Comparison between Most Prestigious Project Management Certifications

Published: March 14, 2019

There are many project management certifications, which the people can pursue to make a career as a project manager in any industry. Every industry needs a project manager for their ongoing and future projects and if a candidate is available with a specific certification, then the companies hire them first as they know the pains that the candidate may have taken in order to get the certificate successfully. Here we will compare three prestigious certifications, which are CAPM, Prince2, and PMP.

# Scope

First, we will talk about the scope of all the three certifications. CAPM certification is offered by The Project Management Institute and people who pursue it will let the employers know about the hard work that they have done to achieve the certification. The person gets good knowledge and skills regarding project management and is able to share the workload of other project managers. The professionals are also able to take new roles with this certification.

Prince2 or Project in Controlled Environment is a certification, which is based on different types of projects. The learner will learn about various processes, skills, and regulations that are needed to handle one or more projects simultaneously. The main goal of the certification is to improve project performance.

Project Management Professional or PMP certification is a certification, which many candidates want to pursue as it provides various opportunities in the field of project management and the employers who see the certification in the resume consider the candidates and provide the opportunity of becoming a project manager.

# Overview

CAPM can be considered as an entry-level certification and it is good for those candidates who are new in the field of project management. The main advantage that the candidates will get is that they will be separated from the competitors and the professionals can take this course as a stepping-stone in the field of project management.

PMP is a certification, which is recognized in all the industries and people can use any method to lead a project and make it successful. There are various aspects related to project management which is covered by the course.

Prince2 is a certification that helps a candidate to learn the steps of delivering a project successfully. The certification is process-based and its value is recognized all over the world. The main place in the world in which it is recognized is Europe and Australia.

New candidates can go for CAPM to get familiar with the project management and skills and then they can go for either of the two certifications.

# Scope of project management in the world

PMP and CAPM are not the preferred exams in the UK but are preferred in the USA. The main certification for the UK Is Prince2 and the companies there prefer the candidates who have pursued this certification. In the USA, CAPM and PMP certification is most preferred. According to a survey, it has been estimated that there are more than seven lakhs PMP professionals and more than three lakhs CAPM professionals in the USA.

# Things that can be done after each certification

A candidate who pursues CAPM certification will be preferred by the employers as they know the hard work that the candidates have done to achieve the certification. The employer will also have the knowledge about dedication and commitment of the candidate regarding project management.

As CAPM is an entry-level certification, it can also help the candidate to take PMP certification as he will have knowledge of project management so passing the PMP exam successfully will not be a tedious task.  One of the main disadvantages of CAPM certification is that it is not much recognized in comparison to the other two certifications. If a candidate wants to go for larger projects, it will be a tough task for him.

PMP certification has more scope in comparison to CAPM though both exams are conducted by Project Management Institute. The candidate who pursues this certification is preferred by the employers as they know the skills and knowledge of the candidate in terms of managing the project and delivering it on time.

A candidate who has mentioned Prince2 certification on the resume will have better options in comparison to the other two certifications. They can get the designations of project manager, project executive, financer, senior supplier, and many other such designations.

# Salary on the basis of certifications

Salary surveys have provided the result that candidates who have pursued PMP certification get more salary in comparison to non-certified ones. The employers know that a PMP professional knows the language of the project management and he can connect with those who have pursued the same certification.

A CAPM certificate holder has the capability to only lead the project while a PMP certificate holder can lead and direct the project and is more valued by the employers. The surveys have told that the PMP certified professionals are getting more and more salary and their average annual salary is increasing. The salary of Prince2 certified professionals is higher than CAPM certificate holder and lower than PMP certified professionals.

# Exam pattern of all the three certifications

The CAPM exam consists of 150 objective type questions and the candidates have three hours to complete the exam. The main areas in which the candidates are tested include project life cycle, project management framework, project management processes, etc.

The candidate who has to pursue the exam can hold a high school diploma and there is no need for a graduate degree. The certificate is expired after five years, so candidates have to take the exam after every five years to maintain the certification.

The PMP exam includes 200 questions, which the candidates have to finish in four hours. These questions are based on different aspects of the project lifecycle from project initiation to project completion. The candidates should be aware of risk management, chain management, materials management, and many other topics. The PMP exam expires after every three years so the candidates have to retake the exam every three years.

The candidate who wants to take this exam must have a graduate degree, high school diploma and project management experience of 4,500 hours, total experience of 7,500 hours and project management education of 35 hours.

There are no prerequisites of Prince2 exam but if a candidate has some experience of project management, it will be beneficial for him. The candidates have to answer 75 questions in the foundation exam in which five questions are given for trial and candidates do not get any marks for that. The questions have to be answered in one hour and to pass the exam, the candidate must acquire at least 50% marks.

The Prince2 practitioner exam consists of 68 questions, which have to be answered in 150 minutes and the candidates have to acquire 55% marks to pass the exam. The foundation exam has no expiry but the practitioner exam expires after three years so candidates have to retake the exam after every three years.

# Wrapping Up

Candidates can take up any of these exams to become a project manager but they will have to think about the benefits along with the cost of the exam. In comparison to benefits, the cost of the exam is negligible as people get good job offers and high salaries. The candidates who are new to project management can pursue CAPM while the experienced one can pursue either PMP or Prince2 certification.