Project Manager Certification.

Certification as a project manager has to be the goal for anyone serious about making a career in Professional Project Management.  It is not essential to have the Project Manager Certification to get started in project management. In fact it is essential to have some project management experience in order to get certified.  The most well known and respected organization for providing a Certificate in Project Management is the Project Management Institute (PMI), but there are many routes that lead to this qualification.

PMI is a certifying body for project management certification, that also offers training, but they are not the only Professional Project Management training organisation around and they may not be as industry specific as you may require.  So our advice is to look around for Project Management Training that suits your current career circumstance and industry.

A good starting point is  discussed in our article on Simple project management.

You can also consider other certificates or even a Degree in Project Management.

Project management is a satisfying and lucrative career and is suitable for anyone with some maturity, good organisational and analytical skills.  To make the most of it though, you have to approach it professionally.  Organising a house move or a wedding is indeed a project and can be equated to simple project management, but Professional project management takes it much further.

Here are just some of the elements involved in being a Project Management Professional:

• Work Module breakdown
• Workflow and Pert diagrams
• Sub-Project and inter dependencies
• Task Scheduling.
• Time Management
• People Management
• Conflict Management
• Risk Assessment and Contingency Management
• Financial Control
• Scope Creep
• Identifying and Managing “troubled” projects or project elements.
• Objective and accurate project status reporting
• Project Audits
• Progress Assessments

Large and complex Projects need to be managed professionally and all such elements need to be managed by the project manager or managers.  Training  and formal education as a project management professional in these areas are essential, but there is no substitute for experience and this is what makes Project Management an ideal opportunity for someone with appropriate experience in an area or specialization.   This is often a midlife career changing opportunity or even for retired line managers who find themselves needing new skill areas.

Project Management as a profession or skill also does not become dated easily like so many specializations do.

The most essential element that executives at all levels look for in a project manager, even more important than qualifications, is a track record in successful projects.   So start modestly and conservatively.  While building the skills, build a reputation for completing projects, successfully, on time and within budget. This will lead you from one project to the next and if you are not too aggressive in what you take on and deliver on your promises you can build a career that will be rewarding and lucrative for as long as you like.

A Project Management Professional with a good track record and the appropriate qualifications is highly mobile and very likely to get new employment easily or even better, freelance contracts that pay handsomely as opposed to employment contracts.

One can start on the road to preparing and studying towards Professional Project Management Certification early or late in a career and it will be a job and income insurance policy, regardless of your current occupation or profession.

Visit the following other useful sites on careers, professions and education:

American Council for Forensic Examiners
Cornell Psychology: Graduate Program: Graduate Program
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