What Is PMP Certification?

The Project Management Institute (PMI), a globally respected organization, has chapters in four corners of the world and issues the PMP Certification, after an exam that has become the watchword in business management skills. To be known as a trained, experienced and certified Project Management Professional is hitting the career jackpot in one stroke. Considered a mentally stimulating and rather difficult exam to crack, this certification separates the ordinary from those with keen business acumen. The eligibility for the exam is rigid as is the fees and so only those who wish to be a cut above the rest dare to take this exam. With an estimated success rate of only about 60 percent this exam and consequent PMP Certification Online has gained the notoriety or rather the honour of being a true litmus test of professional and project managing calibre. That is not to say that people are not taking the exam, infact there are over hundred thousand successful candidates, from the world over, who are known as members of the PMI.

The primary reason for enrolling, studying for and passing the PMP Certification Online is the resulting increase in pay and perks that employers offer especially in IT companies. Most often it is professionals, predominantly from the software and IT enabled services who appear for this exam every year.
This is a double edged certification useful to both the employee, who has passed the exam and the employer who hires the PMP certified project manager. The employees are rewarded with monetary benefits, promotions, more responsibilities and greater respect in the company while the employer is confident that the PMP certified employee is the best for the job acls online recertification.

With nearly every field of business being involved in day to day global as well as domestic projects the need for skilled personnel who have been suitably trained and certified by a globally acknowledged body was created. These PMP certified individuals can conceptualize, plan, implement and deliver the project in the stipulated time frame and effectively manage the men, materials, methods and money needed to complete the project. The PMI uses Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) as its resource base which includes a rich collection of books, material, articles and study material that is helpful and coined from the professionals in the project management. This handbook is sold to the members of PMI online though bookstores or even from the PMI official website and has much matter, principles and concepts that are useful for those who wish to take the PMP certification exam. In addition to offering excellent study material for the exam, the handbook, PMBOK also helps to network with others in the same profession.

Where Can You Get A PMP Certification Online?

In order to enrol and apply for the PMP certification one has to log on to the official website of the PMI which is www.pmi.org, wherein all the eligibility, application, membership and guidelines regarding getting the PMP Certification Online is present. In addition to registering all the professional details about work experience, projects completed, educational qualifications and so forth one has also got to fill in personal details.
The next step is to pay for the exam fees, which is easily done with a valid, international credit card, online. The fee is $405 for members of the PMI and $555 for non-members. With the applicant’s resume duly attached to the application form, the processing time for the application is two weeks or 14 working days. However this applies only to hard copy applications. If the registration and application is done online the processing time works out to about 5 working days. If and when the application is accepted, the PMI will send the applicant a set of instructions to help applicants select and finalize the date of examination. After approval of the application, there is period of one year within which the applicant can set the final exam date

From experience it is seen that many applicants do not pass the PMP Certification Online test on first attempt. Therefore the PMI allows all examinees to appear for the exam a total of three times within the eligibility of the application. However there is a fee of $150 for each attempt as a re-examination charge. In the event that the applicant fails all three attempt of the exam then he/she has to wait a full calendar year to apply again for the project management certification Online. To sit for the PMP Certification Online test one can visit any of the Prometric Testing Centres from the list of centres on the website of Prometric, www.prometric.com.pmi. Prometric is the official test centre of the PMI and to guarantee a seat at the test center it is of prime need that the applicant books, much in advance, the exam. Ideally ones should have made a confirmed reservation at the Prometric Testing Centre three months ahead of the said exam date.

What Is The Cost Of Getting A PMP Certification Online?

This well respected and competitive exam has its fair share of pros and cons. From being a hallmark of one’s calibre in handling and executing live projects to increased pay packets. This exam also comes at a hefty price. There are many hidden as well as visible costs associated with the PMP Certification Online exam.

Contact Hours vs. Work Experience

To be eligible for the PMP Certification Online test, the candidates must have undergone project management training totalling 35 hours in the span of the past 10 years. These contact hours could cost anywhere from hundreds of thousands of dollars to not even a single penny, entirely depending on the institute from where the candidate takes the training.

The PMP Certification Exam Fees

• The fees for the PMP Certification Online test conducted by the PMI are:
• Non – Member: Paper Based Testing (PBT) – $400
• Non – Member: Computer Based Testing (CBT) – $555
• Member: Paper Based testing (PBT) – $250
• Member – Computer Based Testing (CBT) – $405

Cost of Membership to the PMI

Becoming a member of the PMI in order to appear for the exam is a cost saving measure since all PMI members get a discount on the cost of the PMP exam. Currently the membership fees for a individual is $129, for a retired individual is $60 and for students is $40 which includes fees for $30 and an application fee costing $10.

Professional Development Units or PDUs

In order to keep the PMP Certification all members have to earn 60 PDUs in a period of three years. These Professional Development Units (PDUs) can either cost the individual many thousand dollars per unit or even be availed free depending on the type of unit it is.

Failure to Qualify For the Exam

If at any time after paying for the PMP Certification Online exam fees, the candidate wants to claim a refund he may do so, provided the written request to cancel the enrolment reaches the PMI a month prior to the date of the test and a $100 processing fee is paid. In effect the refund is made of the exam fees minus the processing fee. In addition if the individual who desires to appear for the PMP Certification Online test fails to meet the pre-requisite qualification for the exam, the PMI will refund the fees after deducting another $100 as yet another processing fee. The costs, hidden and evident must be considered carefully before deciding to enrol or appear for the PMI’s PMP Certification Online or paper based exam.

