Best Project Management Certification Courses

When it comes to selecting from among the best project management courses, it becomes essential for aspirants to go through the project management certification programs—especially those that have managed to remain on top of the list of IT certification for years. This is because IT operations and project managers go hand in hand and these courses offer the soft skills required by organization to increase their inherent worth. 

 

With salary surveys showcasing that IT professionals holding the PMP credential earn up to 105 K on an annual basis or better (regardless of the field they work in), these courses are among the most targeted, popular and desirable certifications—right from the early 2000's. 

 

An Insight into IT Project Management Courses:

 

Professionally conducted courses in Project Management have a lot to do with planning, scheduling, budgeting and so forth. Along with the proper execution, implementation and reporting on projects that vary in shapes and sizes, these programs may also focus on OS upgrades, hardware, migration from older to the latest platforms, infrastructures or other recurring activities (think software updates, security patches, regular maintenance tasks, etc). 

 

In other words, if there is a single set of technical skills that has notched a coveted place on the IT radar, to the point that it has become as worthwhile as top-level credentials, it is project management. Here, we take a quick look at some of the most popular Project Management Certification Courses that are akin to "merit badge" credentials for IT professionals in all fields. 

 

Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification:

 

The Project Management Professional Certification works with training companies and academia to ensure proper currency and coverage in various curricula that supports this as well as the other PMI credentials like the CAPM course. Developed by experienced project managers, the PMP credential is one of the highest levels of certification offered by PMI and is designed to help aspirants possess the skills/ qualifications require for the successful management of all project phases including planning and initiating, scheduling and controlling, and closure. The course skillfully handles the importance of time, cost, and scope and helps professionals manage budgets, identify and minimize risks, track costs and protect their project investments to the hilt. 

 

Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) Certification:

 

Backed by PMI, the CAPM is appropriately considered as a stepping-stone for those who desire to attain their PMP status in stages, not via single step. An entry-level certification course for project practitioners, it is designed with a view of educating those with little/ no project experience. While PMP requires documented project management experience of 3-5 years, the CAPM requires just a high school diploma ,9 months of documented full-time work / on-the-job experience, and/ or classroom training (23 hours) of project management before taking the exam. CAPM—an agile project management course is unlikely to fetch a project management job in itself and serves the cause of IT professionals looking for part-time job roles or still seeking full-time jobs in project management. 

 

Master Project Manager (MPM) Certification:

 

With one of the most exhaustive project management course syllabus, this credential is linked to American Academy of Project Management (AAPM), a rival of PMP. Here, the certification processes are dependent on the board review of the documented experiences and resume of a candidate. Apart from the competitive, natural jostling between these organizations, the MPM and PMP differ in focus and charters. While the PMP is aimed directly at professional, full-time project managers, AAPM's MPM and other credentials also encompass technical and business management functions and features in their purview. Job posting portals show that PMP has considerable advantage over the MPM as far as numbers are concerned. That said, it is noteworthy that MPM does not impose many continuing education formalities and is less expensive than PMP. 

 

Way Forward:

 

The white-hot area of project management professional courses have made it  important for aspirants like you to indulge in careful research, look for recommendations and select from an exhaustive range of available options. For instance, ComTIA's Project+ is yet another entry-level credential in project management that’s roughly at par with the CAPM from PMI and is an effective stepping stone to PMP, a la CAPM does.

 

So, get ready to explore the world of offline and online project management courses and choose from among the best—you will not be disappointed!