PMI’s Certified Associate in Project Management credential pushes three developing professionals ahead of the pack.

by Tegan Jones

Whether you are an aspiring project manager or a member of a project team, grasping the language, principles and processes of the profession can be a daunting task. To successfully address new project challenges as they arise, many developing professionals and subject matter experts are enhancing their skill sets — and their résumés — by obtaining PMI’s Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM^®) credential.

The CAPM was created for team members who provide subject matter expertise in areas such as marketing, customer care, finance, research and/or processing. To obtain this credential, candidates must have accrued and document 23 hours of formal project management education or 1,500 hours of project work. Once they obtain the CAPM, credential holders say they have more credibility, work more effectively, improve their organizations’ project management processes and secure more satisfying positions.

A Team Player
Christina Rockwell, CAPM, a project coordinator at Fernley & Fernley Inc., in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, says that earning the CAPM credential helped make her a more functioning member of her project team. While she’s not set on becoming a project manager, her CAPM shows that she understands how a project is supposed to run—which she says will help her secure the type of work she enjoys for many years to come.
“I think [the CAPM] will help me stay in the kinds of roles where knowing project management is definitely a plus. Project management is an interdisciplinary thing, and it reaches all over the business world,” Ms. Rockwell says.

A Crossover Skill
Working in profession that spans the globe requires project managers to obtain credentials that are recognized worldwide, as well as across different companies and industries. Wiktor Hubar, CAPM, a junior consultant for Swiss Life in Zurich, Switzerland, says he took the CAPM exam to ensure his development efforts would translate regardless of where he chooses to work. Earning the CAPM in 2005 helped him land a job at a management company in Munich, Germany, as well as procure his current position at Swiss Life, he says.

“I wanted to get the [Project Management Professional] PMP^® credential, but I didn’t have enough experience. So I decided not to wait another year to get it. I decided to go for CAPM because this helped me in my career. [The CAPM] is internationally recognized,” he says.

Preparing for the Next Step in your Career
Carlos Augusto V. de Freitas, CAPM, a systems analyst and project team leader for Golden Cross, a health insurance company in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, says he obtained the CAPM to help him prepare for eventually taking the Project Management Professional (PMP^®) credential exam. Yet, he found that studying for the CAPM also helped him improve his organization’s IT infrastructure projects.

“Through the application of the processes suggested by A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK^® Guide), it was possible to reorganize and to create a portfolio of tactical projects,” he says.

Facilitating this reorganization earned Mr. Freitas a more strategic role within his company’s IT department, which will help him unify project management methodologies across the IT organization, he says.

Find more information on the CAPM credential and how you can begin the certification process, or download the official CAPM credential handbook.