Certified project manager

7 Steps to Become a Certified Project Manager

Project Management / By

Are you in project management career? Are you looking for a procedure to become a certified project manager? This article explains how you can get the project management certification. Even though certification is not necessary for holding most of the management positions but it will add credibility to the job position. By achieving this certification, you can demonstrate your skills and expertise to the potential employers all over the world. 

Candidates who want to appear for the project management certification exam are required to have a specific level of experience in the project management field. Certified project managers add much value to the organization. As the need for project managers is getting increased, certified professionals are in great demand.

Proper planning is required to take the PMP certification. Let’s understand when should one plan for the PMP certification.

Before you understand how to become a certified project manager, you need to know why you should become a certified project manager. Followings are the reasons to become a certified project manager –

  • Certification provides greater job opportunities and better career development
  • You will get more important and challenging role in your organization. Also, since even to take the project management certification exam requires lots of experience and education, it validates your skills and ability to lead and direct the projects.
  • Project managers having certification performs more efficiently than the non- certified professionals. It adds valid project management skills to your current role.
  • Certified project managers are more efficient in managing projects in an exclusive manner. They perform their professional responsibilities very well along with the regular job duties.
  • Many organizations prefer hiring certified project managers than non-certified peers
  • The certification signifies that you understand the global language of project management

How to Become a Certified Project Manager?

Preparing for the certification of Project Management Professional can be challenging. A management or senior-level professional such as Senior IT Manager, Project Head, Senior or Junior Project Manager, Team Leads across all the industries can be considered for the certification of Project Management. To become a certified project manager and make a transition to the current roles effectively, one will need to follow below mentioned seven steps:

1. Ensure Your Eligibility to Take the Certification Exam

First of all, you should make sure that you are eligible to take the Project Management Professional (PMP) certification examination. There is a very simple procedure to find it. Below is the criterion that must be satisfied by the candidate to be eligible for the certification exam:

  • If you are a Bachelor’s degree (or its equivalent) holder then you must have experience of 4500 hours of project management.
  • If you are Secondary degree holder or high school diploma or associate’s degree holder then you must have experience of 7500 hours of project management.
  • You must have completed 35 hours of Project Management Education from any Registered Education Provider (REP) of PMI. It is must for both secondary degree holder and bachelor’s degree holder.
  • Also, you have to get 60 Professional Development Units (PDU) every 3 years for the maintenance of your project management professional certification.

It is required to upload the PDUs details on PMI website to become qualified for the PMP certification. Learn how to upload PDUs on PMI website.

2. Become a Member of Project Management Institute (PMI)

After you have successfully met the criteria required to take the exam, become a member of PMI. Although it is not compulsory, it is still recommended. By becoming a member of PMI, you will get the benefit while paying the examination fees. Also, you will get the free Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide). Although there is a membership fee, you will get discounts that are more than this membership fee.

Also Read: When to Target PMP Exam – PMBOK5 or PMBOK6?

3. Sign up for the Exam, Fill in the Form and Pay the Examination Fee

Register yourself for the PMP exam at the PMI website. Fill the online application form to take the examination and submit it. The application form you have submitted will be processed within 5 business days. Pay the examination fee which is US$405 for PMI members and US$555 for PMI non-members.

4. Schedule the Exam

You can schedule your exam after receiving the PMI eligibility ID. You have to select a suitable date and time within three months of the registration such that you get required study time. Also, select a location for the exam as per your convenience.

5. Prepare with PMBOK Guide

  • To pass the PMP exam, you have to do lots of studies. PMP exams are not so easy. You must read PMBOK guide and also, you should cover other books that are relevant to the exam syllabus.
  • You should try practice test papers so that you can expose yourself to the variety of questions asked in the exam.
  • Also, you can check out training and webinars available online.
  • A lot of self-study material is available online, go through that.

As we know, preparation of any examination needs lots of hard work, efforts, and time. So, prepare well for the exam.

Confused about which project management certification you should go for? Read this article – Different PMI certifications, which one to choose?

6. Appear for the Exam

When you are completely prepared for your exam with your hard work, taking the exam seems very easy. PMP exam is a 4 hours exam that consists of 200 multiple choice questions. Out of these questions, 25 are the dummy or the preset questions. After you have finished the exam; you have to complete a survey. Then you will get to know about the exam results. There is no passing score or percentage for the PMP certification, instead, there is a grading system. There are three grades – Proficient, Moderate Proficient, and Below Proficient. The candidate with the result as proficient and moderate proficient is considered pass, while one with the below proficient grade is considered fail.

7. Finally, You are a Certified Project Manager

Congratulations! If you have successfully cleared your exam, you can check your name on PMI certification registry within 24 hours. You will get your certificate in your mail within a month. As soon as you clear the exam, you will get the PMP certification with your name, and now you are a certified project manager.

Bottom Line

Becoming a certified project manager is an achievement that demonstrates the project management professional’s experience in leading and directing projects. The certification is ideal for the candidates in different domains like business processing, IT, telecom, finance, research, commerce and many others. With the above-mentioned steps, the project managers can increase their proficiency and competency. With this project management certification, you connect to a community of professionals and experts across all over the world. At Whizlabs, we provide training and webinars to acquire the project management skills.

Whizlabs is a Registered Education Provider (R.E.P.) of PMI [PMI R.E.P. ID : 2314] that offers you Project Management Training for various PMI Certifications. To know more about Whizlabs Project Management Courses Click here

The best way to get the achievements in your life is to work outside of the comfort zone. The best thing is to try, so, follow the above steps and become a certified project manager.

To get certified is a big accomplishment and a big reason to celebrate!

Good Luck!!!

About Pavan Gumaste

Pavan Rao is a programmer / Developer by Profession and Cloud Computing Professional by choice with in-depth knowledge in AWS, Azure, Google Cloud Platform. He helps the organisation figure out what to build, ensure successful delivery, and incorporate user learning to improve the strategy and product further.

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