Certificate training
A software developer wrote to me: “I have four years of software development experience. I want to be a project manager and think about enrolling in the Project Management Professional (PMP) training. Some of my friends told me that it is a waste of time as they cannot teach me anything and only issue certificate. I am confused about whether I should take the PMP certification or not? Please advice.
Answer: It depends on what do you want to do with the certificate training? If you want to learn more about project management so you can be a better project manager, if you want to understand the framework, the knowledge processes and more details about project management than my advice is “YES” you should take it.
If you only want to have a certificate to display it in your office than my advice is “NO” do not waste your money. You need to know that a piece of paper do not make you a better project manager. A lot of people take certificate training just to “Show-off” but not learn anything. Some training companies know that and they make money by teaching you how to pass the test, teach you to memorizing the test answers. They guarantee that you will pass the test because if you pay, you will receive a piece of paper called “certificate” so you can tell people that you are “Certified” on something.
If you want to be a better project manager, you need to select the right training company, company that do business honestly and focusing on teaching the “skills” not issues “certificate”. In this training you will learn more about the knowledge areas, how to integrate knowledge processes and project documents, how to estimate schedules and how to build “Gantt chart” or define “critical path” etc.
I believe with several years of software development, you may see how everything fit together. Your experience combined with the formal project management education will take you to another level in your career if you are serious to learn and apply your knowledge appropriately.
Sources
- Blogs of Prof. John Vu, Carnegie Mellon University
