What Are The Requirements For A PMP Certification?

Project Management Professional (PMP) certification holders:

• Earn 33% higher salaries than their non-certified peers
• Earn steady salary increases over time if they maintain their PMP certification (source)

It is also sought after by companies such as ManTech, Peloton Interactive, Google, Dropbox, Pearson and more which are searching for Project Mangers with an active PMP certification. There’s a lot of great reasons you should earn your PMP but before you can do so, you need to make sure you meet PMI’s professional education and experience requirements.

TLDR Version:

You have two options for meeting the PMP application requirements and we have outlined them briefly below. Keep reading to dive into each requirement more in depth!

3 Requirements For A PMP Certification

No one said earning your PMP would be easy, but that is also why it is so valuable to your career. Before you can even begin the PMP application process, you need to meet 3 big requirements.

1. Education Requirement

The first requirement to apply for your PMP relates to your formal education. You must either have a high school diploma/associate’s degree or a four-year degree. Whichever educational attainment you have will dictate the amount of time leading projects you will need to complete before applying for your PMP certification. It is important to note, your degree does not have to be in business or management; any 4-year degree will meet this requirement. However, if you do have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited GAC program that will significantly reduce the number of months leading projects that you need to report.

2. Project Management Experience

While your PMP will certify your ability to lead projects according to PMI’s approach, you still need to prove you have experience leading projects previously. If you have a 4-year degree, then you will need to show 35 months’ worth of leading projects. If your degree is from an accredited GAC program, then you need to show 24 months’ experience. If you have an associate’s degree or high school diploma, then you need to show 60 months.

According to PMI, “A project is temporary in that it has a defined beginning and end in time, and therefore defined scope and resources.” Any non-overlapping professional experience leading and directing projects that fits this definition can be used towards your requirement. For example, if you worked on Project A from January-May and Project B from February-June you would only report 6 months of project experience.

3. Project Management Training Requirement

While you can get away with a degree in microbiology for requirement #1, you still have a requirement to show specific project management education. You need precisely 35 hours of project management education or an active CAPM certification. This requirement is usually met by enrolling in a PMP certification bootcamp.

What’s Next After Meeting All The PMP Certification Requirements?

Now is the time to apply! Here is what you need to do:

• First, gather all of the information need to support that you meet the application requirements. These include:
  • Employer, role, responsibilities and duration of the projects you have completed
  • Name of the institutions, course names and qualifying hours for your education and project management specific training requirements.
• Create an account on pmi.org
• Use all of the information you gathered to complete the application. You can save and return to it if you cannot complete in one sitting.
• Wait for your approval.
• Once approved, you need to pay for and schedule your PMP Certification Exam.
• Upon successfully passing your certification exam you will be awarded the PMP credential.

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