The Fundamentals

As all of us have noticed, PMP certification is a craze today. Almost all software companies have mandated that their managers attain this certification at the earliest. And, the worsening economic scenario is not helping much, either.

So, how do we go about attaining this certification? I shall share my experiences and advice with you through this blog. In my experience, preparing for this exam itself is like accomplishing a big project. You plan for it, prepare for it, and at all times, ensure that you do not sufer cost or time over runs. Besides, making sure that you do not skip the schedule as well, is the most important.

Keep posted, we shall be successful in our attempt at successfully attaining this certification!

19 comments:

SAMEER SRIVASTAVA said...

hi,
my name is Sameer , I am a Software Engineer at Oracle Corp. Hyd. .
As of now I am having an experince of 2.5 years . Can I go for PMP course?
I asked a training center here , they are mentioning about attending the class of some specified hours, after which I will be , eligible to become PMP , Is it true ??
Another thing is how much is it going to help me in getting a job abroad , I am already holding 3 years VISA for UK .
Kindly help ...
Sameer

Pramod said...

Dear Sameer,

I believe that you are enquiring about your eligibility to appear in the PMP exam. Unfortunately, with a total of 2.5 years of experience, you are NOT eligible to appear in this exam.

The eligibility conditions require that you have at least 4500 hours of experience in directing and managing activities spread across 36 months, assuming that you possess a bachelor's degree or its global equivalent.

Besides this experience, you need to demonstrate having attended project management training for at least 35 hours. I believe that the training center you talked to, must have told you that you will fulfill the training requirement by attending their course.

So, I would advise you to wait for some time and actually get hands on experience in leading / managing projects before applying for PMP credential exam.

As far as help in locating a job onsite is concerned, I am sure that your experience and ability would help you achieve your dream. However, once again, PMP certification (or any other certification, for that matter) only acts as an icing on the cake. You should be really able to demonstrate a good experience in your field in order to get a better job abroad.

Best Regards,
Raja

Anonymous said...

Hi Raja,

Well done on your blog. I find a good amount of information in a concise format.
I am an SAP Consultant in the US and am aspiring to take my first steps towards PM by passing my CAPM certification. Do you have any suggestions or links for the same? Or should I just prepare using the PMP material for my CAPM?

Thanks in advance,
Hemanth K. Vemanath

Pramod said...

Thanks for appreciating my efforts, Hemanth!

I am glad to know that you are planning to appear in the CAPM certification exam. This exam is certainly a scaled down version of the PMP exam, and you can use PMP material for preparation. However, it would be better to have the opinion of a CAPM expert on the subject.

I am currently concentrating on helping and mentoring PMP aspirants and plan to start a similar informative site for CAPM certification, but that would be a while later.

I wish you the best for your examination!

Best Regards,
Raja

Anonymous said...

Hi Raja,

Nice to see a simple blog on getting certified as a PMP. I was contemplating on doing it for a long time and now i guess is the right time to go fot it.

However, i found the going quite tough for a Management prof like me to get a hang of this.

I am a hard core techie, but currently employed with a Global Public Relations firm ! I was wondering whether a certification like PMP will help me go up the Corporate ladder :-)

I am basically a SBU head and manage all processes as laid out in the PMBOK 3rd edition. I intend to go for it this time and complete it by May 09. That the goal i set to myself.

I'm sure with a little help from you, i may just be able to see myself certified as a PMP. So do let me know if i'm making the right career move by doing this...

Thanks in Advance..
Cheers

Pramod said...

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am glad to hear from you.

To answer your query, the help which you might gain by getting PMP certified in moving up the corporate ladder is going to be determined by the policies in force at your organization. Many organizations have mandated that their PMs should get PMP certified at the earliest. However, that is not true across the board.

If you are looking at going for a change after getting PMP certified, I would recommend you to consider going in for 'Program Management Professional' (PgMP) certification instead. This exam is also conducted by PMI and is aimed at senior management professionals like you.

Hope this information helps you. As far as PMP certification is concerned, please feel free to ping/mail me anytime and I shall be glad to help you.

Best Regards,
Raja

Unknown said...

Hello Raja,

Any idea whats the % for clearing PMP?

the blog is very helpful.

Thanks
Ritesh

Pramod said...

Dear Ritesh,

You need to score 61% marks in order to successfully complete PMP certification.

I am glad you found this site useful.

Best Regards,
Raja

Anonymous said...

Thank Raja,

Your information was useful! I guess the PgMP is a little over the scope for me right now. I would rather try the PMP before i go in for the PgMP. Let me know if this is correct.

