What is PMP Certification ?

Management Square Review

What is PMP Certification

The Project Management Professional certification by PMI is one of the most respected IT certifications in the world. Tens of thousands of project managers globally have received the PMP credential and for good reason too. There are plenty of benefits of having this accreditation on your resume like a higher salary or more employment opportunities. Passing the PMP exam is not difficult as long as you’ve had the proper training and some experience with project management tasks. One of the best training programs available online is the PMP course offered by Management Square. This top notch course provides you with a step by step guide to learning all you will need to know to be ready for the PMP exam.

Thousands of people have used Management Square’s course to pass the exam on the first time and have found it to be an invaluable tool for their preparation. The course will provide you with the 35 contact hours you need before being able to apply for the PMP credential. For only $189, getting 35 contact hours may seem a bit suspicious to you, but you have absolutely nothing to worry about because Management Square is a Registered Education Provider accredited by the Project Management Institute, so you can be sure that you will be getting what you paid for.

There are over 38 hours of training in total included in the course. You will get a link as soon as you register that will allow you to start learning in any device.

After completing all the episodes, you will get an email which will instruct you how to take the exam to receive your 35 contact hours certificate. Over 1000 sample PMP exam questions are also included in the training course with answers and explanations to each answer. Another bonus the Management Square’s course comes with is the 10 day email course (10 Steps to Becoming a PMP) that takes you on the journey of becoming a certified PMP step by step. The email course includes a study plan and tips on how to earn your PDUs after receiving your certification.

The absolute best part of this training course in my opinion is the private access to the project management discussion boards where members can share and exchange ideas on passing the PMP test and network with other project managers. These forums are full of solid information and advice from project managers who have passed the exam and stick around the forums to share their experiences with other members.

You will not find any other course of program that offers you the same value for a better price than the Management Square. All the information and course material is PMBOK compliant so you can rest assured that everything you learn can be applied directly to the exam. In fact there are many parts of the course which explain certain PMBOK topics more clearly by providing real life examples and scenarios.

The course will give you the chance to prepare for the PMP Exam from the comfort of your home and earn 35 contact hours at the same time, all for a price of only $189. I highly recommend this course to anybody who wants to pass the PMP certification test and spend as little as possible on training while getting the best value there is.

PMI Membership Benefits

What is PMP Certification

The Project Management Institute is the non-profit organization responsible for setting the standards and guidelines of project management and issuing the PMP certification. PMI is the leading project management organization in the world and has hundreds of thousands of members and yearly events around the world. PMI’s goal is to standardize the field of project management and provide project managers the information they need to succeed at their jobs.

For $119 a year, you can become a member of PMI and get access to a wide range of resources they provide. Here are the top 10 benefits of a PMI membership:

1. Exam discounts. You will save a lot of money when registering for any project management exams if you are a member of PMI. The PMP exam fee is $555 for non-members and $405 for members, so it’s obviously cheaper if you are a member of PMI.

2. 24/7 access to books online. After becoming a member you will gain private access to PMIs online bookstore where you will be able to find a huge collection of PMP certification and project management books online for free. These are excellent books you can use when looking for some good PMP preparation.

3. Discounts. As a member of PMI, you will get discounts to all their products, online seminars, conventions, events, software, papers, etc. These discounts are well worth the price you’re paying.

4. Career advice. PMI has a great section on their website dedicated to helping you improve and expand your skills which are needed for project management. They also have a large job database where you can search for some work.

5. Access to PMIs published research papers is another handy benefit you may find useful if you’d like to keep up to date with the latest happenings.

There are plenty more benefits of becoming a member such as free access to journals, magazines, email newsletters, and articles from PMI. You will also get a free copy of the PMBOK Guide which every project manager knows is vital when studying for the Project Management Professional certification exam.

Taking all those benefits into consideration you will see that spending $119 a year is definitely worth it.

