Ten a Day - Day 2 How to be a PMP

Hey you, yes you, do you want to be a PMP?  “A what?” you say.  Get your mind out of the gutter.  Not a PIMP, but a PMP – Project Management Professional: a certification offered from the Project Management Institute (pmi.org). PMI is a world recognized non-profit certification agency for project management professionals, with more than 600,000 members.  Are there other project manager certifications?  Absolutely, certification agencies include the American Academy of Project Management, Project Management Leadership Group, International Project Management Association, Federal Acquisition Institute and of course hundreds of colleges that offer certificate or degrees.

Here are the PMP Requirements from the pmi.org website:

To apply for the PMP, you need to have either -

A four-year degree (bachelor’s or the global equivalent) and at least three years of project management experience, with 4,500 hours leading and directing projects and 35 hours of project management education.

OR

A secondary diploma (high school or the global equivalent) with at least five years of project management experience, with 7,500 hours leading and directing projects and 35 hours of project management education.

If you do not meet the PMP eligibility requirements, you may want to look at the Certified Associate in Project Management CAPM certification which has fewer experience and education requirements.

               That’s all great, but what do I really have to do to get a PMP certification?  It’s actually pretty easy; you go to the website and fill out the application.  Part of the application is filling out the Experience Verification Form (looks like a log book) for the hours you have in project management.  To cover the education requirement; there are hundreds of vendors listed on the pmi.org website.  I found a PMP Fundaments course online that covers the 35 hour education requirements for $150 from pmsimplify.com - DO NOT PAY $1000 for any PMP fundamentals or PMP exam prep course.  I will let you know how this one turns out when I start it next week.

Now you may ask yourself why I would want to become a PMP when I am pursuing my Ph.D. in Organization Development and ultimately want to become a professor.  Because I want to expand my knowledge base and also part of professorship is research; what better way to conduct research than by consulting?  This will help me accomplish both, plus I already have the experience, so why not?

Okay, 10 minutes are up.  I hope you enjoyed this segment and wish you luck on your journey of becoming a PIMP, err PMP.  Stupid spell check.