest you invest it in the stock market or send to my paypal account. Don't waste your money on a prep course. Just buy a prep book for $20 used on Amazon, spend 4 weeks cramming taking as many example tests as possible (2 weeks if you already have a lot of real world experience as a PM), then take the exam and you're done. Since you're going right from an MBA to considering a PMP, I'm assuming your motivation is financial (as opposed to a desire to fulfill your lifelong dream of becoming a career PM). If that's the case, then don't blow your wad on educational expenses before you leave the gate.

[flere-imsaho]

I have it, and it's absolutely a worthwhile certification if you want to be a project manager, in that it's universally recognized in the field, is the gateway to many jobs (and a filter for many) and should guarantee more money.

The application can take some time, as you have to describe your PM experience in some detail. If you have plenty of formal PM experience, this isn't a problem. If you don't, it's more complicated.

The exam is relatively tough. The majority of the questions are basically designed to trick people (PMI say as much) so it's very important to look at the wording.

I'd agree with MBBF (OMG) in that you could prepare for it in 90-120 days. Maybe a little less if you have formal PM experience, probably a little more if you don't.

Two Important Notes:

1. PMI has just come out with a new edition of PMBOK, which is the comprehensive guide to all thinks project management (in their view) and upon which the test is based. So, as a result, many existing test prep courses and books are out of date.

2. My strong recommendation for prep is to wait until Rita Mulcahy updates her prep book for the PMBOK 4th edition, and buy it. Then, do this:

a. Before reading a chapter, do the practice test, but do not grade it.

b. Read the chapter, do the practice test, and then grade both.

c. Make a note of questions you got wrong both times or (worse) questions you got wrong only the second time. That's the stuff you need to work on double to understand for the test.

d. If she says memorize something, memorize it. Honestly, this will get you probably 35-40% of the questions right alone.


Hope that helps!

[flere-imsaho]

dola,

If you have an MBA, I'm not sure I would bother with it unless you're planning to do a lot of PM-specific work (or work for a company that offers PM as a service offering). Outside of these kind of situations I don't think it enhances your MBA in the way that, say, a Ph.D. might.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by flere-imsaho

2. My strong recommendation for prep is to wait until Rita Mulcahy updates her prep book for the PMBOK 4th edition, and buy it. Then, do this:

a. Before reading a chapter, do the practice test, but do not grade it.

b. Read the chapter, do the practice test, and then grade both.

c. Make a note of questions you got wrong both times or (worse) questions you got wrong only the second time. That's the stuff you need to work on double to understand for the test.

d. If she says memorize something, memorize it. Honestly, this will get you probably 35-40% of the questions right alone.


Hope that helps!

I have the Mulcahy book for the Third Edition. Served me extremely well. It's a must.

[flere-imsaho]

I did both a company-sponsored prep course (not a crash course, this was spread over 10 weeks) as well as used the Mulcahy. Both were exceptionally useful (but then, I work for a PM company), but even I was surprised, after the test, about exactly how right on Mulcahy is in her prep book. Frankly, it almost feels like cheating.

[bob]

I actually do want to go into IT project management, and took an elective on that subject while doing my MBA. My motivation isn't solely financial - lots of job postings recently require or at least strongly desire a PMP, so without one I feel I might be at a major disadvantage.

Thanks for all the advice everyone. I don't think I can swing the prep classes financially (work didn't help out on the MBA either), so the book will have to do.

I assume this is the book that you are suggesting:
http://store.rmcproject.com/Detail.bok?no=162

[flere-imsaho]

Yep! Didn't realize it was out already.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by bob

I actually do want to go into IT project management, and took an elective on that subject while doing my MBA. My motivation isn't solely financial - lots of job postings recently require or at least strongly desire a PMP, so without one I feel I might be at a major disadvantage.

Thanks for all the advice everyone. I don't think I can swing the prep classes financially (work didn't help out on the MBA either), so the book will have to do.

I assume this is the book that you are suggesting:
http://store.rmcproject.com/Detail.bok?no=162

FWIW......you don't necessarily need the prep classes. If you're a good student, you'll do fine with a couple of months of steady studying. Prep classes are best if you needs some ways to remember key points and have issues with fully comprehending material on your own. Given that you pulled off a MBA, you should be fine.