How to Earn PDUs

What is PMP Certification

The CCR program by the Project Management Institute requires all PMP certification holders to earn at least 60 Professional Development Units (PDUs) every 3 years to maintain their credential status. These units can be earned through a variety of ways and are intended to keep you up-to-date with the latest happenings in the project management world. Here are some of the ways you can earn your PDUs:
Taking project management courses from certified institutions is a great way to polish your project management skills and earn PDUs in the process.
Coaching others or giving lectures on project management and using content from books, CDs, or websites is another way to earn your PDUs. Any research and discussions you conduct may be counted as credits to your 60 PDU requirement.

You can also earn PDUs by attending one of the many events and seminars PMI organizes around the world. These events also provide excellent networking and learning opportunities for you and are usually attended by some of the best PMs in the industry. One of the benefits of becoming a PMI.org member is that you will get special offers and discounts on these events and will get updates whenever something is happening.

Writing a blog or publishing books on project management is another great way to earn PDUs if you enjoy writing and expressing your opinions. You can volunteer on discussion forums or write a blog that provides tips on passing the Project Management Professional certification (like this one). Writing not your thing? Making videos or podcasts will earn you credits as well.

Volunteering at any organization other than your own company will give you a unique learning experience and PDU credits.

If you’re a project manager, then all you need to do to earn PDUs is your job. As long as you are carrying out project management tasks at work, then you can claim your work hours in exchange for PDUs.

The main purpose of the 60 PDU requirement is to keep you always aware of the latest happenings in the project management industry. Don’t approach the process of earnings your PDUs as a chore, instead look at it as if it were an opportunity to acquire new skills and meet with new people (by attending seminars/conventions).

How to Become a Project Manager ?

What is PMP Certification

Project managers are key components of every business. Like the title suggests, project managers manage a part of the business by managing employees. They do not technically do any of the work themselves but only manage a team of people who get the work done. Leadership, motivation, organization, and time management are just some of the qualities every project manager must possess.

The first step in becoming a project manager is getting a formal education. Although experience is a much better teacher than a textbook, the way the world works requires you to get a proper college education before being able to get the role of a project manager. One route you can go is joining an online MBA degree program. By doing this you will learn the ins and outs of a number of leadership and management roles, including project management. Another step to take toward advancing your project management career is PMP Certification.

Engineering students can take project management courses offered by their university to strengthen certain abilities they will need as project managers like task scheduling, time management, and planning.

Get a job related to your field of study. Once you’ve got a job, you will need to show your boss that you are capable of managing and working effectively in a team and that you would be suitable for a project management position.

One thing you need to understand is that being a project manager doesn’t mean your job title will be “Project Manager”. There is no 4-year course in university where you where graduate a “Project Manager”. A project manager is simply somebody who manages projects in a company. This applies to most managers and other individuals who are responsible for managing a team of people to get certain tasks done.

There are courses and online training sites you can use to strengthen and expand your project management skills, but ultimately it is a job position where you are required to motivate and influence your team to being and complete projects.

To become a project manager you could either work at the same company for a long time and then slowly get promoted to a position where you manage a team, or you can try and apply for a job with minimal job requirements that might give you the chance to manage a team from the start.

If you are thinking about becoming a project, then you might want to take a look at the CAPM certification. This certification by PMI is intended for new college graduates who would like to pursue a project management job position in their career but don’t have much experience yet.

Once you receive that and gain a few of working on a team on projects, you can try and apply for the Project Management Professional certification. This credential is notably harder to obtain than the CAPM but is also one of the most premium in the industry.

Reaching a job position where you are solely responsible for the creation of a product or completion of a project will take several years, but if that’s what you are really interested in then be sure to check out some of the other articles we have on our site.

PMP Certification Exam Overview

What is PMP Certification

The PMP certification exam is the exam you need to pass in order to receive your Project Management Professional certification. You can register for the exam on PMIs website after your application for the PMP has been approved. (Note: The exam is will be changing at the beginning of September, so it would be best if you took it before that time.)

