by When a business runs successfully and thrives in the market, no doubt its projects are executed seamlessly. So, at the core of every successful project, there is a highly trained and experienced project manager.
Today nearly every industry across all sectors is looking for Project Managers. They are always in demand. Project Managers who are properly qualified, skilled, and trained are in demand as they are the ones who plan and provision the work in a company.
In fact, Project Management Institute or PMI projects 22 million new project manager jobs worldwide by 2027.
Though Project Managers are popular for IT projects, they are in demand in industries such as oil and gas, manufacturing, logistics, construction, management, finance and insurance, marketing, media and entertainment, eCommerce and retail, and almost every sector.
When you go with project management training, you acquire the skills required to perform a multitude of tasks so as to manage your projects. This domain offers a plethora of opportunities for advancements. Highly experienced, skilled, and certified project managers can expect almost double the salary of entry-level project manager salaries.
Project managers earn competitive salaries and the national average salary of an entry-level project manager is around USD 59,680.
Table of Contents
What do Project Managers Do?
Typically, a project manager is involved in the different phases of project management that include planning, organizing or arranging, securing, monitoring, leading, and managing tasks and resources to attain specified business objectives. Also, project managers are tasked with defining strategies to initiate the project, estimate and understand the requirements of a project, analyze and escort the required team members on board, and monitor the work progress.
Also, a project manager usually does the following tasks:
- Determine the skill sets required for the project
- Estimate the budget for the different tasks of a project
- Escort the meetings to track the progress of the project
- Set the time frame and schedule for the project as well as the subprojects
- Determine the ways in which work can be completed
- Make progress reports to be given to stakeholders and other concerned professionals
- Maintain the culture of the team as well as the organization
Let us now discuss different project management certifications you can pursue in order to advance your career in this domain.
Top Project Management Certifications
You can pursue project management certifications to add to your list of IT qualifications. This is done so because a certification serves as proof to your employers that you possess the knowledge of how to plan, schedule, execute, budget, and deliver the projects. Some of those certifications are listed below.
Project Management Professional
This certification is considered the gold standard in project management. This is a meticulous test that covers everything you are required to prove your skills and knowledge in managing the three essential constraints of project viz time, cost, and scope. The Project management Institute issues this certification consistently with businesses as well as academics to make sure that the certification is relevant to the industry.
The requirements for taking this certification are a four-year degree along with three years of experience in project management. Also, you need 4,500 hours in leading and managing projects and at least 35 hours of education in project management.
The requirements change if you have a high-school degree. Then you are required to have experience of at least five years in managing projects and 7500 hours of directing projects, as well as 35 hours of education in project management.
PRINCE2 Foundation/ PRINCE2 Practitioner
PRINCE2 or PRojects IN Controlled Environments is most popular mainly in the UK and its government agencies. These certifications are offered by the ILX group. These certifications typically focus on directing, maintaining, and delivering projects across all phases, from initiation, delivery, and closure of the project including successful delivery of the project.
The two main qualifications in this domain are PRINCE2 Foundation and PRINCE2 Practitioner. The Foundation is an entry-level certification that checks your basic knowledge in project management methodology. On the other hand, PRINCE2 Practitioner is meant for advanced project managers who have already attained PRINCE2 certification.
Certified Associate in Project Management
This certification is also issued by PMI (Project Management Institute) and serves as a precursor to the PMP (Project Management Professional). This certification proves to be a stepping stone for project managers who don’t possess a college degree or have limited experience in project management.
If you attain a CAPM certification, it becomes easier for you to advance your career in this domain and attain a PMP which is a gold standard in project management.
The requirements for this certification are a high-school degree, associate degree, and a minimum experience of 1500 hours of project management. This experience requirement can be replaced by 23 hours of education in project management.
Certified Project Management Practioner (CPMP)
This certification is issued by the EC-Council and is meant for the project managers who wish to benchmark their skills via practical experience and with different management tools and techniques that are essential for managing complex projects successfully. The main goal of this certification is to develop the managerial, technical, and leadership skills required to successfully deliver the project, thereby adding value to your portfolio.
There are no prerequisites to take this certification but it is better to attend a three-day preparation course.
Certified Scrum Master (CSM)
The standard for project management is the use of agile practices. So, the demand for IT professionals who can manage projects in an agile environment is rising. The CSM certification is issued by Scrum Alliance and is a great option if you want to get started as a Scrum Master. The Scrum Alliance also provides resources meant for professional development in this domain. Can you believe that there are more than 450,000 certified practitioners from this organization?
The requirements for this certification are a general acquaintance with Scrum and a two-day course in CSM training.
Other certifications that you can pursue in order to build your career in project management are:
- CompTIA Project+
- Master Project Manager (MPM)
- Professional in Project Management (PPM)
- Project Management in IT Security (PMITS)
- Certified Project Director
- BVOP (Business Value-Oriented Principles) Certified Project Manager
- Associate in Project Management
Conclusion
You are now familiar with the different certifications that you can attain to become a successful project manager and start your career. To get any of these certifications, you can take up an online training course.
There are some of the best project management training courses(such as Simplilearn) available out there in the market. These allow you to learn at your pace and acquire the skills and knowledge required to learn project management. You can choose one as per your requirements.
Enroll Yourself Now!!
