Why You Should Get Your PMP Certification
Why You Should Get Your PMP Certification
By Jorge Dominguez
As of September 2007, there were only 247,5371 PMPs in the world. You may say: a lot! And I will say, not really, if you take into account that the world’s population is over 6.6 billion. Now, don’t tell me that you don’t want to be the 247,538th PMP! Even if you do, that’s not why you should get your PMP certification.
It is the “because I got to have it” voice inside you. As if you didn’t already have that new gadget you just had to have, you also have to have the PMP certification to show it off at your current work place and flash it to new and potential employers that are starving to hire you (most employers prefer a PMP even if the salary is no different than for a non-PMP).
It is the notion of self-satisfaction when you are told that you passed the exam. The PMP certification is a testament of, in most cases undeniable, proven competence. After you come out of the exam office you can yell and scream loud: “Yes! Thank [fill in the blanks]!!!”. You can now go home and start updating all your documents and business cards because your name has just changed to “yourname, PMP”.
It is the commitment to the profession you have chosen to make a living off of. It is a feeling of completeness that possesses you after you met a great challenge (all the preparation, taking the exam) and came out victorious and ready for new ones in a battlefield you are now confident of.
It is the collateral benefits you gain:
- Achieving a PMP certification improves your opportunity for professional advancement, including being more marketable, salary increases, job role and promotions
- PMP certifications are relevant, valid, accurate, and reliable measures of the candidate’s skills and knowledge
- The value of PMP certifications is recognized around the world
- Certified PMs recognize that achieving a professional credential also offers non-financial benefits such as being more credible with managers and colleagues, more confident, more productive with improved problem-solving skills, and more promotable
And, finally, yes, it is the pride to belong to a reduced group of professionals in the world… Don’t you think so…? Well, I do.
1 Figure taken from PMI’s supplement “PMI Today”, October 2007 edition.
Jorge Dominguez, PMP®