General Overview of PMI CAPM Certification

Overview of PMI Association

The PMI (Project Management Institute) offers professional project management certifications for individuals from different career levels. Irrespective of your current career level in a project management, you can be sure to get a certificate that will propel you further in your chosen career field. The different credentials offered by PMI are designed to help you grow in your knowledge base, as well as increase your career potentials in the industry.

It is important to mention that PMI is a not-profit membership and certification organization. It is well known for its PMP certificate and the PMBOK (Project Management Body of Knowledge). The PMBOK is a collection of a wide range of standards and best practices for a project management. The association currently has its presence in over 207 countries and boasts of more than 470,000 registered members. It is a known fact that the Project Management Institute is the world’s biggest project management association with over 740,000 PMP certified members globally.

The association with its other affiliate organizations offer research, education, networking opportunities, advocacy, and project management resource tools to over 3 million professionals in a project management all over the world. To fully understand the growth of the association, it is worth taking a cursory look at its history. PMI was started in the early part of 1980 offering the PMP certification. Over the years, the association has added many more certificates to its list of credentials. The entry level certification of the association is the CAPM (Certified Associate in Project Management) and there are many other high level certificates that focus on portfolio management, program management, risk management, agile practices, business scheduling and analysis. It is crucial to mention that PMI certifications are not mandatory requirements for any other PMI credentials. However, some of them are an important foundation to earn some others.

Earning a certification in PMI comes with numerous benefits. One of such benefits is the opportunity to be able to access the digital edition of PMI global standards, as well as the PMBOK Guide. You also gain access to discounts on certification renewals and exams. Whatever level you are in your project management career or any other career you are currently pursuing, you can still apply for the PMI membership. There are currently three membership options and they are individual membership, student membership, and retiree membership.

The individual membership comes at a cost of $129 in addition to the $10 fee for an application purpose. As an individual member, you can renew your membership annually at a cost of $129. Retired professionals who are members of the association can continue to be partners with an annual fee of $65. The student membership attracts an annual fee of $32.

Having looked at the general background of PMI, it is important to look at the first stage of its certification program that is the Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM).

Overview of CAPM Certification

The CAPM is the entry level certification of PMI. It is designed for people who have little or no relevant experience and are interested in pursuing a career in a project management. Earning the CAPM credential validates that you know the fundamental project management concepts, processes, and terminology. To qualify for this certificate, the candidate is expected to pass the single multiple choice test. In addition to this, before you can register for the exam, you will need to have at least a high school diploma or an associate degree with 1,500 hours experience in a project management, or 23 hours education in a project management. To learn more about the CAPM certification, you should read more about the process on the official website of Project Management Institute. It is important to reiterate the fact that the level of your current career is not important to your earning the CAPM certification. Interestingly, this credential has the potential to change your career in a grand way. It can distinguish you from your peer in the job market and also boost your effectiveness and credibility working on project with your team. The CAPM certification validates your knowledge of the paramount global standard of the Project Management profession which makes you stand out among the crowd. It is a fact that a project manager is a fast growing profession and many new jobs are being created every year for qualified practitioners. With the CAPM certificate, you are on the right track to land yourself an amazing job.

Overview of CAPM Exam

One common option you can opt for to write your certification exam is the online proctored examination. This allows you to take your test from the comfort of your office or home while being monitored by a proctor. The benefit of using this option of writing the exam is that it saves you stress of travelling over a distance to write the paper. You can learn more about the experience of online proctored exam by reading about it.

The Prepaway CAPM Practice Test comes with 150 multiple-choice questions and the test takers have three hours to finish up the test. To continue holding your certificate, you will need to retake the certification test at the end of every five years’ period.

Conclusion

Earning the PMI CAPM certification is a great way to start your career journey in a project management. With this credential, you can get your dream job and start climbing the career ladder to your desired position. It is important to emphasize that this certification is the entry level of PMI credentials and as such, you will need to progress in earning other certificates to attain your dream career. There are great potentials that you can explore with the CAPM and you can continue to grow your career in a grand way.

Finally, preparing for the certification examination requires that you focus and dedicate enough time to your exam preparation. Go through the different resource materials available to you and ensure you are adequately prepared before you sit for your actual test.

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