Requirements and Eligibility for A PMP Certification Online

The PMP Certification requires the individual to have a high school, college or bachelor’s degree with vast work experience. Generally there are two diverse groups of professional who undertake this exam online. Namely;

• Those individuals who hold a college degree and within the past 5 years have undertaken 4,500 hours of non-overlapping and consecutive project management work for a period of 36 months.
• Those individuals who do not possess a college degree and have 60 months of consecutive, non-overlapping project management work experience totalling 7,500 hours in the previous eight year period.
• Finally, all individuals, no matter to which group they belong, must have undergone project management training totalling 35 hours in the span of the past 10 years.

This project management experience has to include five key management issues of initiating, organizing, executing, monitoring and closure of the projects handled. All five issues do not have to be found in a single project but have to be distributed equally among all the work experience accumulated.

Firstly, to be eligible for the Project Management Professional (PMP) Test conducted and certified by the Project Management Institute (PMI) the said candidate has to have 35 hours of project management work or attend contact hours. The contact hours, however, can be substituted for a range of acceptable project coursework and the contact hours themselves cost from zero to thousands of dollars depending on the institute from where the courses are taken.For many PMP Certification Online hopefuls, their current line of work provides them the required project management based coursework that they have to obtain for the PMP test.

In order to enrol for the PMP Certification Online examination all applicants have to file an application and after the PMI considers the application they will be informed via a formal letter of approval. This letter lets the candidate know that they have been considered eligible to undertake the PMP Certification Online test.

Some Pointers before Enrolling For PMP Certification Online Test

Here are some the best suggestions and pointers that have been successfully practiced and passed on to other applicants of the PMP Certification Online test.

They are:

Study Time
It is evident that an exam of such magnitude in terms of professional leverage, monetary benefits and academic qualification, calls for an equally exhaustive share of study and preparation time. It has been seen, through trial and error that about three to six months of dedicated study for this PMP Certification Online test would be sufficient to clear the exam in the first attempt. However it should be known that some applicants have only ever had to spend less than a month to study, prepare and pass this exam.

Project Management Body of Knowledge – PMBOK Handbook

This is the PMP Bible in more ways than one. From being the handbook of the PMI to being the one stop guide to all research, reference material, theories, lessons and descriptions of the field of Project Management, this book is the PMP Certification Online examinee’s lifeline. It can be bought in bookstores online and on the official website of the Project Management Institute, www.pmi.org. Very often examinees believe that most of the exam questions come from matter available in the PMBOK, so it is wise to be thorough in that before the exam. A word of caution though, this handbook is known to be dry and very uninteresting in its approach to the subject of project management work.

PMP = Practice and More Practice

As the guru of PMP, Rita Mulchay suggests, the best way to pass the PMP Certification Online test is to answer as many online model tests as possible. There is no limit to amount one can prepare for the four hour long, intense and challenging exam and so therefore it is advisable to become fast and experienced at answering the questions. This is best achieved by practising with the hundreds of sample question papers and mock tests available on the internet. A simple rule would be that if an applicant can answer atleast three-fourths of the sample test correctly then it is quite enough sign that he/she is ready to sit for the actual PMP Certification Online exam.

The PMP Certification Online Exam

The PMP Certification online test is in the form of a multiple choice exam which combines the knowledge and experience of the examinee in the field of project management. The subjects covered are corporate, social and personal responsibility, finance, communications, men, materials, methodology, risk, time frame, planning, delegation, decision making, execution of plans, control and many more aspects of project management work. This means, in simple terms, that the examinee should be very well versed in all things to do with project management.

Take it Easy
That’s right, take it easy. It may sound incredulous on first thought, that a suggestion to help improve results at the PMP Certification Online test is to relax, but knowing that the exam calls for superior stress management skills, a calm mind and tactical thinking, it is recommended that all aspirants of a PMP certification approach the exam being well relaxed. With about 3 to 6 months of preparation under the belt, an examinee should be able to attempt the PMP Certification Online test quite comfortably.

Benefits of Getting the PMP Certification Online

As we have already understood the PMP Certification is the definitive proof that a person has the expertise and skill sets to create, manage and successfully execute a business project. This means the certified PMP individual can lead a team, remain on schedule, keep in mind the project budgets and utilize the resources available in hand to the maximum possible limit in order to bring the project to fruition.

• Monetary Benefits

According to research conducted in the US individuals who have accomplished the PMP Certification Online test earn approximately $82,200 as a Project Manager in the field of Construction, $88,000 in IT, $89,000 in Software, $96,000 as a senior Project Manager in an IT firm, $118,000 in a Directorial position within an IT company and finally close to $120,000 as a Vice-President. This is a clear indication of the impressive and scrumptious pay packet that is waiting to be earned by successful examinees of the PMP Certification Online test. There is also nothing to say that a PMP certified project management professional should not earn more than this. By all means, the size, nature, industry and scope of the company as well as the personal drive, determination, education, experience and skill sets of the individual would determine the final salary that is drawn.

• The Other Benefits of being PMP Certified

The monetary rewards apart a project manager has so many advantages with a PMP Certification. Since 1984, when the PMI was set up, the certifications that they have issued to professionals around the world are respected and revered to a great extent. Since the procedures for certification are so stringent the certification is considered both difficult and prestigious to own. When everything is equal and in place then the need for a project manager with a PMP certification is not felt as much as when there is a disaster or contingency where men, materials, money and methods have to be redirected to ensure the project does not derail and is delivered on the said time.

For the employer hiring a project manager with PMP certification ensures that the employees knows his job well, can handle contingencies, is well organized, is capable of working with and leading a team, training teammates and sub-ordinates in the job, handles conflicts and issues with dexterity and ease, can handle stress, communicates well, is focussed and in the end deliver the expected goods for the organization. Once the individual passes the PMP certification exam the scores are valid for a period of three years after that and require 60 PDUs to be earned via learning and approved project management work experience in order to maintain the certification.

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