PMP Certification

[DeftOne]

I did the same. I let mine lapse after several years because they kept wanting me to go to their training classes to stay certified. It felt a bit like a scam. That said if your employer will pay for it there are some useful things you can learn.

How often do you have to renew the certification, and what's the cost?

 

[CtownCyclone]

It is absolutely a scam, but a very effective one. In IT project management, at least, certification can open a lot of doors. And if you’re woefully incompetent, you can just point to your certification and keep getting jobs. It’s a win-win!

Yeah, I definitely see this. I don't know that I've met more than a handful of people who have the certification that are actually worth something.

Of course, I'll probably end up getting it at some point if my company makes me. "Never turn down a free cert" is advice I've been given before, and so far, it's come in handy. Makes it a bit interesting to explain to higher-ups that I'm LEED certified and an ASHRAE member when I work in the pipeline business, but oh well.

 

[Walden4Prez]

It is absolutely a scam, but a very effective one. In IT project management, at least, certification can open a lot of doors. And if you’re woefully incompetent, you can just point to your certification and keep getting jobs. It’s a win-win!

TRUTH

 

[Pat]

Yeah, I definitely see this. I don't know that I've met more than a handful of people who have the certification that are actually worth something.

Of course, I'll probably end up getting it at some point if my company makes me. "Never turn down a free cert" is advice I've been given before, and so far, it's come in handy. Makes it a bit interesting to explain to higher-ups that I'm LEED certified and an ASHRAE member when I work in the pipeline business, but oh well.

Yeah, I meant to add that: if someone else is paying, you should absolutely do it.

 

[yler4cy]

Right now I am a contract employee, and had to fork out the money to get it, but plan to get it sometime in my career. As others have mentioned, I don't really intend to use much from the class but I do intend to use the certification behind my name to get promotions or future jobs.

I talked to one guy who has been in the recruiting industry for years said he has come across HR individuals that are required to only hire people with their PMP certification. He said he tried telling them, there are very good PM's out there that don't have their PMP certification and they can't even entertain it, cause their company is requiring it.

 

[AgronAlum]

Initially read as PIMP Certification and was confused on how one gets certified as a PIMP.

 

[Walden4Prez]

I have a couple of professional certifications and essentially they tell you who is a good test taker. Most of the prep type training I took for mine were nothing more than instruction on how to pass the test, not the underlying material.

 

[CycloneCJ]

How often do you have to renew the certification, and what's the cost?

If I remember right the certification is good for three years. During that time you need to log a certain number of training hours. You get some credit for work experience but the rest are typically classes. That was the part that felt a bit like a scam to me because it was the PMP company emailing me constantly about their training classes.