Top Project Management Certifications

Imagine what it would feel like to have some of the best skills required when it comes to managing your projects. To be a successful project manager, you need to acquire some of the top skills ranging from the hardware, software, security, and application development. With these skills, you are assured of quality service and productivity in your workplace. With project management certification, employees will be certain of your ability when it comes to teamwork, planning, organizing and even budgeting for a given institution. Let’s take a closer look at some of the top management certification.

Project Management Professional

It has been absolutely proven beyond reasonable doubt that Project Management Professional certification is the gold standard certification when it comes to project management. With this certification, you’ve got top skills required in management since it covers the triple constraints which are: time, scope and cost. If you are interested in acquiring this credential, you have to undertake PMP exam issued by the Project Management Institute. The exam contains 200 questions and lasts for 4 hours. Its cost is $405 for the PMI members and $555 for non-members. PMP certification is valid for just 3 years hence renewal is necessary.

Certified Associate in Project Management

This is the predecessor of project management professional certification and its validity lasts for 5 years. If you are a learner who is organized and always like doing things sequentially then this is the place to begin from before proceeding to PMP. Furthermore, it is also recommended in case you have just a college degree or rudimentary project management experience. To be certified, you have to take CAPM exam which is also a multiple choice containing 150 questions with a duration of 3 hours. The exam is provided by the PMI institute and costs $225.00 for members and $300.00 for non-members.

CompTIA Project+ certification

This certification aims at testing your knowledge and skills as a practicing manager or an upcoming project manager. It offers very easy and comprehensive exams. In order to get it one needs to have at least one year of experience in directing, managing, or participating actively in small or medium sized projects. CompTIA Project+ certification would best suite you as a project manager since it will validate your fundamental project management skills. Nonetheless, you will have to pass PK0-004 exam which contains 100 multiple questions and the pass mark is 70%. The exam costs $302 and you will take it at Pearson VUE testing center.

PRINCE2 Foundation

A project in controlled environments (PRINCE2) is another popular certification for you to take into consideration if you are interested to in getting one of the significant project management certifications. This is an entry-level certification aimed at inspiring project managers as well as those who are still practicing the profession. The certification tests the basics which include terminologies and methodologies of project management. It aims at polishing your skills in terms of managing, delivering, and directing projects across all phases of project management which include pre-project, initialization and ultimately final delivery. Having it, you are assured of sufficient knowledge in the various methods of project handling. But still, you will have to sit for the foundation exam which has 75 questions and score nothing less than 50% to be certified. The price for the exam depends on the location the exam is take in.

PRINCE2 Practitioner

This is the next level of certification after the PRINCE2 Foundation; however, it is not mandatory to have the PRINCE2 foundation in order to be certified. This certification tests the advanced professionals in project management. If you want to sit for this exam but haven’t received PRINCE2 foundation yet, you must have PMP, CAPM or IPMA level A-D certificates. For the practitioner exams, they are only 8 questions worth 80 marks which should be done within 150 minutes.

Certified Project Management Practitioner (CPMP)

Are you a project manager who is interested in evaluating your performance? If yes, CPMP is the best course since it allows you to benchmark your skills through hands-on experience across various management techniques. It also offers some of the best tools necessary for successful management of complex projects. The course is an EC-Council certified and it consists of only 8 questions and you are only required to attain a pass mark of 55%. The course focuses on developing managerial, leadership and technical skills required for a successful project. You will, therefore, find yourself in the right place as a management professional since all the candidate aim at having success in their career. The price for the exam is $199.

Certified Project Manager (CPM)

The International Association of project managers (IAMP), is a global professional association and certification body that aims at promoting research, development and practical applications of project management. One of the requirements for this certification is that you need to have some good background information as far as project management is concerned. This may include the basics of planning, organizing and implementing various projects. IAMP is very important when it comes to the development of standards and guidelines for beginners and advanced project management. The exams offered will have you catered for in terms of both the hardware and software aspects of management. The price for the exam depends on the origin of the candidate. In the USA, the cost of exam is $650.

Associate in Project Management (APM)

The Associate in Project Management certification course is administered by the Global Association for Quality Management. For entry-level project managers or any individual interested in pursuing a course in project management, this will be one of the good places to start from. GAQM’s main objectives in project management are to enhance; clear direction, effective resource allocation, effective communication, adaptability to change, and quality assurance. The price for the exam is $300.

Certified Project Director

Certified Project Director is considered to be the highest level of project management certification which is also being offered by GAQM. It is recommended for experienced project managers whose main responsibility often includes directing multiple, complex projects and programs. No matter what level of the employment we are at, we often need to level up our knowledge, upgrade and enhance our skills and that is exactly what the certified project director is focused on doing. This course will enable one to efficiently handle multiple project teams and mitigation of interdepend risks for successful delivery of projects. The exams here are always in form of interviews but still, you are required to pass. The exam costs $300.

Conclusion

Good management is what makes an organization to be productive since you are able to create a conducive working environment for everyone. With the listed certifications you will stand out of the crowd, be confident in yourself as a professional and competitive. Any task at your workplace will be easy for you to tackle and complete. Are you having a problem managing your employees, try these certifications and see them working for you!