PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATIONS
Almost daily I get questions from transitioning service members on professional certifications and my opinion on them. This blog is an attempt to address these questions in a substantive manner with both qualitative and quantitative data. Personally, I think it’s important to note three things.
Professional certifications CAN help you. They are certainly not going to hurt you
A professional certification is not a magic pill that will suddenly make you employed. You will still have to do the hard work of finding a great job. Same with an MBA
Certifications are not really a substitute for competitive career enhancing graduate programs or “elite” professional jobs. Period. They are a nice to have, not a must have. If you want to earn the “big money” then a PMP might not be the path to that
THE PMP
The Project Management Professional (PMP) certification is the number one “cert” that people ask me about. As a MBA graduate from a top 20 MBA program I can personally attest that most MBA’s and corporate types DO NOT NEED A PMP. It is primarily for people who want to be a program manager and run a program management office (PMO).
Let’s take an actual look at what a PMP certification is so you can come up with your own opinion.
PMP EXAM REQUIREMENTS
The PMI institute is the organization that administers and maintains the PMP exam. Check out the official website
You need to meet the following requirements
four-year degree
Three years leading projects
35 hours of project management education/training
OR
A high school diploma
An associate’s degree or global equivalent
Five years leading projects
35 hours of project management education/training
The exam costs $405 dollars for members of the PMI organization or $555 dollars for non-members
The fail rate for the PMP exam is actually quite high at an estimated 40-50% for first-time test-takers. There is no specific number of questions that must be answered correctly in order to pass the PMP exam. Each question is graded based on its relative difficulty, meaning that if you get all of the easy questions right but get all of the hard ones wrong, you could still fail the exam.
The PMP Exam consists of five parts or domains, each of which test your competence in more than 20 skill areas. The exam also tests your ability, understanding, and knowledge of each of the skills that are required of industry standard project managers. Because exam questions are frequently reviewed and revised, the content is highly relevant to actual project management, and therefore also changes every few years. The exam contains 175 scored questions and 25 unscored questions. Unanswered questions are scored as incorrect, so you should try to answer all questions.
The five sections or domains of the PMP exam include a selection of tasks and questions aimed at gauging your skill and knowledge of more than 20 different areas. These include:
Initiating the Project – 13% of the test involves this knowledge area, and includes an average of 6 tasks, plus a knowledge and skills section. Tasks might require analyzing documents, developing a project charter, obtaining approval for a project, and so on.
Planning the Project – 24% of the test is based on planning the project, meaning you’ll get about 12 tasks in this section. These might include setting up and planning a project, creating project plans, handling meetings and stakeholders, and other real-world tasks. The section ends with a knowledge and skills test that measures your techniques and planning skills.
Executing the Project – This comprises one of the largest and most important sections of the test. Execution accounts for 30% of the entire test, but consists of only 6 tasks. These take longer to complete than the previous tasks, as they include making changes, obtaining resources, and following plans. The knowledge and skills section covers tools, techniques, quality control, budgeting, scheduling, and more.
Monitoring and Controlling the Project – Monitoring and controlling the project makes up 25% of the test and includes 6 tasks plus the skills section. This section typically covers quality control, project performance, assessing actions and risks, and taking steps to ensure that deliverables are finished and handed in on time. The questions section checks your ability to monitor, use analysis, and management techniques.
Closing the Project – Comprising approximately 8% of the total exam, the last section is the shortest, although it includes 7 tasks. These revolve around obtaining deliverables and acceptance, transferring ownership, obtaining financial and legal closure, archiving, distributing projects, and customer relationships. The knowledge and skills section tests feedback, techniques, close-out procedures, and compliance.
WHO IS THE PMP MEANT FOR?
The PMP exam is primarily aimed at junior project managers who want to get an additional certification to enhance their career.
The PMP is great for people who run Program Management Offices (PMO). A PMO is exactly what you think it is, a project manager. Imagine being a special projects officer, Assistant S3, Battle Captain etc.
Program Managers typically manage short, consecutive projects, hiring and outsourcing tasks and work as needed, manage quality control, budgets and timelines.
Most program managers interact with all individuals involved in a project, including stakeholders, and may create plans and schedules, and often make plans for distribution, revenue, and visibility.
The PMP is one of the most well-recognized project management certifications in the world, and is certainly one of the most valuable. Some companies do not consider applicants without a PMP certification for specific positions, so having the certification can help you in the hiring process for higher paying jobs.
TYPES OF CAREERS THAT WOULD NEED A PMP
PMP certification demonstrates that you have specific experience and dedication to your field, which makes you eligible for more senior positions, often with better pay. However, the following types of positions may be held with or without PMP certification. For example. MBA’s very often hold these kinds of positions.
Program Manager
Salary Range: $71,000-$144,000. Program Managers typically manage short, consecutive projects, hiring and outsourcing tasks and work as needed, manage quality control, budgets and timelines. Most program managers interact with all individuals involved in a project, including stakeholders, and may create plans and schedules, and often make plans for distribution, revenue, and visibility.
Project Manager in Engineering
Salary Range: $71,000-$139,000. These managers oversee engineering projects on and off the field. Tasks typically include ensuring safety compliance, promoting a culture of best practices, preparing cost proposals, maintaining financial records, creating product strategies, and creating product development plans.
IT Project Manager
Salary Range: $66,000-$124,000. IT Project Managers oversee technical teams in design, development, and maintenance/repair tasks. Tasks usually include coordinating deliverables, quality assurance, resource allocation, project plans, and schedules.
IT Program Manager
Salary Range: $91,000-$152,000. IT Program Managers typically have technical IT skills. Their tasks often include working with developers and testers to ensure product viability, planning projects, assigning duties, outsourcing or finding skilled labor as needed, as well as developing and maintaining long-term plans and strategies.
