Ask the Experts
The answer is “No”, as clearly stated by the Guidelines and Eligibility criteria of PMP Certification 2021, that a project management experience of 3-5 years (36 months-60 months) is mandatory depending upon the educational qualifications one has taken (whether diploma, graduate / post-graduate etc.). PMI expects you to have the fundamental knowledge of the in and out of projects and how to manage them. Although one must be thinking how to gain such an experience without having a PMP Certification, because getting a role as project manager is next to impossible without having the certification first. However many of the potential project managers work in a team lead or project management role either direct or indirect in many organizations before going for the certification exam. In fact, it is one of the main drives to go for PMP certification since you are already into a management kind of role and want to pursue your career further into that. The major areas one might cover carrying out a role of a team leader or project manager could be communications management, resource and stakeholder management, risk management, cost / budget management, time management etc. PMP exam difficulty.
While you maybe expert in managing the above areas, you may not necessarily do it under the project manager designation. To quote an example working as an architect you will anyways learn to manage your budget and resources, communicate and get involved with your clients and do risk assessment for various unforeseen things that may come and accordingly manage to finish the project within the given period with the required quality and productivity. How difficult is the PMP exam?
The Eligibility Criteria Itself Suggests
Another analogy to answer this question of can I do PMP certification without having experience in project management is like asking can I become a brain surgeon without attending medical school. 35 hours of project management training along with 3 years of project management experience is must for becoming eligible to give PMP exam. Normally people with minimum of 6-7 years of overall experience can start becoming eligible for PMP certification because, in the start of your career you work as an individual contributor and gradually you go up the ladder where you are promoted to a position of a team leader etc. this is the time where you become eligible for the exam. PMP exam pass.
It is always better to get the certification done as early as you become eligible for it because that is where it will give you an advantage in your career growth and the salary hike, which will come with it. There are professionals who do this certification at any stage of their career. I have even instances where candidates having an overall experience of over 20-25 years also go for this certification as its either made mandatory by the company management or they realize very late that for their future growth (career and monetary wise) it’s necessary to do it now. How difficult is PMP exam?
You should be able to define your project management experience of 3 years from the last 8 years of your working and that experience does not necessarily have to be in a position that has a designation of project manager. If you are able to document your contribution on a particular project where you have managed even a minor part of the inputs. In addition, if you are able to show that you can have a grip of PMBOK guide by using certain keywords and terminologies related to project management and that you have the ability to align yourself with project management stream. PMP score.
Do Some Homework
Some experts say before you enter the stream of project management and its related certifications like PMP; you should ask yourself a few questions like
- Are you a project manager looking to get a job in a project management stream?
- Are you project manager being asked to go for PMP certification?
- Are you a professional who is aware of the benefits of doing PMP certification if you fit into the eligibility criteria for doing PMP?
- Do you as a professional know what PMP is and what are the requirements for taking PMP exam?
Some even think though it is not considered as eligibility. That it depends; everyone literally means everyone has conducted or completed a project in some part of his or her lives. Even a small kid when he completed a Lego project in your house is kind of a project completed at his level of understanding and thinking. Therefore, things should not be over complicated. This is a simple equation of your work experience; your professional qualification is different story, if you have a volunteer, experience like even for boy scouts some NGO or human organization. To qualify for a project one must carry out duties under general supervision and that you are accountable and responsible for all aspects of the project for the entire life cycle of the project, but it has nowhere stated this experience has to be on job or only in some professional environment. PMP search.