The test is 4 hours long and is composed of 200 multiple choice questions. Questions answered incorrectly do not count as a negative, therefore you should always try to eliminate as many choices as you can and then make an educated guess.

Questions on the test will rely on your experience and knowledge of project management and can not be directly answered by simply memorizing the PMBOK Guide. Taking practice tests is one of the best ways to prepare for the real exam, but you will still need to rely on your knowledge and experience during the exam no matter how much you practice or study.

Twenty-five questions on the test will not be scored and are only used to gather data for future tests, but since you won’t be told which questions aren’t scored, you’ll need to solve the entire test.

Finally, the passing score of the Project Management Professional Certification exam is unknown, but as long as you have had enough training and are confident you know the material, you should pass the exam. (70% pass on their first trial.)

Top Project Management Software

What is PMP Certification

Project management software has a wide variety of uses with planning and managing projects being the most popular. As a project manager, you will undoubtedly come across many of these software solutions which are used to plan and work on projects. Many of today’s top project management software is accessible online to enable team members to work from anywhere at any time. A lot of big companies and organizations like NASA use the following project management tools to successfully carry out objects and reach their goals.

Finding the best project management software can be pretty hard since there are so many different options available. Some software is better suited for companies with large teams and many departments than it is for a small team with just a few members. We’ve put together a list of the some of the best software available with the advantages and disadvantages of each. Always be sure to set your priorities before choosing the software you’ll be working with. Price, ease of use, functionality, features, and customer service are a few factors you should take into consideration before making your decision.

Microsoft Project – Microsoft project is a great piece of project management software that can do practically anything and everything you’d want. This software has so many features that it would be crazy to list them all here. MS Project works especially well with the rest of Microsoft’s products (Word, PowerPoint, Excel, etc.) so it makes a lot of the aspects of budget planning and task scheduling a lot more easier. All these features may be too much for small businesses that are just looking for some basic functionality to carry out simple projects.

Huddle – Huddle is a great web-based project management software that makes it easy for your team to work and collaborate on the project anywhere and any place. This software is completely web-based and has a bunch of features like file sharing, messaging, discussion forums, conferencing, and the ability to invite as many people as you’d like to join your boards. Managing goals, scheduling tasks, and uploading/editing documents is really simple to do and can be done anywhere you are as long as you have access to the Internet.

Project HQ – One of the most popular choices among small businesses, Project HQ is a free project management tool built on open source technology that provides small teams powerful functionality and great features.

Project KickStart – Project KickStart is a Windows-based application that comes in two flavors: standard and pro. The standard edition is a lot cheaper and is suited for small teams/businesses that are looking for basic functionality in the software. Both editions have an extremely easy-to-use user interface that allows anybody to start using the program without the need for long and intensive training. The customer support hotline which is active 24/7 is another bonus to this software.

The list above is just a sample of what’s available. There are a lot more project management web apps and programs that you might find better, just do a bit of research and read many reviews before spending any money.

Top Project Management Certifications

What is PMP Certification

A lot of project managers may have heard of the PMP certification and think that it is the best and only project management certification available. Whether the PMP certification is the best credential for project managers or not isn’t the purpose of this article. What we will be discussing in though is the top certifications a project manager can get and the differences between each one. There is no best one, as that opinion is entirely subject and depends on who you ask, but there certain ones that are the most well known to employers and companies around the world.

The Project Management Professional certification is the one of the most popular and prestigious credential a project manager can hold. There are over 350,000 Project Management Professionals in the world and hundreds more receive this certification each year. This credential is intended for skilled project manager with years of experience who would like to complement their skills with a formal certificate. A lot of companies require that applicants for project manager positions carry this credential as it has become the standard companies use to judge by all over the globe.

