PMP - Project Management Certification

[babysham]

Has anyone here done their PMP? Can anyone direct me to some links or information on what schools in the Toronto area offer this, how long it takes, how much it is?

For the people that have done it, what are your thoughts on it? Are some schools better than others, or are they all basically the same thing?

Thanks.

[bionicbadger]

The hours doing Project Management are the hardest thing about that qualification. If you have the hours or close to it, then write the test, otherwise its kind of pointless...

[babysham]

How many hours does it take?

[curtis]

Look up the Project Management Institute.

www.pmi.org or maybe it was pmi.com

It's all on their webpage. You won't be getting it if you're a fresh grad.

How many hours does it take?

[gnunn]

I did it back in March, like Curtis said they have specific requirements in that you must have 4500 hours of project management experience with at least 3 years of experience in the last six years. You also need 35 hours of project management training. This is if you have a university degree, the requirements are higher if you don't.

If you have the requisite experience then the PMP test is not that hard, I wouldn't waste my money on a prep class unless you need the 35 hours of training to meet the education requirement. Get the PMP handbook along with one or two of the other available books and work your way through them. You can sign up for simulated tests at a variety of sources and this is a good way to assess if your ready to write the main test.

The main test is done at a Prometric facility and consists of 200 multiple choice questions that you have four hours to answer. The passing grade is 67% I believe.

Finally, note the requirements and test are changing substantially after September and it will be more difficult to meet the eligibility criteria. The test will also require a higher passing grade as well.

The cost to do the test is between $600-$800 as I recall.

[commie]

This certification is another of those certs that while it looks good on your wall, practically its not much use if you don't have the industry experience.

don't even bother writing the exam if you do not have the prerequiste project management experience.
This is not one of those certs where you try to get and get a job in the field..
you should already be in the field before pursuing the cert.

[gravCY]

I'm curious as to how much a PM make nowadays?

Am i correct in saying that the skills one learn as a PM is transferable between different industries?

[HughG]

im curious to this as well.

anyone ?

[gnunn]

Well in IT, in my experience, PM's usually make between $70K to low six figures depending on experience and reputation. In theory PM knowledge is industry transferable but in practice once you gain the domain knowledge for a specific industry you tend to be much more valuable in that industry and able to work at higher levels. You won't see a a high level IT PM move over to a similar position in construction, rather he would probably be starting near the bottom again.

[MrDisco]

This is not one of those certs where you try to get and get a job in the field..
you should already be in the field before pursuing the cert.

due to the required hours needed for real world project experience it pretty much reduces if not eliminates the paper-mcse syndrome.

[mbg]

I think there is a new test coming in a month or so which will require more hours of experience.

Also, I don't think the hours worked have to be project MANAGEMENT experience. I think they can be hours worked within the context of an organized project (as a project team member).

And, if you don't have a UNIVERSITY degree (college diplomas not included), you need MORE than 4500 hours of experience. I think it's about 7500 hours.

[mbg]

Out of the PMP-certified project managers I have worked with (3), 2 were garbage and 1 was pretty good.

One of the PMP-certified project managers even told me that he does not believe in project plans!! Almost a year later, the project subsequently crashed and burned and was cancelled.

[sptembergurl]

Ok, I am currently just about to write my PMP exam so I can probably help you out a bit.

First off, I had to get 4500 in course credit hours to qualify. I took 7 online courses via ESI international. The company that I currently work for is affiliated with them, so I didn't have to pay a cent, however these courses are approximately 1000.00 US each. Try to get your current employer to pay for them if you can. If you take 7 courses, you get your Project Management Mastery Certificate. Taking all 7 is not a requirement to write your PMP though.

So yes, it's true, the exam regulations are changing. Currently, the pass rate is 70%. At the end of September this will be changed to 80%. The exam costs approx $500 US and contains 200 multiple choice questions. You have 4 hours to complete it via a computer in a PMI centre. They have one in Toronto.

Before you write the PMP exam, you must first fill out a lengthy application which makes you list a lot of your PM working history. It's a pain in the butt to fill out, but you have no choice.

If you have any further questions, please let me know. I will help you.
Wish me luck too ok?!

Good luck to you! It's worth getting if you can.

-Sptembergurl

[guest10586]

PMP -> Pimp Certification?

[mbg]

Ok, I am currently just about to write my PMP exam so I can probably help you out a bit.

First off, I had to get 4500 in course credit hours to qualify. I took 7 online courses via ESI international. The company that I currently work for is affiliated with them, so I didn't have to pay a cent, however these courses are approximately 1000.00 US each. Try to get your current employer to pay for them if you can. If you take 7 courses, you get your Project Management Mastery Certificate. Taking all 7 is not a requirement to write your PMP though.

So yes, it's true, the exam regulations are changing. Currently, the pass rate is 70%. At the end of September this will be changed to 80%. The exam costs approx $500 US and contains 200 multiple choice questions. You have 4 hours to complete it via a computer in a PMI centre. They have one in Toronto.

Before you write the PMP exam, you must first fill out a lengthy application which makes you list a lot of your PM working history. It's a pain in the butt to fill out, but you have no choice.

If you have any further questions, please let me know. I will help you.
Wish me luck too ok?!

Good luck to you! It's worth getting if you can.

-Sptembergurl

One approach some people are taking to avoid the new test requirements is to register to take the current test before the deadline with the expectation that they will fail. I think that upon failing you then have a year or so to rewrite the OLD test with the OLD requirements, thereby avoiding the new test and new requirements.