Subtitles of the Movie

This movie will cover the benefits of obtaining either a PMP or CAPM certification. You may be taking this course simply because you are interested in learning and understanding the PMBOK Guide and perhaps certification was the furthest thing from your mind at the start of the course. So you may be wondering, is it worth your time to go through this additional effort? And if you are here because you are preparing for the exam, this movie will most likely increase your confidence level in what you set out to do. First, I'd like to take a moment to remind you that the Project Management Professional Certification is the most widely-recognized project management credential across the globe. The CAPM is also a step in this direction as it validates your knowledge and understanding of the Project Management Body of Knowledge Guidelines. There are five common reasons most people set out to become certified. I'll briefly point these out to you as thought points before moving on to the standard certification benefits. The first point refers to your career initiatives. Do you know whether your current employer offers any benefits to those that are certified? For example, if you're looking to move into another position, how will becoming certified aid you in this direction? Do they provide increased compensation? Is a credential required for advancement? The same applies if you are looking to make a move to another employer. Take a moment to research whether a certification would increase your chances. The second is personal growth. If approached correctly, the act of studying for the exam will significantly increase your knowledge of project management. This is why I advocate taking the necessary time to learn the material, not just cram the information to your short-term memory. The third point of reference is location. For example, are you currently working with teams in other countries? If not, what is the certification with the most weight in your home country? If you ask around within your local project management community, you'll most likely get these answers if you don't already know. The next is career path. Becoming certified shows a specialty and increases your expert knowledge. And the final consideration, which we've touched on already, is salary. Perhaps a certification is your ticket to a compensation increase or a move to a higher-paying role. We'll look more into the relationship between PMP and salary in a moment. There are four standard benefits of a PMP and CAPM certification. I've alluded to this a few times already, but the credential recognizes a minimum level of project management education, knowledge and experience that you have. As you already know, you must have a minimum amount of project management experience in order to even apply for a PMP. So if you are interviewing for a job and an employer sees PMP next to your name, they know that you've gone through a rigorous verification process of your experience by a well-recognized organization. And whether you have a PMP or CAPM, they know that you have been exposed to the PMBOK Guidelines and have a deep enough understanding on order to pass a difficult exam. Let's touch on a subject that makes many people's ears perk up; salary. Every few years, PMI conducts a salary survey of Project Managers. These surveys have shown that PMPs do receive on average a higher salary than non-PMP Project Managers. Of course, PMI is the issuing organization of the credential, so it is important to look at similar research conducted by other parties. Aside from PMI's salary survey, a study was conducted by Certification Magazine and also an independent study conducted by Foote Partners, an independent consulting and IT compensation research firm. All found similar results. There was an article put out by Jeffrey Bouley who is one of the editors of PM Network called Cashing in on Credentials. In this article, he quotes the PMI Manager of Certification as saying that the median salary difference of a PMP and non-PMP Project Manager was around 4600. Next is career advancement. In a previous movie, I suggested doing a search for PMP at a job search website. If you haven't done this already, I suggest taking a look. You'll see some prominent companies requiring certification. You'll see many others that say PMP preferred. A lot of this depends on the company culture, whether there is value placed on the credential, but if not for the information and personal growth alone, it's important to be aware of what other companies are looking for in a Project Manager and to stay ahead of the curve and make yourself marketable. And the final benefit of a credential that we'll discuss here is commitment to the profession. You already know that you are committed to the profession. That is in part why you are taking this course. But the credential reflects that. Applying and preparing for the exam is not easy and neither is maintaining it. PMI has requirements that you must meet in order to keep your certification active. This involves continuing your project management education by accruing professional development units, typically called PDUs. So an active certification also reflects your continuous commitment to educating yourself and staying in touch with the project management community. There are many other benefits to being certified. But hopefully this summary has provided some food for thought and reassurance that what you've set out to do is recognized and valued.