The other project management certification my PMI is the CAPM credential. This is a certification for new college graduates who have little or no project management experience but would like to pursue a project management position in their career. College graduates are advised to apply for this certificate before they attempt to take the PMP. Although this credential is relatively new, a lot of companies are starting to appreciate it more and more and are giving it a lot more value than before.

Another certification for project managers is the APMC (Advanced Project Management Certification). This certification is by far the most expensive to receive and is not as well known as either the PMP or the CAPM but is slowly gaining popularity. The Institute of Learning, describes this certification as a credential for senior level project managers and executives who would like to cement their project management skills and PMP status.

The American Academy of Project Managers offers the Master Project Manager (MPM) certification which is another credential intended to strengthen your knowledge of the fundamental skills and concepts of project management.

There are many other project management certifications but the ones listed above are probably the only ones worth paying/studying for. Having one of the above listed on your resume may be pretty helpful, but I doubt that holding every single certification that exists is very useful.

A certification that lets you add three letters to your business card is nice, but remember that practical work experience will always be worth a lot more. And with an organizational leadership masters degree you can gain many of the skills needed to be an outstanding project manager.

Free PMP Exam Study Plan

What is PMP Certification

Studying for the PMP certification exam alone can be pretty boring and difficult most of the time. A lot of project managers who want to become PMPs usually just start studying for the test as soon as they apply for the credential without having any specific plan in mind. They usually start off excited and eager to learn, but as soon as they are exposed to the huge amount of information they’re expected to learn, a lot of them lose motivation and slack of with their preparation. Failing to plan is planning to fail. You’ve probably heard that motto a million times but it really does work. Creating and following a plan is the most effective way to ensure you complete your training before test day arrives.

Based on advice and tips from hundreds of project managers who get their PMP certification, three months is enough time for someone to fully prepare for the test. That is assuming you’ve already earned your 35 contact hours and have at least three years of project management experience.
The first thing you should do is sign up with PMI if you haven’t already done so. Not only will you get a huge discount on the PMP exam registration fees, but you’ll also get a free copy of the PMBOK Guide which you will need to prepare.

Next, schedule your PMP exam date that is about 4 months from the current day. This will give you enough time to study and will prevent you from slacking off.
Choose a good PMP prep book and read it thoroughly from start to finish. Make sure you read it at a pace to finish it 3 weeks before test day (more on that later). For this time, you don’t want to be as focuses on memorizing material than you are on understanding it. Solve any sample questions and exercises in between or at the end of chapters, but do not solve any of the sample PMP exams at the end of the book. (Most good PMP books have sample exams at the back.)

You’ll find a lot advice that you should study 1 hour a day for 4 months or 3 hours a day for 2 months and stuff like that. There’s really no specific guideline since everybody learns at a different rate and has different schedules. As long as you’ll be able to finish and fully comprehend the material within the time you give yourself, then you can study for as long or as little as you’d like everyday.

The last 3 weeks you should focus solely on short term study techniques like flash cards, formula guides, etc. You should also solve as many sample exams in this time as possible. You should also use this time to review anything you’re not 100% sure of or don’t understand properly.

The last 3 days before the test you should do absolutely no more studying. Cramming all the material into your brain the night before the exam doesn’t work, so just take these last couple of days easy. Make sure you have breakfast and are well rested on the day of the exam to be 100% in test mode.

You don’t need to stick to my exact Project Management Professional certification study plan. Change the plan a little to suit your time and needs, just make sure you prepare sufficiently for test day!

