If you have decided to pursue a career in project management, you need to be prepared before you start applying for work. Some people assume they can just take a few project management courses in college and then jump straight into a position with a well paying company, but that may not always be the case. Most top dollar clients nowadays require their project managers to have a project manager certification. This simple authorization ensures that an employee knows what to do to get a project done right. Here is a look at how this certification works and what you may need to do to get one.
Preparing for a Project Manager Certification
If you want to hold a project manager certification, there are some requirements you will need to fulfill first. At the very least, you need to have some form of education in project management. That may involve an actual project management degree, or it may involve a degree in business management. Many schools do not offer degrees strictly in project management, so you may have to look for a degree with a concentration in this industry. You may have better luck getting a business degree with a minor in project management than you will getting a degree in project management itself.
Within your degree program, you will take a range of courses related to project management. Some of those courses may include: Accounting and Finance, Advanced Cost Management, Advanced Program Management, Applied Managerial Statistics, Business Systems Analysis, Change Management, Contracts and Procurement, Developing a Business Perspective, Ethics and Enterprise, Fundamentals of E-Business, Fundamentals of Human Resource Management, Fundamentals of Management and Leadership, Fundamentals of Organizational Communication, Human Resources and Communication in Projects, Introduction to Project Management, Leadership and Organizational Behavior, Legal and Ethical Dimensions of Business, Managing Organizational Change, Managing Project Risk, Managing Quality, Marketing Management, Motivating Project Teams, Project Cost and Schedule Control, Project Management Systems, and Total Quality Management. That list is a combination of the programs available in several popular online universities. You may come across any one of those in preparation for your certification.
On top of the education you need for a project manager certification, you may want job experience before you apply for certification. Many aspiring project managers will work as project coordinators or interns for at least six months before applying for certification. In these positions, you will work along with project managers and assistant managers to see what project management is like firsthand. You can then take the skills you learn within your job training and apply them to your certification exam.
In total, you will need at least 35 hours of education or job experience before applying for a project manager certification. Most applicants will get much more experience before applying just to ensure they get the best possible scores on their exam. What you choose to do is entirely up to the confidence you feel in this career.
Getting a Project Manager Certification
There are several certifications you can get in this career, including the Project Management Professional Certification, Advanced Project Manager Certification, and Certified Project Manager. You can find industry-specific certifications out there as well, depending on your expertise and experience. Certification is provided by the Project Management Institute, one of the largest project management facilities in the world. Most companies will trust a PMP certification from this organization above anything else.
To earn a project manager certification, you will need to take an exam based on your knowledge in project management. This is required on top of the education and experience mentioned above. The exam may be administered by paper or by computer, and you should be able to find a testing facility in your area. If you feel you have the knowledge and skills it takes to become a certified project manager, you can start looking for a certification program in your area right away.
Conclusion
A project manager certification will provide you with an immense amount of job opportunities for the future. If you have a degree on top of this certification, your chances of finding work will go up tremendously. The demand for project managers is not always high, but there is usually work to be done no matter what. The only problem is beating out the competition to get that work. If you have certification and experience, you should have no issues rising above the competition. Then all you have to worry about is the stress of the tasks coming your way.
