Now is the time to maximize your PMI membership to access powerful career tools. PMI’s PathPro® and career framework help you or those on your project team take your careers to the next level. PathPro is useful if your organization does not have a career track in project management. Use PathPro to:
- Immediately identify gaps in your skill set
- Position yourself for the next step in your career
- Assess your project team
Your Credential Helps You Stay Competitive
You earned the Project Management Professional (PMP)SM credential to validate your experience and build credibility, but may feel the financial crunch weighing heavy on your decision to maintain or renew your certification.
Despite the uncertain economic climate, the long-term, global outlook for project managers is strong. With employers requiring their project teams to consist of certified professionals, your credential has much more value than its price tag.
The PMP® credential helps you prepare for your next position or client by distinguishing you from others in a highly competitive market. It shows that you not only have the technical abilities to oversee a project, but also that you have the soft skills to lead and direct project teams.
Being globally recognized, it makes you more mobile because hiring managers anywhere in the world understand its significance. It also connects you with a professional code of ethics that, as a credential holder, you must uphold.
Even if your position and company are stable, the PMP credential is an asset when you plan for career advancement. If you find yourself considering career options or pitching a new client, keep an active certification status and let your PMP speak for your expertise.
Have you used your project management knowledge or skills to transfer from one industry to another?
We may publish your input in a future issue of PMP Passport.
E-mail the Passport Editor with your response.
This Q&A Forum is dedicated to questions about the simultaneous release of A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide)—Fourth Edition and The Standard for Program Management—Second Edition on 31 December 2008. If you are thinking about earning another PMI credential, this Q&A can help guide you.
Q. Will the new editions of PMI’s standards result in a radical or sudden change in a credential examination?
A. No. All of PMI’s credentials are based on a role delineation study that
outlines the skills and knowledge required for each role. PMI’s global
standards are only one reference in the full project management body of knowledge,
therefore a sudden change in the exam does not occur. Of course, the exam for
the Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)® credential is an exception
to this rule because it is based on the PMBOK® Guide.
Q. When does PMI intend to update the credential examinations?
A. PMI’s credential exams are updated on a rotating basis throughout the
year. New questions to the most current role delineation study and most current
body of knowledge are routinely rotated onto exams. When an update to a standard,
such as the PMBOK® Guide—Fourth Edition, is released credential exams
are also updated to reflect the new information that is relevant to the discipline.
| Credential | Examination Updated |
| PMP® | 30 June 2009 |
| CAPM® | 31 July 2009 |
| PMI-SP® | 31 August 2009 |
| PMI-RMPSM | 31 August 2009 |
| PgMP® | 31 August 2009 |
Q. When studying for a credential exam which edition of the standards should I use?
A. Since PMI’s global standards are only one resource for the credential
exam, those studying for the exam should be sure they are reviewing all of the
relevant knowledge required for practice in their discipline. In reference to
PMI’s standards, the following chart provides information about the questions
on the exam that are specifically related to new information in that standard.
| Exam | Planned Date to sit for Exam | Study recommendation |
| PMP | Prior to 30 June 2009 | PMBOK® Guide—Third Edition |
| PMP | After 30 June 2009 | PMBOK® Guide—Fourth Edition |
| CAPM | Prior to 31 July 2009 | PMBOK® Guide—Third Edition |
| CAPM | After 31 July 2009 | PMBOK® Guide—Fourth Edition |
| PMI-SP | Prior to 31 August 2009 | PMBOK® Guide—Third Edition |
| PMI-SP | After 31 August 2009 | PMBOK® Guide—Fourth Edition |
| PMI-RMP | Prior to 31 August 2009 | PMBOK® Guide—Third Edition |
| PMI-RMP | After 31 August 2009 | PMBOK® Guide—Fourth Edition |
| PgMP | Prior to 31 August 2009 | The Standard for Program Management—First Edition; PMBOK® Guide—Third Edition |
| PgMP | After 31 August 2009 | The Standard for Program Management—Second Edition; PMBOK® Guide—Fourth Edition |
Use this conversion tool as a reference to which edition you should study.
