What is PMP® ?

PMP®  or Project Management Professional is a project manager certification, offered by the Project Management Institute (PMI®). Project Management Professional is the gold standard of project management and is the most desired as well as recognized professional certificate for Project Management.

A Project Management Professional is an experienced project manager who is certified and trained to direct teams toward a project goal. Being PMP® certified is recommended as it helps project managers in their career growth by making them eligible to apply for the best roles in the top companies globally. They stay abreast with the new technologies, network with other certified colleagues of their same field, and stumble upon the best projects prospects.

PMPs lead projects in almost every country, without focusing on a particular geography or domain, making PMP® truly global.

An overview of PMP certification

PMP® certified professionals demonstrate that a project manager possesses the knowledge, skill set, and experience to manage their projects and bring them to successful completion. They compile work from associative teams to form a final product that fits according to the client’s demands.

By being PMP® certified, managers validate their knowledge, experience, and training, along with their ability to initiate, plan, execute, monitor, and control all the other factors involved in a corporate project.

A PMP certification helps a professional in the following ways:

• Grow in the role of project manager
• Gives them a hike in their salary 
• Stand apart from the other project managers
• Handle projects globally
• Get value from your organization.

For better preparation, consider taking a project management professional certification course.

What is the role of PMI? What does it do?

Project Management Institute (PMI®), is a professional organisation for project management. It serves more than 2.9 million professionals, with 500,000 members in over 208 countries and territories around the world.

It provides services in the development of standards, research, education, publication, hosting conferences and training sessions, networking opportunities in local chapters and providing accreditation in project management.

It is recommended to be PMP-certified as it helps you to stay leveled up with the new developments, communicate in a better way with the employers and build a network with certified colleagues.

PMP® Handbook

The Project Management Institute (PMI) has published a Project Management Professional (PMP®) Credential handbook. It holds and explains everything that one needs to know about the process of taking the PMP® examination and to become PMP® certified.

It discusses the PMP® Eligibility, PMP® Exam Information, PMP® Exam Day and what one should do after the PMP® exam.

Who all can apply for PMP® Certification?

If you love to manage projects, make sure that everything and everyone is working with the best of their ability, and wish to be continued to be challenged in your career, then you are a desired candidate for PMP® Certification.

Candidates wishing to be PMP® certified must meet certain educational and professional experience requirements in order to be eligible for PMP® certification. The following states the eligibility requirements:

A four-year degree along with the following requirements:

• Minimum 36 months (3 years) of Professional Project Management experience
• 4,500 hours of work in directing or leading projects.
• Minimum of 35 hours of Project Management education.

A high school diploma along with the following requirements:

• Minimum 60 months (5 years) of Professional Project Management experience
• 7,500 hours of work experience in project management.
• Minimum of 35 hours of Project Management education.

All project management working experience should be augmented within the last eight years consecutively before you submit your application.

How do I become PMP® certified? What is the examination process?

Once the candidate has gained eligibility, he/she can now take the PMP®  certification examination within one year of the eligibility period. Candidates can opt for a computer-based test at nearby Prometric testing centre. The paper-based option is also available for locations with no Prometric testing centres.

The candidate must answer 200 multiple-choice questions. 25 questions out of these 200 questions are pre-released ones, hence they are not included in the exam scoring. The final score of the examination is calculated based on the rest of the 175 questions. The candidates are allotted four hours to complete the centre-based examination. Get certified as a PMP with KnowledgeHut's PMP certification online courses.

The following video will give you a clear picture of the process of becoming a PMP® certified professional.

What are PDUs? 

After being PMP® certified, you need to renew your credentials every three years from the day of becoming a PMP®. PMP Certification Renewal can be attained by earning 60 PDUs (Professional Development Unit)  in a three-year period of time. This comes under the Continuing Certification Requirements (CCR) program, with the aim to maintain active certification status. The three year period is often referred to as a CCR Cycle. 

PDU Renewal

There are multiple options by which you can earn PDUs. You can choose to attend courses, seminars, webinars, or volunteer for the same. 

The main motive of PMP® renewal is to keep you updated with the current profession and also make a contribution back to the profession. The added advantage is the fact that you need not write the exam all over again! 

How is PDU Renewal beneficiary?

In order to keep the PMP® practitioners updated with the changes in tools and techniques, PDUs renewal was introduced by PMI®. It reflects the knowledge, skills and tasks that project management professionals perform on a daily basis. This is done so that one doesn’t stay stuck to the tools and techniques that were introduced 30 years ago when the PMP® exam first came into existence. 

What is the cost of PMP® Certification?

