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EmailProject Management Professional (PMP)® Credential: The What, the How, and the Why
Attaining the PMP credential makes a strong statement. It says that you are serious about the practice of project management, but more important, that you are willing to invest in yourself and in your career.
Before you rely on any figure here: PMI reviews the PMP eligibility requirements, fees, exam format and PDU rules periodically. Always confirm the current details in PMI’s PMP Handbook and Examination Content Outline before you apply. This article describes how the process works, not what it costs today.
Why Project Managers Pursue It
If you have experience leading projects, there are three good reasons to consider the PMP credential:
- The PMP credential is marketable.
- The PMP credential is internationally recognized.
- The PMP-certified project manager is a credible source of project management best practices, which can be leveraged in any organization.
Project managers who achieve the credential can have the following impact in their organizations:
- A better understanding of the project management discipline
- A better understanding of what is required to launch a project
- An increase in stable projects through the use of consistent, repeatable processes
- Increased confidence from vendor and business partners in working with your organization
- Decreased costs due to more streamlined and successful projects
The credential is administered through the Project Management Institute (PMI), a member association for project management professionals.
Who Qualifies
The PMP is for people who have demonstrated competence in leading and directing project teams. Eligibility rests on two things: documented project management education, and documented experience leading projects. There are two routes, one for applicants with a four-year degree and one for applicants with a secondary diploma, and the experience requirement differs between them. Graduates of a GAC-accredited programme qualify with less experience.
Confirm the current thresholds before you apply
PMI has changed how project experience is counted. The current requirements for each route, the education hours, and the GAC reduction are set out in the PMP Handbook on PMI’s website. Overlapping months are not double counted on any route.
The 35 hours of project management education can be satisfied by a prep course. CEG is a PMI Authorized Training Partner, which means our PMP Exam Prep course is delivered using PMI’s own current courseware.
The Application and the Audit
Assuming good record keeping, allow roughly eight hours to complete the application. The PMP Handbook provides the detail you need, and experience verification can be completed online.
PMI conducts application audits to confirm the experience and education documented on credential applications. The purpose is to protect the credibility of the certification programme and of the people who hold it. A percentage of applications are randomly selected, and anyone can be audited for any reason at any time.
If you are audited, you will be asked to submit supporting documentation: copies of your diploma or global equivalent, signatures from the supervisors or managers on the projects you recorded, and certificates or letters from the training providers for the courses you recorded. You are given 90 days to submit it.
Fees, Approval and Scheduling
Once your online application is submitted, PMI processes it within five business days. Your one-year eligibility period — the window in which you can sit the exam — starts the day your application is approved. PMI suggests scheduling at least six weeks ahead of your preferred date, and at least three months before your eligibility period expires. You may sit the exam up to three times within that year.
Fees change
Application and re-examination fees differ for PMI members and non-members, and PMI updates them periodically. The current schedule is published in the PMP Handbook. Membership often costs less than the fee difference, so it is worth comparing before you apply.
Preparing for the Exam
The single most important document is the PMP Examination Content Outline, available free from PMI. It is the exam’s actual blueprint: it sets out the three domains the questions are drawn from — People, Process and Business Environment — the proportion of questions from each, and the tasks measured within them. Study the outline before you study anything else.
Beyond that:
- Work from current PMI materials. A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) is a reference, not the exam syllabus — the Examination Content Outline is.
- Expect substantial coverage of agile and hybrid approaches, not only predictive ones. This is the single biggest change for anyone returning to the exam after several years away.
- Take a prep course that simulates the test and works through current content in detail. A good one also points you at supporting material — for instance on what motivates individuals, or how teams move through phases of behaviour.
- Use practice exams and workbooks geared specifically to the current exam.
- Form a study group.
For tactics once you are in the room, see Mastering the PMP Exam.
Taking the Exam
The exam is 180 questions. A small number of those are unscored pretest questions, placed at random and used to validate future items; you cannot tell which they are. Unanswered questions are scored as wrong, so it is always better to guess than to leave one blank.
The exam is scored immediately — results appear on screen less than a minute after you indicate you are finished. You receive two levels of information: whether you passed, and a picture of your strengths and weaknesses within each domain.
Maintaining the Credential
The PMP is maintained by earning professional development units (PDUs) across a three-year certification cycle that begins the day you pass. PDUs fall under two divisions — Education and Giving Back to the Profession — and there is a cap on how many can come from the second.
- Education: courses from PMI Authorized Training Partners, chapters or communities; organization meetings; self-paced learning; self-directed reading; informal learning.
- Giving Back: creating new project management knowledge resources; volunteer service; working as a practitioner; presenting on relevant topics; sharing domain knowledge to help others.
Confirm the current PDU requirement
The total PDUs required per cycle and the cap on Giving Back categories are both set by PMI and have changed over time. Check the current figures in PMI’s continuing certification requirements before you plan your cycle.
One Last Thing
A PMP credential alone does not make someone capable or a good fit for the profession. Strong project managers demonstrate excellent people skills, leadership, problem solving and organizational skills in addition to the technical knowledge they gain by studying best practices. Still, there is real demand for legitimate credentials and for individuals who know how to manage projects — and the PMP remains the most widely held and most widely recognised project management certification in the world. Earning it will translate into increased marketability and legitimacy for your career.
The CEG Advantage
Corporate Education Group is a PMI Authorized Training Partner. Our PMP Exam Prep course satisfies the 35 contact hours PMI requires and is delivered using PMI’s current courseware, so what you study is what you are tested on.
Explore our project management programs, or if you would rather sample first, our free webinars run about an hour and ask nothing but attention. Already certified and need to confirm a credential? See how to verify a PMP through the PMI registry.
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