Project Management Professional
The Project Management Professional (PMP) designation is a professional certification bestowed by the Project Management Institute (PMI), a worldwide governing body for project management practices standards. As of June 2009, there were about 360,000 PMPs globally. That's not a huge number, really, which is good for PMP salaries and employment prospects.
To obtain a project management professional certification, one must document to PMI 3 to 5 years of professional project management experience; complete 35 hours of project management training approved by PMI; and score acceptably on a mulltiple-choic project management professional certification exam.
There is a project management professional study guide which gives one an idea of the types of questions that will be on the exam. New copies sell for over $30 on Amazon.com; but used copies go for less than $5.
If you offer project management professional services, a PMP certification can boost your professional image and help you acquire clients you might not get otherwise. Government and large corporate clients often err on the side of caution, requiring project management professional certification even of contractors with decades of proven success in project management.
There are a number of ways to earn PMP PDUs -- Professional Development Units, better known as "credit hours" in higher education. You can get those required 35 PDUs in classes offered around the country or online. Many busy project management professionals prefer the online option.
When shopping for an institution that offers PMP PDUs, be sure to ask if it is a Registered Education Provider with the PMI. That is your assurance that the PDUs granted by the educational institution will be accepted by PMI and credited towards your project management professional certification.
The Registered Education Provider program also ensures portability and freedom for PMP candidates. You are not locked into one provider's program, forced to get all 35 hours of training in order to obtain a certificate of completion. You can get 10 PDUs from one provider, 5 from another, etc. So you can buy PDUs a la carte, shopping for the best deal or the most convenient schedule of classes.
Professional project management certification is recommended for anyone who wants to make a full commitment to project management as a career. It will improve your employment prospects; give you an edge in competition for clients; and can make the difference between getting a promotion or not.