Senior Project Manager
Salary Range: $88,000-$135,000. This job may include overseeing large teams in a large industry or company, usually with the help of other managers. Tasks typically include budgeting, project planning, customer relations, conducting meetings with stakeholders, and creating detailed project plans.
MBA VERSUS PMP
The MBA and the PMP can’t really be directly compared, as they have different goals and requirements.
A Project Management Professional (PMP) is an internationally recognized professional designation offered by the Project Management Institute. The exam is based on the PMI Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK), and requirements to sit for the exam include a Bachelor’s degree, at least 4,500 hours of experience leading and directing projects, and 35 hours of formal project management education.
The PMP is a professional certification and the MBA is a degree course. An MBA course aims to make students capable of handling all aspects of business situations, and therefore the courses include human resources, marketing, accounting, operational management, and more.
Someone with an MBA and not a PMP credential may not have a skillset that reflects the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK), and someone with a PMP credential and not an MBA may not have a skillset that reflects business analysis and operations.
In terms of short-term ROI, there is a huge difference between the amount of money and time needed to invest in an MBA compared with the cost and time needed for a PMP. For example, PMI’s 2011 annual salary survey indicates that getting a PMP will earn you an average of 16% more (approximately US$14,500) than if you were not PMP certified as a project manager. If the cost is around $2,000 for applying, books and materials, that means that for $2k you can expect to increase your ROI by around 625% in the form of a salary increase.
If we compare that with what the return would be to graduate from a top-tier MBA program like Harvard, where it costs around $112,000 to make an average of $102,000, this would just lead to a 8.9% return on investment!
For example, in government contracting for the intelligence community, if you have 10 years of intelligence analytical experience plus a PMP, that would typically qualify you for a program manager position. However, if you think that said position earns you a quarter of a million $ salary, think again. Maybe in the cyber world, but typically low 100’s.
But what if you have NO intelligence analytic experience + an MBA from a top rated school, chances are, you can then work DIRECTLY for a top government contracting firm like Booz Allen or General Dynamics and work business development or some form of management. These salaries are typically fairly substantial since the company can directly pay you vs. what the government rate would be. This all depends on if you can learn how the government procurement process works. In short, technically accurate/lowest cost. But not always lowest cost.
This doesn’t just apply for intelligence related positions, it can matter for anything in government or defense contracting related industries. Whether it’s managing 100+ contract intelligence analysts at said 3 letter agency or managing selling aircraft parts for the, maybe F-35, a PMP can matter for sure.
But without a doubt, ta PMP AND an MBA from a great/top 10 school will certainly not hurt you.
However, for long-term ROI, the MBA would be preferable, as in general, the salary increase with an MBA is far higher. So if you are deciding between the two, the main things to consider are your short- and long-term goals.
PMP TRANSITION STORY
Editors Note: The following transition story is from an individual who transitioned out of the military and leveraged the PMP to do so.
When I transitioned I decided being a PM was the career path I was going to pursue. Didn’t feel like paying for the classes and couldn’t apply fast enough to the Institute for Veterans of Military Families (IVMF) before cohorts filled. I ended up transitioning without a PMP and a college degree that no one would care about besides an industry I no longer was interested in.
My initial job search was terrible and I essentially never heard back from anyone outside of some very incentive laden sales jobs which wasn’t what I wanted to do at all. Eventually I got a job as a project specialist at a company in an industry I had no interest in but was willing to try. Turned out its as the wrong fit for me and their path to being an actual PM was murky and a merger/bad manager delayed me even being promoted from entry level to senior level. I Started looking at jobs and ran into the same thing as before.
Finally got into IVMF and worked towards getting my PMP. As a note I recommend actually blocking time off to apply to the program. The thing fills up faster than the biggest concerts sell out. The program prepared me for the test and even paid for your first year of PMI membership and test. Passed the test and as soon as the PMP was applied to my resume I suddenly started getting call backs on Project Manager roles in the industry I was targeting (IT/Tech). I cannot recommend this program enough for people transitioning. Find a certification that fits the industry and job and get it. But as is the theme if it doesn’t fit what you’re trying to do no one cares about your random certifications.
After a couple interviews I finally received some offers and was hired by a company I had initially targeted. I 100% attribute this to having the PMP certification on my resume/LinkedIn. It allowed me to get my foot in the door and actually explain to people my value in my experience towards their positions. I’ve recently gone back out into the job market (am a contractor and want to be a full time employee (FTE) again) and while I haven’t received a formal offer yet, I’ve got some promising leads and have made it to final interviews with huge companies where I’ve been competing with people who are at least 10 years my senior.
My PMP certification is a huge part of this success which I didn’t feel I had during my initial transition. In fact I don’t feel like my transition is completely over as I’m still searching for that FTE position but felt like to getting to the industry I wanted required me to use a bunch of stepping stones. The PMP was the first part of that and if I had achieved it before transitioning I feel like I would have two years back of wasted time.
No job requires it but it is a good way to get your foot in the door. No one other than PMOs will care if you have it. Don’t waste your time to if don’t want to be an actual Project Manager. If you want to learn some of the techniques and process of project management, buy a book or two on the subject and do self study and you’ll be fine. I recommend Project Management for the Unofficial Project Manager as this takes examples of workers in various industries being thrust into being a project manager (note the lower case) role for a business effort. One of those professional development readings that isn’t a grind to get through.
CONCLUSION
Who fucking knows. You can always DM me on Instagram. I’ll give you my opinion as I see it.
WORKS CITED
This blog heavily used information from other websites. The websites are listed below.
https://crushthepmexam.com/pmp-requirements/
https://www.pmi.org/certifications/types/project-management-pmp