PMP Certification Requirements

07-Sep-2020

What is the PMP certification?

The full form of PMP is Project Management Professional. It is a certificate issued by the PMI, the Project Management Institute. The applicants who can meet the PMP certification requirements and clear the PMP certification exam after that are issued the PMP certification. It should be kept in mind that there is a validity period for the PMP certification once one receives it. PMP certification holders must obtain 60 PMP PDUs and begin the PMP renewal process again.

PMP certification is the most renowned and widely recognized professional certification for the project management field globally. Most employers look for PMP certifications when they are looking for potential employees in project management positions. Also they look for a PMP certification as a prerequisite for their present employees when they want to promote them to project management positions. A recent survey has evidenced that professionals who hold a PMP certification receive a 14% higher salary than professionals who do not possess that certification. It can thus be safely observed that the importance of the PMP certification has grown immensely in recent years.

What are the benefits of a PMP certification?

The PMP certification validates a professional candidate’s competence, knowledge of the body of knowledge required to manage a project successfully, and experience in that area as well. PMI’s PMP application process and audits look for relevant experience and educational prerequisites very strictly. That is the reason for which companies and organizations place a very great value in PMP certifications as compared to other certifications in the field. The PMI has a very rigorous process to check the PMP certification requirements and this builds confidence on the PMP certification in the minds of the companies because they can trust in the fact that because a candidate met and passed all the stringent requirements of the PMP certification they must possess a high level of project management skills and a good amount of experience.

PMP is not a breezy exam where anyone can appear and clear it. There are certain PMP eligibility requirements that every PMP certification candidate has to meet.

Also Check: Value of PMP Certification

Why are there requirements for PMP?

The biggest reason is that project management is a demanding profession in which one has to maintain communication with various stakeholders from the beginning to the end of a project’s lifecycle. While delivering presentations and updates on the status of a project, project managers should be very careful about their communication, about their attitude and about the multifarious expectations of the various stakeholders and how to handle them properly. Otherwise the delivery of their project and their pitches might end up in failure. Therefore, one of the requirements of the PMP certification is having a significant amount of project management experience.

Another big reason for the existence of requirements for PMP certification is that project management demands rock-solid theoretical knowledge of the techniques of project management. There exist 10 knowledge areas with which a project manager should be well-versed in order to clear the PMP certification exam. Those knowledge areas are tested in 5 different project management process groups. In order to clear the PMP certification exam a candidate has to get marks above a certain score in all the 5 different project management process groups.

Owing to the two reasons mentioned above the PMP exam requirements contain the PMP education requirement and the PMP experience requirement. The PMP education requirement will prove that the PMP candidate has enough theoretical background to engage in project management with a high level of expertise.

There are 2 PMP education requirements and 2 PMP experience requirements.

PMP Education Requirement number 1 -

In order to apply for a PMP certification, a candidate should atleast have a high school degree or a degree of an equivalent level. If the candidate possesses that, they have to meet the following PMP certification requirements next -

• Project management experience of 5 years.
• Leadership and direction of projects for 7500 hours.
• Project management education of 35 hours.

PMP Experience Requirement number 1 -

If a candidate has participated in a project environment, that time duration also counts as project management experience. Nonetheless, 7500 hours of these 5 years should be spent in leading and directing the aforementioned projects. This does not imply that one has to be enrolled in those projects in the role of a project manager. A leadership or director role such as being a supervisor of a junior team member or junior team members, being the team leader of a group, assisting the project manager in some project management tasks etc. is acceptable too.

If a candidate’s education level is a 4-year degree or above; a bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, doctorate degree for instance; to apply for a PMP certification, they have to meet the following PMP certification requirements -

• Project management experience of 3 years.
• Leading and directing projects for 4500 hours.
• Project management education of 35 hours.

PMP Education Requirement number 2 -

If a candidate’s highest education level is a four-year degree or above, a bachelor’s degree or equivalent for instance; to apply for a PMP certification they should meet the following 3 PMP certification requirements -

1) Project management experience of 3 years.
2) Leading and directing projects for 4500 hours.
3) Project management education of 35 hours.

PMP Experience Requirement number 2 -

If a candidate has participated in a project environment that time duration also counts as project management experience. Nonetheless, 4500 hours of these 3 years should be spent in leading and directing the aforementioned projects. This does not imply that one has to be enrolled in those projects in the role of a project manager. A leadership or director role such as being a supervisor of a junior team member or junior team members, being the team leader of a group, assisting the project manager in some project management tasks etc. is acceptable too.

35 contact hours Project Management Education Requirement for PMP -

A candidate for PMP certification has to acquire 35 contact hours PMP education in order to be eligible to appear for a PMP exam.

PMP Exam changes on January 2, 2021 -

PMI conducts research on the latest trends in the industry regularly and makes alterations to the PMP certification exam according to the changes in the industry dynamics. To consider an example,  more than 10 years ago, many of the corporate companies were seeking to adopt waterfall project management techniques. But in recent years, many corporations have started moving to and adapting agile methodologies in recent years.

Based on the changing industry status quo and the organization’s expectations from Project Managers, PMI will proceed to change the PMP exam in 2021.

What should I do if I can not meet the PMP certification requirements?

A candidate can satisfy the PMP education requirements with ease by enrolling in a 35 contact hours PMP training. The difficult-to-satisfy PMP eligibility criteria are the ones related to project management experience. If the candidate possesses a bachelor’s degree they should have at least 3 years of experience in project management and if they have a secondary degree they should have at least 5 years of experience in project management in order to be able to appear for the PMP certification exam.

If the candidate does not desire to wait till they complete their project management experience before they can begin to grow upwards in their project management career it is recommended that they join the CAPM certification instead. CAPM certification is a beginner-level project management certification offered by PMI. The topics of the exam are the same as those of the PMP certification exam but the questions are of a lesser difficulty than the PMP certification exam questions. CAPM certification also has some requirements to be fulfilled before a candidate may appear for the exam but they are not as stringent as the PMP eligibility requirements. If a candidate possesses a bachelor’s degree or a degree of a higher level they can opt for CAPM training and can meet the CAPM examination requirements. CAPM certification has a high value in the industry and is sought after by employers when they are looking to hire professionals for project management positions. If a candidate begins their project management career by preparing themselves for the CAPM certification, they will be familiar with the course topics for the PMP certification examination too. Once they have acquired the project management experience for fulfilling the PMP certification requirements, they can apply and appear for the PMP certification examination to fuel their project management career.

PMP Certification Requirements PMP Certification online PMP eligibility requirements Requirements of pmp certification