As I have been looking for new employment as part of our relocation to Austin, I have found myself having to explain (over and over and over again) why it is exactly that, after a decade of working as a project manager, I still have yet to be certified as a Project Management Professional. Unfortunately, every time I have this discussion with someone, I end up feeling like I am making excuses.
How Much Value Does a PMP Really Have?
This is a dangerous question, because the word “value” is so subjective. A PMP certification is very valuable to PMI, because they get to charge for it and the more PMPs there are out there, the more legitimacy it gives to both the credential and the organization. So for them, it’s extremely valuable. And, I must confess, a certain degree of cynicism in this department prevented me from being tremendously gung-ho about taking it for many years.
There are plenty of studies that show that certified project managers make (on average) about $5k more than non-certified PMs in the US. Of course, since I have a tendency to work in startup environments versus the big firms that pay robust salaries, that was never much of a selling point.
On top of which, until I met the lovely Ms. Kate, I honestly hadn’t encountered a PMP who wasn’t tediously arrogant and more than a little superior about it. I have met a great many since, but in the early days, I must confess I had a bit of an allergy to voluntarily associating myself with a group that struck me as so distastefully smug.
The truth is that, because I usually work in startup environments, I have never found myself with an employer that actually placed all that much value on a PMP (I’ve had employers who never finished school, much less any advanced certifications). And, since they didn’t value it, they were rarely inclined to help off-set any of the costs associated with getting it — which was one of the biggest obstacles, because my finances rarely provided me with the leeway to absorb the cost myself.
Add in the fact that, as a die-hard workaholic, I typically find myself juggling 60-80 hours of work per week, and I have almost never found myself with the time necessary to study for it.
Of course, at the moment, I suddenly find myself with the time to study. And being the pragmatist that I am, I have finally come to the conclusion that, by hook or by crook, it’s time for me to take care of this thing once and for all. So, after having taken a very good PMP Boot Camp a year and a half ago (after which I was absolutely ready to take the test… until I found myself caught in PMI’s random audit process), and another cram course at this year’s ProjectWorld conference in Orlando, I am wrapping up with some self-study (never my strong suit) to prepare to take the test.
The irony, naturally, is that having my PMP could well help in my job search at this point. And yet, until I have a job, I can’t really afford to take the test. Ha. Figures. That’s what I get for letting it go this long. I knew better.
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