How to Become a Certified Project Manager and Earn More Pay

To become a certified project manager means more pay and recognition in the industry.

This post shows you the steps you can take to become certified and advance your career as a project manager.

Who is a project manager?

A project manager is one who directs, organizes, and manages projects with the purpose of achieving a desired result. He works with a team of trained and capable workers who act fast on his words.

A project manager can work with any industry whether private or public using his team to accomplish success.

What are the requirements for becoming a certified project manager?

The project management professional (PMP) certification requires that certain criteria are met which are to qualify you and grant you access. You must make sure that you have experience in management and organization of projects.

Here are the requirements to meet:

Academic requirements

A Bachelor’s degree or any similar four-year degree program is required before you can enroll in the PMP certification program. If you do not hold a Bachelor’s degree then you should have a High School Diploma or any equivalent.

With Bachelor’s degree you should have four thousand five hundred hours of experience in project management and thirty-five hours of training; however, if you are coming with a High School Diploma, you will need to have seven thousand five hundred hours of experience in project management and thirty-five hours of training.

When you have met the requirement you will be notified within one week by letter. It will cost you $500 to get the tough 200-question exam, which will qualify you for PMP certification if you can answer the compulsory questions correctly.

Personal qualities and skills

Innovation, collaboration, motivation, creativity, communication skills, IT skills, and good analysis prowess are some of the required skills for project managers.

Training to become a certified project manager

There are a number of institutions out there offering training for PMP certification. Simplilearn is one with a high rating for helping students achieve success in project management certification exams.

They have worked with thousands of participants to be successful in the PMP exam, and therefore boast of immense experience in PMP training and certification.

How to obtain certification in project management

For you to be certified as a project manager, you need to find a course in which you have interest and experience. This will help you to achieve a better certification.

About PMP certification

PMP, which stands for Project Management Professional, is a certification that is globally recognized and needed. The certification gives you knowledge of project management and team leadership. A PMP certified project manager can work in any industry or country of choice.

The advantage of holding PMP credentials includes increase in salary and opportunity to meet with other PMP holders worldwide.

The PMP holder must know and understand the universal project management terminology for him to communicate effectively.

To get more information on PMP certification and how to get properly trained for it, visit PMP Certification Training Course or PMP Plus – Masters Program

Duties and responsibilities of a Certified Project Manager

A certified project manager will carry out the following duties and responsibilities:

• Ready to partner at any time with vendors, project owners, whether private or public and other team leaders.
• Leads the team with zeal and innovation, adapting and implementing any new scope or idea; develops without delay approved plans on new projects, and pursues the projects to accomplish long-lasting satisfaction.
• Brings benefits and satisfaction to the client; realizes gain and progress of the team and facilitates efforts.
• Discovers from project owner – whether individual or company – their needs and brings solution to them.
• Analyzes and manages risks that face the team, and reviews the risk diary every month.
• Takes absolute control of incoming projects, displaying competence in handling flow of orders.
• Inducts new members into certain projects for effective outcome; makes the project owner understand the reason and need for a larger number participants in the project.
• Display effective communication skills with concerned individuals or companies; stands out for the team and stops some actions that may impede the progress of a project.
• Endeavors not to encounter loss in project management, but works tirelessly to achieve success. The progress of a project should be his/her major concern.
• Reports situations of any given project and makes plans towards achieving success; provides information at each level of a project through regular communication with the client.
• Approves designs and directs moves for necessary alterations; directs design process properly to satisfy the client.

Where can certified project managers find job

Certified project managers can secure job positions in most sectors such as health, science, manufacturing, architecture, engineering, software development, governmental, and IT offices.

They can go on contract basis according to the duration of project.

They may decide to go into project management agency, working as a project management agent rather than a project manager. Even project management consultants still make a good living in their chosen profession.

Project management job vacancies are advertised on national newspapers and local magazines periodically. If you are a regular reader of newspapers and magazines you are likely to come across job opportunities for project managers. You can also find jobs for project managers on online job portals.

What is the salary of certified project managers?

The PMP certification gives you more earning potential when you have it than when you do not. In a survey conducted by PMI in 2011, 30,000 United States Certified Project Management Professionals (PMPs) earned an average salary of $111, 824 yearly. This figure is likely to increase with time.

Certification, academic qualification, project contracted and reputation of industry are key determinant factors of salary of a project manager.

You should consider the importance of education in project management job opportunities. The salary of a project manager with low academic qualification cannot equal with that of an educated one.

For example, if project managers with low educational qualifications earn £30,000 then educated or experienced managers can increase theirs up to £50,000 a year.

Freelance project managers can charge according to project size and type.