Top 6 Reasons for PMP Certification

1. Improve your bottom line While there is no statistical information to support this statement, there is plenty of evidence that more and more businesses across more and more industries are demanding that project managers they hire be PMP^® certified. Most businesses seeking to attract project managers with this certification are willing to adjust their salaries or rates to attract certified project managers.
2. Stay competitive The converse of reason number 1. More and more project managers are heeding the call to certification so instead of facing a situation where there may be 1 or 2 certified project managers to compete with for a PM role, you may find a majority of the project managers you are competing with are certified. Instead of making up for this deficiency with your experience you may find that there is a project manager who has your background plus the certification. You’ll find this true whether you are applying for a PM position at a new organization or a promotion in the organization you are currently with.
3. Improve your project management skill set 35 hours worth of project management training is one of the criteria that PMI, owner’s of the PMP^® brand, have set for sitting the certification exam. The course of studies that most vendors provide includes much valuable information on the best way to manage projects and is well worth the money. The ability to sit the exam after the course is an added bonus. AceIt^©, the downloadable training tool, is one such course, and is available at a very reasonable price from the three O Project Solutions web site.
4. Learn project management best practices from the PMBOK^® The PMBOK^® is the PMI’s project management bible. Paying your fee to write the certification exam entitles you to a copy of the PMBOK and, since the exam is largely based on the project management approach described in that book, you learn those practices as part of preparing to pass the exam. You’ll find that acquiring those best practices will not only help you pass the exam, it will make you a better project manager.
5. Gain respect in your workplace If you’re like most project managers you have to rely on your ability to influence the project team to get work done because you don’t have official practical authority over the team, you aren’t the functional manager. Referential authority is one of the ways you can replace the practical authority you are missing and getting yourself certified as a Project Management Professional (PMP^®) by the PMI is one of the best ways of getting that authority. Your standing with your fellow project managers and peers in other disciplines will also be elevated with this additional referential authority.
6. Improve your organization’s bottom line How will certification bring about an improvement in your organization’s bottom line? It’s simple, your organization invests money in projects that will increase revenue or decrease expenses. Your ability to deliver the goals and objectives envisioned by the project’s sponsors on time and on budget will directly improve the bottom line. Implementing the best practices you learn during your preparations for the certification exam will improve your chances of delivering on the initial promise of the project and help you meet schedule and budget objectives.