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7 Benefits of PMP Management Certification

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You might be a project manager with a few years of experience already, a seasoned professional, or a recent college graduate looking for your first job. You’ve heard of the Project Management Professional certification, but maybe you’ve wondered whether or not it’s actually worth it. To be honest, you can expect to work hard to achieve this certification, but you’ll love the rewards at the end of it all. There are many reasons why earning your PMP should be one of your career objectives, because while it is a comprehensive exam to pass, the benefits are definitely worth it. Between increased salaries, more job opportunities, and simply being better at your job, here are seven benefits of PMP Management certification. 

What Is the PMP Management Certification?

First, we’ll briefly describe how to earn the PMP certification. The PMP exam is a nearly four-hour-long test of your project management skills and knowledge. It consists of 180 questions, and the exam is notoriously difficult. 

You’ll pay an exam fee between $400 and $555 (depending on whether you’re already a PMI member) plus the money you’ll spend on prep materials and the time studying. We recommend looking for top-of-the-line classes and online materials that exceed the quality of others for an affordable price. 

To become eligible to take the PMP exam, you’ll fill out an application with PMI. We explain how to fill out that application in this video. If you have a bachelor’s degree, you’ll need to have three years of project management experience plus 35 hours of formal project management training. 

If you don’t have your bachelor’s degree but have a high school diploma, you can still take the PMP. You’ll just need five years of project management experience rather than three.

Benefits of Getting Your PMP Management Certification

We’re going to focus on seven of the major benefits to earning your Project Management Professional certification:

  1. You’ll Be Prepared on a Global Scale
  2. You’ll Prove That You’re Above The Rest
  3. You’ll Increase Your Value
  4. You’ll Receive Widely Useful Training
  5. You’ll Be Considered For Better Job Opportunities
  6. You’ll Expand Your Network
  7. You’ll Sharpen Your Skills

While these aren’t the only benefits, knowing how achieving your PMP will change your work, potential finances and future are useful reasons to consider preparing for the exam. 

1. You’ll Be Prepared on a Global Scale

The Project Management Professional is a globally recognized certification with over 1 million PMPs worldwide. This means that whether you’re in the United States, Sweden, or Japan, your certification will be recognized, and international industries will understand the value that you bring to the team. Especially for large, global companies, this puts you in a particularly enviable position. 

The certification is recognized across the world and across industries. By achieving your PMP, you show companies across the planet that your training and presence will benefit them further than your uncertified peers.

2. You’ll Prove That You’re Above The Rest

As we mentioned, passing the PMP exam shows you’re a project manager dedicated to being the best in your industry. The requirements alone just to take the PMP are rigorous. Those application requirements plus the strenuous exam serve as proof to upper management that you are dedicated to continuous improvement and strive to be a top-tier project manager.

A PMP certification is something you can put on your resume to show your current or future employer that, as a project manager, you’re a cut above the rest. 

3. You’ll Increase Your Value

Preparing for the PMP exam is an investment of time and money, and everyone wants to know what their returns will be. We’re happy to tell you that having your PMP brings along notable financial advantages among all the other benefits. 

Certified project managers typically make at least 20% more than their uncertified counterparts. This is because employers view the PMP as the mark of a highly capable individual. 

Currently, project managers are already highly valued, making anywhere from around $50,000 to over $200,000 annually. Showing that you’re trained beyond the standard project manager puts you into a higher performance bracket that comes with a higher pay scale. 

Another way to increase your value as a project manager is to pursue your Master’s degree. The industry you work in, the city you live in, and the size of your team are all factors that affect how much you’ll make annually. 

Having your PMP credential is a great way to increase your value, both in terms of how much you make, and how your company views you.

4. You’ll Receive Widely Useful Training

When you initially think of project management, you might picture a tech company, an engineering firm, or some other specific corporate environment. But, the role of project manager is one of the most universal and commonly found positions in the market. Every industry has some form of project management. 

While studying for the PMP exam, you’ll be saturated in widely useful training. Topics in project management cover hard skills, such as estimating, budgeting, forecasting, and risk analysis. And, the training also goes into soft skills, such as coaching, negotiating, resolving conflict, teambuilding, and leadership. By taking this training, you’ll grow as a manager and leader. 

