Making the Most Out of Your PMP Certification
You’ve been managing projects for a long time. You clocked up all of the required education hours. You’ve taken the preparation course.
Are you successfully studying for the PMP exam? Consider these suggestions at this early stage of making the most out of your PMP certification work:
While it might sound logical, don’t leave preparing for your course up to chance. Get yourself registered to take the exam, then plan on spending at least two hours a day studying in the run-up to the big day.
The exam is based on the PMI’s corner of the universe, not yours. Aim your answers based on the materials you’ve studied, not what you’ve done during work.
When reading the exam questions, eliminate any superfluous information within the questions.
If you encounter a tricky question that has you trying to decide between two answers, go with your first choice. More often than not, your first selection is the correct one.
You’ve passed the PMP exam (http://www.knowledgecenterinc.com/course/pmp/)at the first time of asking (way to go!).
When all’s said and done, you’ve made a significant investment in your PMP certification in terms of financial, education, and time. So where do you go next?
Everyone wants to have a financial worth where their career is concerned, and you should be no different. Salaries fluctuate, and when the economy is less than ideal, that can be a bit difficult.
Watch the salaries
You can keep your eyes on project management salaries. Like other industries, salaries will vary from place to place. The Project Management Institute (PMI) offers a salaries survey guide (http://marketplace.pmi.org/Pages/ProductDetail.aspx?GMProduct=00101316201). This self-reported guide is based on the responses of more than 30,000 PM practitioners from 29 countries and provides information such as:
salary data
salary increases over the past year
anticipated salary increases for the upcoming year
15 demographic variables
available benefits packages
work environments
projected career paths
Get moving
Based on what you find in the PMI Salaries guide, don’t limit yourself to your local area. Why not be adventurous and do what you do best: think out of the box. Are there places you’ve always waited to see? Make this the time to benefit from a great salary and an exciting, new place to live. Go for it!
Back to school
Yes, you’ve gone through tons of education and courses. You can have a little time off before it’s time to hit the books. You’ll need 60 PDUs every three years to keep things ticking along. Think about what you want to learn and aim for quality, not quantity in your choices.
Get out there
You didn’t get to be a project manager by being a wall flower, and now’s not the time to start. Get yourself out there. Mentor up-and-coming PMs, go to networking events and business breakfasts, and of course, let others know that you’ve earned this highly sought after PMP certification.
You’ll be glad you did.
How do you make the most of your PMP certification? Share your experiences with us.