Tips to Pass the PMP Certification Exam

What is PMP Certification

PMP training is one thing project managers just can’t seem to get enough of before taking the exam. Some spend months training while others just take a few weeks to go over a good prep guide or two. There is so much information available that finding the good stuff is really hard at times. Eventually you may even reach a point where you don’t even want to get the PMP certification because the whole process is so confusing! Don’t worry though, here are some great tips on how train for the Project Management Professional exam and make sure you pass it the first time you try. You may find some of these tips to be quite a lot, but if you are serious about passing then I would highly recommend you follow these next tips.
First, be sure to read the PMBOK Guide at least twice. You don’t need to memorize everything in there word for word, but it won’t hurt to read it two times or more to make sure you’ve got a pretty good idea of the material in it.
Secondly, pick one good PMP training book and stick to it only. Trying to study from ten books can be very confusing, especially if they’re not all organized in the same way. Read some reviews of the top PMP book and then just choose one prep guide and study from it only while using the PMBOK Guide as a reference throughout your studying.
Memorizing the definitions in the PMBOK Guide glossary is the easiest way to score points on the exam. Learning the inputs, outputs, and processes is another essential you don’t want to miss.
Read the Code of Ethics and Social Responsibility text from PMI. The PMP test has quite a few questions on a project managers social and professional responsibility, so taking the time to read and understand that guide is well worth your time.
Find authentic sources of PMP sample questions online and solve as many as you can. Make sure the websites you find the questions on are proper, authentic websites for project managers or else the answers/questions you get could seriously damage the way you think during the exam.
Give yourself enough time to study. You won’t pass the PMP exam if you start studying the night before. Register for the test a few months early to let yourself know when you’ll need to be done studying. I’ve never really been able to follow a study plan, but if you find those helpful then by all means make one and stick to it.
Participate in a few project management forums where you can find a lot of great information by other PMs and tips from Project Management Professionals. Staying up-to-date about the happenings in the project management industry is an integral part of your preparation for the PMP exam.
Take at least 3 full length tests before scheduling the exam (if you haven’t done so already) to get an idea of how you’ll fare on the real thing. Only solve tests that include answers explanations and try to read the explanations for all the answers, not just the ones you got wrong.
No matter how much project management training you have, remember: practice makes perfect. Passing the Project Management Professional Certification exam is easy, hundreds of thousands of people have already done so, all it needs is a bit of hard work.

PMP Certification vs. CAPM Certification

What is PMP Certification

The PMP certification is one of the best project management certifications and is intended for experienced project managers who want to get a formal certification which proves they are serious about their job. To become a Project Management Professional, you need satisfy certain requirements and pass the PMP test. A lot of project managers find that the PMP is the best certification a project manager can have due to its prestige and renown all over the world. The CAPM (Certified Associate in Project Management) is another project management certification offered by PMI. This certification was introduced a few years after the PMP was offered in 1998 and has become quite popular with project managers as well, but which one is right for you?

The PMP certification is best suited for project managers who have years of professional experience in project management and only want the certification to verify their skills and acquire some new ones along the way. A PMP is not intended for a new project manager or project team member who isn’t fully responsible for leading a project from the beginning to the end. The CAPM certification on the other hand is for new graduates who would like to start working in a position that requires knowledge of certain project management terminology and would like to demonstrate that they have a clear understanding of the main PM concepts.

The requirements for applying for the CAPM certification are a lot less demanding than those the PMP needs, which is one of the main differences between these two credentials. The price of taking the certification exam is less expensive for the CAPM exam than it is for the PMP exam. The exam for the CAPM is shorter than that of the PMP test in terms of length and time (oh, and it’s also easier). The major difference between the exam questions is that the questions on the CAPM exam are pretty much just copy/paste from the PMBOK Guide. As for the PMP exam questions, those are all situational and will require you to make decisions based on your experience of what the “best” thing to do is.

The last difference is that the CAPM is valid for 5 years and then you’ll need to retake the exam or apply for the Project Management Professional certification. Once you get that, you will need to earn your PDUs in order to maintain your status as a Project Management Professional.

Preparation for both exams can be done using books, seminars, websites, or project management bootcamps.

To conclude, the CAPM is a certification intended for new graduates or individuals with little project management experience who would like to pursue a higher level project management position in the future. The PMP certification is for project managers who already have experience but would like to gain a competitive edge over others.