Whether your field is agriculture, or aerospace, or pharmaceuticals, or software, or construction, your training will be valuable wherever you look for work. And to make things more appealing, in the coming years, the demand for project managers is expected to grow significantly. No matter what industry you choose, you will be in good shape with the PMP certification.  

5. You’ll Be Considered For Better Job Opportunities

While a PMP certificate may not be required to get a job in the project management field, it will definitely stand out to potential employers. 

In fact, in recent years, a PMP certification has become a requirement on about 15% of project manager job postings. While that number is still on the low end, it’s only been going up. And if it isn’t required, it’s listed as a preferred quality. 

Passing the exam and having that certification on your resume shows potential employers that not only are you a highly qualified manager that knows your stuff, but you’re also a dedicated individual capable of preparing for and passing one of the most demanding professional exams.

Your PMP certification will open doors for you in a wide variety of companies and industries. 

6. You’ll Expand Your Network

Another benefit of the PMP being a global certification is that you will share a professional language with other PMP-level project managers. So even if there’s a language or cultural difference, you’ll be able to use familiar terms and work together much more seamlessly than if you didn’t have the certification.

Currently, there are over 1 million PMP-certified project managers across the globe. When you join these ranks, you become a member of this club of highly qualified managers and gain access to meetings, networking, and collaborative events. 

These connections provide numerous opportunities, from discussing job options to sharing experience with some of the best project managers in the world. 

Beyond events and meetings, there’s also a casual online community of PMPs that enables you to network and expand your connections around the world. 

At Velociteach, we employ instructors who are gifted teachers and have years of experience leading projects. If you take a Velociteach class, you’ll gain direct contact with them and their knowledge.  We are proud to support our students before, during, and after our PMP exam preparation class

7. You’ll Sharpen Your Skills

To qualify for the PMP exam, you must have a base of experience, education, and training. Then, when you begin studying the content and preparing for the PMP exam, you are forced to take a deep dive into project management. You will learn new tools and approaches, and you’ll sharpen your existing skills.

For those who crave the challenges of the project manager role, this opportunity to go deep and really hone your skills is exciting. You’ll learn best practices, approaches, and techniques that you may have never used in your projects. 

That wraps up seven of the major benefits you’ll enjoy once you’ve earned the PMP credential. 

Here at Velociteach, we are dedicated to helping you prepare for and pass the PMP exam.   And we have a variety of exam preparation options to fit any schedule and budget, including:

  • Self-study resources including the best-selling book, audio, and guides for DIY Students. 
  • Self-paced, online courses and simulated practice tests written by PMP-certified, real-world project managers.
  • A four-day boot camp class led by PMP-certified instructors which includes everything above plus a bounty of study materials, support from the Velociteach team, and a money-back guarantee.

Here at Velociteach, we are passionate about providing you with all of the tools and education you’ll need to pass.   Whether you fit your studies into your free time with our self-paced options or take advantage of our four-day boot camp course, helping you pass the PMP exam with confidence is our number one goal.

In Conclusion

While earning the PMP credential requires an investment of time and money, the benefits of earning this certification more than make up for it. 

Training for and passing the PMP exam not only shows employers that you’re a valuable resource for their team, but it heightens your abilities and education. This gives you the skills you need to further your career by successfully taking on more complex projects and larger teams with confidence. 

With Velociteach by your side, we strongly believe that anyone who wants to pass the PMP has the ability. Our CEO, Andy Crowe, wrote the book on how to pass on your first try, and we stand by it. 

We also provide a multitude of materials so you can consistently expand your knowledge and sharpen your skills as a project manager because we believe that with the right tools and resources, you can make yourself into a world-class project manager.  We offer a wide variety of PDU courses via our PDU Passport to help you earn the PDUs required to maintain your PMP certification.  In addition, our podcast Manage This is an excellent way to learn more about topics important to project managers, and you earn free PDUs by listening to these informative episodes.

Velociteach is honored to support you throughout your project management journey, whether you’re preparing for the PMP exam or just interested in advancing your knowledge, we have the resources and materials to help you every step of the way.

Sources:

Project Management Has A Universal Application According to Leading Instructors | Business.louisville.edu

If You Want A Management Job Consider This Certification | Dice.com

Project Management Professional PMP Salary | Salary.com

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