PMP Certification Requirements 2024: Eligibility, Process, & Exam Guide
Understanding PMP certification requirements is crucial for aspiring project managers. This includes a detailed overview of the educational and professional experience needed to qualify for the exam. For those with a four-year degree, 36 months of experience leading and directing projects along with 35 contact hours of project management education are required. Without a four-year degree, 60 months of experience and the same amount of education are necessary. The requirement of 4,500 hours or 7,500 hours is no longer required.
The PMP exam requirements are stringent to ensure that certified professionals have the necessary skills and knowledge. Candidates must familiarize themselves with the PMBOK® Guide and complete an exam application that thoroughly documents their project management experience and education. The process underscores the importance of real-world experience in managing and directing projects.
Eligibility for the PMP certification also involves understanding the application process, which includes an audit process by PMI to verify the accuracy of the information provided. This ensures that all PMP-certified project managers meet the high standards set forth by PMI, maintaining the certification’s value and integrity in the professional world.
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Academic Education
Indicate whether you have secondary diploma or a four-year degree. You will need the name of the institution, the year you graduated, and your major.
Project Management Experience
The experience must be leading or directing projects that are non-overlapping, cumulative across all process groups or using agile or hybrid principles and within the last 8 years to be counted on the PMI PMP application. Refer to the above table for full experience requirements.
Project Management Education
You will need to show 35 contact hours of project management education, preferably covering the complete project delivery spectrum which spans the waterfall, hybrid, and agile methodologies. Traditional methodologies involve initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing. As a PMI Premier Authorized Training Partner PMI ATP, DNET plans ahead for our students and provides an inclusive online course so you qualify for this requirement even prior to attending the live class.
Tip: It is incredibly important that you do not falsify any of the information in your application. PMI has a random audit process which requires anyone being audited to present evidence to validate all information submitted with their pmp certification online application. Falsifying application documentation will result banishment from all future attempts to obtain any PMI certification. Since the pandemic has started, PMI has suspended most of the audits.
Why should you get the PMP certification? Pmp certification benefits include salary increase, peer respect, and better job performance. However, companies add great value when their employees get pmp certified.
There are over 1 million (1,000,000) Project Management Professional certification holders in the world. That is about 1% of an estimated 96 million project managers community.
According to PMI (2017) Project Management Job Growth and Talent Gap 2017-2027, there will be 22 million new project management jobs available by 2027.
Companies in the United States and around the world value PMP certification tremendously. As a job seeker with project management professional certification, you will be attractive to the thousands of companies that require or desire these skills. PMP benefits include higher salary. Here are some statistics about job compensation and companies that are hiring actively.
According to glassdoor.com, project manager positions command an average salary of $86,901 per year. The maximum compensation could go up to $134,000 per year in the United States.
PMP Exam Application
Go to https://certification.PMI.org to start filling out your application. you will need information on the degree you have received, the training that you received for the PMP certification, and your project management experience.
PMP Application Details
You can submit your PMP application on PMI’s certification website, certification.pmi.org. You will need to submit the following information to meet the project management certification requirements (terminology is directly from the PMP application):
- Education
- Academic Education – Your degree or diploma
- Professional Education – Your 35 contact hours training
- Project Management Experience (Per Project)
- Project Title
- Organization
- Functional Area
- Job Title
- Project Team Size
- Project Budget
- Approach / Methodology (Traditional, Hybrid, Agile)
- Project Dates (Start, End)
- End Date
- Project Description (200 words)
- Exam Details
- Home/Work Address
- Name on the Certificate
- Email Address
- Phone Number
- Exam Location (Country)
- Exam Accommodations? (Make requests for special needs)
Scheduling the Exam
Once you have been approved to take the PMP certification exam, you will need to schedule, take, and pass the test at your home as a Online Proctored Exam or in a PearsonVUE test center near you. You can find a complete list of testing locations on the PearsonVUE website. You will need the testing code PMI has provided you to successfully schedule your exam.
Take the PMP Exam
The PMP Exam is taken at your home or at your nearest PearsonVUE test center and is a 180 question test with a 230 minute time limit. The questions are broken down into 3 process domains; People (42%), Process (50%), and Business Management (8%). The test includes two optional breaks of 10 minutes each at the end of 60 questions and 120 questions mark. These 10 minute breaks are not counted into the exam time.
Because of the computer based exam, you will receive your score immediately.
Did I Pass the PMP Exam?
PMP exam provides instant results at the end of the test. Be patient and wait for the test to score after you submit it. If your test results show that you received a target or above target score in the entire exam, congratulations! You are now a PMP! Remember, you may score below target in one or more domains and still pass the exam.
When can I start using my PMP credential?
You may use the PMP credential immediately for the next 3 years!
How do I maintain my PMP certification?
During the three years after you obtained your PMP credential, you must earn 60 additional Professional Development Units (PDUs) to maintain your certification. To learn more about earning or reporting PDUs refer to PMI’s Continuing Certification Requirements Program documentation.
I Failed my PMP, Now What?
The PMP certification exam is a very difficult exam and non-passing scores are no need for alarm. If you have failed an attempt it is extremely important not to get discouraged. You have 3 attempts per year to pass the PMP certification exam. Here are some simple next steps you can take to get ready for your next attempt.
PMP certification is valid for three years. In order to renew your certification, you need to acquire 60 Professional Development Units or PDUs. It is easy to acquire these through learning, volunteering, contributing to project management in your company or other forums, writing books, making presentations etc. The 60 PDUs must be gathered into two categories – Minimum of 35 PDUs in education and a maximum of 25 PDUs in giving back. The Education PDUs must include a minimum of 8 PDUs in Technical, 8 PDUs in Leadership, and 8 PDUs in Strategic & Business Management. The Giving Back PDUs must include a maximum of 8 PDUs working as a professional. The Giving Back PDUs are optional.