[Daimyo]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

You can get a job just about anywhere if you have it.

We're hiring for a project manager now and got well over 300 applicants with over 40% PMP certified. Its not such a rare certification that its enough to "get a job just about anywhere" just from having it.

I'm not even sure if the person we're about to hire has it or not because it certainly didn't matter at all once we got to the interview stage, but it certainly helped people get through the resume screening.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Daimyo

I'm not even sure if the person we're about to hire has it or not because it certainly didn't matter at all once we got to the interview stage, but it certainly helped people get through the resume screening.

That's the key. It doesn't get considered much after screening, but you can't get an interview without making it through that screening. In many PM position hiring processes, you're dead in the water without it.

[Galaril]

The PMP is at least in IT centric fields not of great importance but if want to be an IT Project Manager which with your MBA you maybe overqualified

[flere-imsaho]

IT Project Management tends to be more focused on technology-specific experience. Most people I see hiring for these positions essentially want a seasoned tech lead with some PM skills, though technology-agnostic IT PMs do exist (I've filled the role for a few clients, though I do have a broad IT background).

Which is why there tend to not be "IT Project Managers" but "IT SAP Project Managers", "IT JDE Project Managers", "IT Oracle Project Managers", etc....

[bob]

Originally Posted by flere-imsaho

IT Project Management tends to be more focused on technology-specific experience. Most people I see hiring for these positions essentially want a seasoned tech lead with some PM skills, though technology-agnostic IT PMs do exist (I've filled the role for a few clients, though I do have a broad IT background).

Which is why there tend to not be "IT Project Managers" but "IT SAP Project Managers", "IT JDE Project Managers", "IT Oracle Project Managers", etc....

Yeah, I've got a technical background (computer engineering from Georgia Tech, 7+ years development experience). Wonder if the CompTIA Project+ Certification would be better. Not sure it holds much weight at all though.

[Desnudo]

I would get it. It's not a particularly educational process, but it would eliminate any concerns you have about getting screened out of jobs.

I can tell you that our services unit (aka IT) does use the PMP as a screening item and that people already working there are required to get it.

[Glengoyne]

Originally Posted by Daimyo

We're hiring for a project manager now and got well over 300 applicants with over 40% PMP certified. Its not such a rare certification that its enough to "get a job just about anywhere" just from having it.

I'm not even sure if the person we're about to hire has it or not because it certainly didn't matter at all once we got to the interview stage, but it certainly helped people get through the resume screening.

This is true. I'm hiring a PM right now, and the above reflects what I'm seeing....I don't have 300 applicants, but a big chunk are PMP certified. I'm not overwhelmed with the cert as an end all be all. I hired a guy once who wrote chapter of the pmbok, it's probably sacrilege to not capitalize some of those letters. In any case, this guy's PMP didn't do a damn thing for me, as his PM skills were useless in practice. He had a damn good philospohy regarding project management, just no apparent desire to put it into action.

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by bob

Does anyone here have their PMP or any opinion of it? Is it worth taking the time and spending the money to obtain my certification? Any advice would be appreciated.

I have my PMP. If you are (or getting) into IT functional/process (vs technical/programming) consulting, team lead, PM this is an essential certification as it is more and more expected. It looks good on my email sig and believe clients appreciate the designation.

Whether or not passing the PMP gains you new skills is questionable. It makes you more aware but you will not magically become a PM by passing it. You really need to have the industry experience of managing several projects in progressive complexity to fully appreciate it.

[Galaril]

Originally Posted by Edward64

I have my PMP. If you are (or getting) into IT functional/process (vs technical/programming) consulting, team lead, PM this is an essential certification as it is more and more expected. It looks good on my email sig and believe clients appreciate the designation.

Whether or not passing the PMP gains you new skills is questionable. It makes you more aware but you will not magically become a PM by passing it. You really need to have the industry experience of managing several projects in progressive complexity to fully appreciate it.

This is the really truth here more than anything else about it.

[Samdari]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

In most corporate and government enviroments, it's absolutely essential if you want to be a project lead.

I would say exactly the opposite. I've worked in defense for 12 years, half as a contractor, half as a government employee. None of the PMs I worked with (probably two dozen) have had any sort of certification. All but one have been former military officers.

[Senator]

I work in the defense industry. Program Manager PMP candidates get the best look from us.