Also, just for my understanding. The PMP certified consultants would be in demand in the IT sector primarily. But, from my understanding a PMP qualified person can work on projects within any industry! This effectively means that i can work across industries once i am PMP certified! Do let me know if i'm travelling in the right direction.

I am currently based in Bangalore, so which are the best institues to begin with.

Thanks for the help
Cheers :-)

Pramod said...

Dear Sir/Madam,

I would leave the decision to pursue PMP / PgMP to you. If you feel more comfortable getting PMP certified first, that is absolutely fine.

Also, PMP certification does not differentiate between project managers from different disciplines. So, you get equal recognition from employers in all disciplines when you are PMP certified, though I have also seen more IT companies asking for and recommending PMP certification.

As far as institutes in Bangalore are concerned, I would advise you to search for PMI REPs (Registered Education Providers) operating in Bangalore. You may find a list of these institutes by searching for them on the PMI website. Alternatively, you may go in for online courses or audio courses. I have seen a lot of aspirants recommend PM PrepCast By Cornelius Fichtner. If you decide to go in for the latter, you may consider purchasing it from the 'Recommended Study Materials' section of this blog.

Hope I have answered your queries.

Best Regards,
Raja

Anonymous said...

Hi Raja,

Its nice to see a blog which provides so much of insight on PMP Certification.

I am working as an IT Infrastructure Manager in a SBU in Bangalore.

I am an PGDITM/MBA (Systems Management) with a 8+ Yrs of experience. I have also done GNIIT, COM/DCOM and DOEACC 'O' & 'A' Level prior to my MBA.

I want to become a Senior Manager/Head (IT) in LBU's / Big MNC's.

My query is whether I should go in for PMP Certification or ITIL Certification or both but which one should i take it first. How beneficial is PMP Certification for a IT Head, CTO etc. Also wanted to know whether PMP is only useful for Software Engineers or can also be useful for persons like me.

I would be glad if you can through some light on my future as well (if possible) i.e. what shall i do in order to achieve my aims?

This blog is really very useful.

Thanks in advance for the suggessions.

Regards,
Amit M.

Pramod said...

Dear Amit,

I thank you for appreciating my efforts.

As far as your queries are concerned, I am not really in a position to comment on the relative advantages of pursuing PMP or ITIL certification, since I am neither ITIL certified nor possess a good knowledge about it. However, PMP certification can certainly be useful in helping you move quickly up the corporate ladder. But again, almost every organization treats PMP certification in a distinct manner. You may get immediately promoted on getting PMP certified in one organization whereas your certification may simply be underplayed in another. Also, at a more senior level, Program Management Professional (PgMP) certification is a more relevant certification.

As far as PMP certification is concerned, it deals with project management and is not related to any particular domain. Hence, it is equally useful for a project manager irrespective of whether s/he is from software engineering field or any other field.

Hope I have been able to respond to your queries.

Best Regards,
Raja

Anonymous said...

Hi,
I've done MCA & working as Asst. Manager IT (Oracle Apps Tech. Consultant) with Reputed Mfg. Company. I've 5+ yr of IT exp. Can I eligible for PMP exam? What are pre-requisite for PMP?

Regards,
Sachin

Unknown said...

I've 5 years of total in IT field. 3 years as software engineer,one year as seiner software Engineer(like team lead role) and one year as software consultant in USA and Can I eligible for PMP exam? What are pre-requisite for PMP?

Thanks in Advance,
Rayan

core said...

Hi,

I have 5 years of experience with 3 years in projects related activities as SAP consultant.

I started work in 2004 when I had given my exam for MCM(masters in computer management). This degree I got in 2007 due to backlogs in exam that i could not give till 2007.

Will this cause any hindrance in my application. This is a masters degree before this I had diploma and advanced diploma degree.

Please advice

Anonymous said...

Hi,

My name is Traun , i have about 4.5 years of experience in Software testing, first of all i want to know that am i eligible for PMP.

- How PMP will help to improve my carrier.

- will i got the project management opportunities at my level of experience after completing PMP.

- i want onsite project assignments, the assignments out of india and settle down in abroad, how PMP will help me settle down in aboard.

Anonymous said...

Hi , Could you please share a list of good PMP training institutes according to their ratings .?

Anonymous said...

Hi,

1) Does PMP trianing and certification constitute content and value in orientation to IT industry only? Or is it a generic one?

2)Any optional part is available in that for specialization?

3)Do we have levels in PMP like level 1,2 etc

4)If PMP that is discussed in this blog is specific to IT industry, do we have any such course which is generic?

Anonymous said...

Hi,
my name is sakthivel, I am a Sr Software Engineer at .......... Chennai .
As of now I am having an experince of 9 years . Can I go for PMP course?

Kindly help ...
Sakthivel.

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