The overall PMP certification cost depends on different factors like PMP exam certification fee, the exam preparation courses and study guides. A set of possible expenses that you may be exposed to for acquiring a PMP® certification are mentioned below:

FEE TYPE	COST
PMI Annual Membership	$139
PMP Exam Testing Fee	Non-PMI Members	$555
	PMI Members	$405

PMI® offers the Project Management Professional Certification Examination for PMI® members as well as non-PMI members. The cost of examination for a PMI member is $405 (USD), while that for a non-PMI member is $555 (USD).

The PMI® membership fee costs around  $129(USD) for new members, with an additional $10(USD) as a one-time application fee. This membership is valid for one year and needs to be renewed annually with a fee of $129(USD).

To prepare yourself well for the PMP® examination, you can refer to many resources. PMBOK Guide (Project Management Body of Knowledge) which is issued by PMI®, covers most of the topics on which the questions are based on. Hence, it is an essential part of your preparation. The hard copy of the same is available for $70 and for PMI® members, it can be accessed for free as a soft copy (available on the PMI® website after becoming a member of PMI).

Top Cities where KnowledgeHut Conduct PMP Certification Training Course Online

PMP Certification in Bangalore	PMP Certification in Toronto	PMP Certification in Dubai
PMP Certification in Chennai	PMP Certification in Pune	PMP Certification in Mumbai
PMP Certification in Hyderabad	PMP Certification in Sydney	PMP Certification in Hong kong
PMP Certification in Riyadh	PMP Certification in Berlin	PMP Certification in London
PMP Certification in Brisbane	PMP Certification in Frankfurt	PMP Certification in Delhi
PMP Certification in Melbourne	PMP Certification in Doha	PMP Certification in Canada

Can I request for a refund for my PMP Certification? If yes, then how?

To avail a refund for the PMP® certification, the candidate must make a request to the PMI® at least 30 days prior to the exam eligibility expiration date., though it will retain a processing fee of $100 (USD) if the candidate has not yet scheduled or taken the exam. The application will be closed and the eligibility period will no longer be valid after the refund has been processed.

Also, a candidate can request for a refund if their application gets rejected or they fail an audit. 

PMI® will not provide the candidate with a refund in any of the following cases:

• If the candidates’ one year eligibility period has expired and he/she has not scheduled an examination, the whole fee amount will be forfeited. If the candidate still wishes to obtain the certification, he/she will have to reapply and submit the affiliated fee again. 
• If the candidate has scheduled an examination but failed to take it, nor provided PMI® with the necessary cancellation or rescheduling notification, the whole fee will be forfeited. 

Looking for project management certification courses to advance your career? Enroll in our online course today and take your skills to new heights. With expert instruction and comprehensive materials, you'll gain the knowledge and confidence to succeed in any project management role. Sign up now!

Benefits of PMP certification:

Project Management is a challenging career, and as a PMP® certified practitioner, you will be able to face and overcome new challenges. There are various PMP certification benefits that a professional comes across. To name a few:  

• Being PMP® certified will give your career an extra boost by making you eligible for the best roles in the top companies globally.
• Those with a PMP® certification garner a higher salary (20% higher on average) than those without a PMP® certification.
• The rigorous training and coursework of PMP® will help you to increase your versatility and expand your skill set.
• Being PMP® certified add credibility to your resume, making you stand out than the rest of the candidates.
• There is a global community for PMP certification holders where you can reach out to other project managers of the same field across the globe, helping you to expand your market and scope while at the same time, keep yourself up to date with the technology.
• PMP® certified project managers get hold of better job opportunities as they have knowledge, experience, and training for the same. They showcase better performance as compared to the non-certified managers.
• The standards for PMP® exams are higher than the other project management exams. With your skills and knowledge, you can work in a much more efficient manner.
• Being PMP® Certified can help you get challenging roles as the certification signifies your dedication to project management. Also, you will be trained to face such challenges in your day to day life.

Career growth and opportunities with PMP:

According to a survey conducted by PMI®, professionals with PMP® certification get a 20% hike in their salary as compared to a project manager who is not certified. The demand-supply equation for PMP® certified professionals is still tilted more towards the demand side. Hence, being credentialed acts as a major advantage. For the States, it is anticipated that the demand for project management professionals will upsurge to an estimate of 700,000 jobs by 2020. 

Project Management Professionals are found to be leading major projects in nearly every top organisation around the globe. PMP® professionals need not focus on a particular industry, domain or geography, making PMP® global on a true basis. A PMP® professional can work for any industry, in any location. They are known for their practices and coordination of projects in multiple and diverse industries, including government, IT sector, construction, energy/utilities, retail, digital media, healthcare, finance, etc.

Learn more about the scope and growth as a PMP® certified professional by sharing your views and queries with the professionals in the field.